Feminist Ryan Gosling by Danielle Henderson
Henderson began the blog of the same name as a joke/stress reliever for herself and her friends while working on her master’s in women’s studies. It gained such popularity that she later compiled a book. It is based on the “hey, girl” Ryan Gosling meme and features such gems as “hey, girl, the post-feminist fetishization of motherhood is deeply rooted in classism but I still think we’d make cute babies.” and “hey, girl, we don’t need arbitrary beauty archetypes steeped in historically biased ideologies pumped out to us by mediocre, archaic forms of media to define our sexiness.” It is simultaneously entertaining and challenging as she name drops a lot of people I’ve never heard of (not being a women’s studies major). But I’ve made a list of people to research when I get the chance.
Rabbi Harvey vs. the Wisdom Kid by Steve Sheinkin
This is one of those serendipitously found books from a trip to the library with my students. It’s a graphic novel and actually a sequel, but not the kind that requires knowledge of the first in the series. Ever since I read Maus in a college YA lit class, I do not automatically dismiss graphic novels as childish and “easy.” Here Sheinkin takes Jewish folktales and wisdom and re-imagines them in the Old West. Rabbi Harvey has a battle of wits with a young upstart that is humorous and thought-provoking.
The Story of Britain from the Norman Conquest to the European Union by Patrick Dillon
Yes, I’m an Anglophile and a history buff, but I also like to learn about British history because it is, in many ways, our history. If you pay attention you realize how events as long ago as the signing of the Magna Carta or the defeat of the Spanish Armada influenced who we are today as the American nation. Even after we gained our independence, we remained linked to Britain, working as allies in the world wars and even today in the fight against terror. Although the writing is not great (it is targeted toward older children/teenagers and is written with some bias as opposed to straight historical reporting), this book offers a good, quick overview of a long period of time, and would serve as a good jumping off point to find out what topics you’d like to investigate further.
Angry Conversations with God by Susan E. Isaacs
This is the one I couldn’t wait to tell you about. Isaacs is an actress (as in, she’s been in stuff you would’ve actually seen), comedian, and writer. At the risk of sounding like a fawner, I love this book and I want to adopt Isaacs as an aunt. This woman speaks my language. The subtitle of the book is “a snarky but authentic spiritual memoir.” And snarky and authentic are right. In the book, Susan takes God to couples’ counseling and we see the conversations that ensue. She is so open and honest about her struggles in a way that I have not read from Christians before. And funny. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“But anorexia has its perks. It sure made chastity easy: it’s hard to be horny when you’re not ovulating.”
“I didn’t fit in anywhere. Too wild for the church, too tame for the world.”
“And then he sashayed off to the producer’s office, all six feet three of him, leaving me with my resurrected hormones. The glory of God was man, fully alive. Rrrrrrawr.”
“Then there was that odious polemic You Can Kiss My Dating Ass Good-bye, or whatever it was called. Some GQ pretty boy declared that dating wasn’t biblical because people in the Bible didn’t date. No shizzle, Spinoza. They also didn’t floss or use flush toilets. If we totally returned to biblical dating practices, we’d have to bring back polygamy, concubines, and arranged marriages at age thirteen. I wouldn’t be surprised if the FLDS stockpiled GQ’s book.”
God speaking, “I know the church is messed up. Do you know why? Because they’re like you: you’re here to improve your own life. And then when you don’t get what you want, you complain.”
The marriage counselor speaking, “But the American church on the whole has become more concerned with the American dream than with Christ’s dream for us. We’ve been selling programs and products aimed at self-improvement and personal fulfillment.”
I could totally relate to many of Isaacs’ observations and some of her experiences. And the things that I couldn’t relate to in terms of experience, she wrote about in such a way that I understood where she was coming from. Mostly I appreciated that she didn’t censor herself. The language is real and so are the emotions. If she’s pissed, she says she’s pissed, and I think that’s how we ought to pray. I think there’s way too much denial of emotion when we pray in the modern church. We’re taught this children’s pose of kneeling with our hands clasped and asking blessings on so-and-so and thanking God for this and that. And while there’s a place for that, if we really believe God is relational, we should feel free talking to Him even when our emotional state is not serene. I have a friend who says he’s a kinesthetic learner so he’s interested in the postures of prayer (i.e. the movements Muslims go through when praying, or making the sign of the cross like Catholics). For me, the posture of prayer often looks like me curled up in the fetal position bawling or me screaming and gesticulating wildly while I’m driving a deserted stretch of road. I think God honors that. Why pretend that God doesn’t know? If you think God only wants to hear happy prayers, you should re-read the Psalms.
Sorry, I've gone from book reviewing to preaching. Check out Isaacs' website at www.susaneisaacs.com.