After reading Forever by Judy Blume, I decided to explore a little bit more of the same: 1970’s, teen “Chick Lit.” I was so impressed by the way Forever served some larger purpose, to educate its readers about sexual health. Was this an exception? Or were the authors of 1970s “Chick LIt” really onto something that has somehow been lost in the last 30 years? (more…)

So this weekend, while I was on the bus to and from NYC I decided to read one of the books that we put on a tentative list, but never actually read. Tracy Cabot’s How to Make a Man Fall in Love With You.  It’s a supposedly a “scientifically proven” fool proof method to getting the man of your dreams.  I couldn’t really take this book seriously when I was reading it– although I am definitely testing out some of it’s tactics– because at times it seemed so mysogenistic that it must be purely for entertainment value.

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I also read Fear of Flying by Erica Jong this week: a book I would recommend to any woman that captured me emotionally and intellectually.  As I was looking up the book online to see what has been written on it, I saw it often categorized with “third-wave feminism”.  Why has this book, published in 1973, written in the midst of second-wave feminism, been so associated with third-wave feminism?  As i researched, the answer became clear:  the connection lies within the term the “zipless fuck”.  Jong coined this term in her first book, and it has been popularly used in third-wave feminism writing attempting to reinterpret and analyze modern sexuality.  As I do not  know much about feminist theory, I do not want to assert anything about it.  I can, however, discuss modern culture, which probably is both affected by and affects modern theory.  I will discuss third-wave feminist culture as related to this second-wave book.   (more…)

Sattie, I agree with you in that this is the first book I have really related to.  However, unlike you, I am not “freaked out” by my relation to this book.  And, in this post I will explain why I related to this book, and why it does not bother me that I relate more to teenage chick lit than adult chick lit.  

With all the other books we read I was frustrated by not relating to the book.  I blamed this on not identifying with the protagonist.  However, in Forever I do not necessarily identify with Katherine.  I identify with what she is experiencing at the time.  I realize now that my frustration in not relating to the main character was misplaced in all the other “chick-lit” books we read.  My frustration should properly be placed on not relating to the experiences of these characters.   (more…)

I enjoyed reading this book and agree with the other ladies, but I am wondering what this book is saying about first love, and how younger (targeted) readers might perceive this message. I think Blume is very realistic in making Kath move on from her first love and find another boyfriend. Still, I wonder if younger readers see in the same way, especially when they themselves may still be hooked on their first love, or have yet to encounter him. Does Kath’s new boyfriend crush dreams of a long-lasting first love? If so, is this good or bad?

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vs.

The difference between these two images is striking, Kath from Forever is the naturally pretty high school senior from anytown, USA and the cast of characters on the left frankly look like they are trying way too hard. Yes, they may be more glamorous but their sexed up images come off as fake and kind of pathetic in contrast with the real girl to their right.

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So, I must admit, after reading Judy Blume’s Forever and after watching the classic 90s hit Little Giants, I’m feeling a little nostalgic.   (more…)

I don’t know if my peers felt this/ found it uncomfortable, but I was kind of freaked out that I found myself able to relate more to seniors in highschool than the high-powered executive women of our previous novels.  There was a realism in Blume’s text, with true emotions that seemed to be otherwise lacking in adult chick lit.  Maybe it was the time in which it was written?  But there is something refreshing about this “scandalous” read for teens that books like Gossip Girls has yet to produce.  I feel like recently, teen books are either considered too saccharine– Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants– or we’re subjected to teens ripping off each other’s close at the Plaze hotel in between martinis and lines of coke– a la Gossip Girl or A-List.  (more…)

I hate to begin this post by making a stereotypical remark about women - for example, how they are the more empathetic sex. But, I do acknowledge that pathos matters in a work of fiction, and that characters, male or female, need to have a psychological life accessible to the reader - hopes and dreams, personal failures and feelings of inadequacy. (more…)

Can’t help but shouting out a friend and her marvelous, inventive cooking!  Since we read about food in our Chick Lit novels, how about learning about some deliciousness in real life!  Check this out!

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/fooddrink/s_562962.html