Are You Coming? by Laura Hiddinga

Nonfiction

If you have the anatomy of a female, this book is a must read. Most Americans have some form of sex education in school, and I’d like to think my elementary, middle, and high school lessons on the subject were very good, especially when compared to the curriculum of the nation at large. But I learned things from this book that I did not learn in school. To be fair, I will say that a great deal of the information includes discoveries that were probably made well after I graduated high school. Even so, it’s amazing to me that there are so many more different forms of female pleasure than I was previously aware of. On top of that, science is still waiting to discover even more about the female body. 

If you don’t want to read an entire book on the subject, even just reading one of the chapters could be very enlightening. In these pages you might find the answers to some problems you might be having, or you might learn that something that you personally experience has a name and is experienced by others as well, making you feel less alone or even amongst friends in a way. The book is broken down into the basics, the different types, techniques, how to talk about it, difficulties with it, positions, and devices you can add. For the length of this book, your money is worth what you pay for it. I also love the cover art. The female body being portrayed as a maze that you need the patience and time to navigate is what I believe the author was going for here, in terms of an artistic metaphor. I explore the female body even further with the book I will be discussing next week. I was actually reading the two in tandem and just finished this one first, but they compliment each other very well. I hope you’ll return to see what I have to say about it.

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

Fiction

This was an interesting one. A short piece of fiction, it features a girl who is on a trip with her parents, a professor, and some students, on a two week summer experience living as ancient Britons. Silvie’s dad is obsessed with the lives of people who lived thousands of years ago, but she is nowhere near as enthusiastic. She and her mother are forced to go along with him on annual trips where they camp, eat, sleep, and dress like their ancestors would. The deeper you get into the story, the more you realize that there is something wrong with the obsessions of this tyrant of a man who loves to control every aspect of his wife and daughters lives almost as he loves living and learning about the lives of ancient man. 

There are a few triggers in this book, those being verbal and physical abuse, bodily harm, sexuality, and poverty. They are by no means very extreme in my opinion, but those who are sensitive to those topics might get upset or uncomfortable reading some of the passages. 

Besides wanting to mention the triggers, I wanted to talk about the unique writing style. I’m trying to think of another book I have read that is written in this way, I think Tropic of Cancer might be one. There are no quotation marks used or new paragraphs created when a different character speaks. The words and conversation just flows continuously, and I was kind of surprised that I found myself actually liking it. It did mean slowing down my reading a little bit so that I could make sure I was reading from the correct characters perspective in my head. I know I am not the only one who creates voices for different characters in their head that they switch to when reading from that person’s point of view. Or am I? 

Additionally, I wanted to mention the artwork. The cover is beautiful, I love the plants and the picture they make and the use of only the single bright green color. There is also some chapter art within the book that is very nice to look at. It’s a very small book, but it is so lovely. 

So, to conclude, I liked this story a great deal. This is a great weekend book, you can probably even finish it in one sitting. If you need an easy book to get back into reading, or if you need a break from long books, I’d say try this one out.

How To Justify Torture by Alex Adams

Nonfiction

An entire book completely dedicated to the ethics of the ticking time bomb scenario, which I am certain most people have heard a version of at some point in their adult lives. Basically, does saving the many justify the torture of one individual? The author gives several different versions of the hypothetical situation, and with each example, each slight change of the scenario, he constantly asks us whether torture is right or wrong. He is quick to point out that in reality a situation like this could never actually happen, there are too many variables in the hypothetical question that just don’t make sense. The question itself is one to get people thinking, a topic that has been hotly debated since the terrorist attacks of the early 2000s. 

I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys thought invoking questions and listening to both sides of an argument. It’s also great for anyone who loves movies, literature, and television shows that depict torture, as the author uses several examples from the above mentioned media platforms as he discusses the ethics. I found myself not only intrigued with points I had never thought of before, but also interested in a few books that the author used as examples, and I was reminded of an old show that I was fond of many years ago. Although the author is against torture, he does discuss the reasonings and justifications given by those who agree with it. I am always welcoming of a storyteller that discusses both sides of an argument. And while the book did not make me change my mind on what I think about torture, I did see the reasoning behind the side that I am in opposition of.

Update

Update

I have a very brief update to end the month, for anyone who wants to know what will be coming up in the blog. I came to the decision to be very productive with my reading for the month of April, and for that to happen I chose to skip having a theme. The main reason behind this is so that I can read books that have been in my always growing, never shrinking, pile. I have a plan laid out, and if I stick to it you will be exposed to philosophy, politics, fiction, self-help, and psychology, if you decide to read my blogs over the next few weeks. I might even have enough time to start reading a fantasy series I have been interested in. So if murder mystery and thrillers aren’t your thing you will hopefully enjoy at least one of the books I will write about in April.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind

Fiction

I watched the film adaptation of this novel many years ago, well before I knew that it was taken from a book. I actually only very recently found out that Perfume was a novel when I saw it during one of my book store wanderings. Even though I’ve only seen the movie once I remember it well because the story was so interesting, and the fact that Alan Rickman was in it was also a contributing factor. I was hoping that my experience reading the book would leave me just as stricken as I felt after watching the movie. Hope can only go so far, as I wouldn’t say that the book had as much of an impact on me as the film did. But I will say that the actors, writers, and director, did a great job at sticking pretty closely to the story. And as for reading the story, it made me want to watch the movie again.

The tale is about a man who is born with an incredible sense of smell. He can smell things that no other human, and perhaps even animals with the most sensitive olfactories, can detect. He truly lives to smell, nothing else in life brings him joy but the pursuit of new scents. For many years during his youth, he walks blindly through the streets of Paris, using his sense of smell to guide the way, as he tries to discover every smell that exists. As he enters adulthood, he leaves Paris, entering a very strange period of his life during which he makes an incredible revelation. I was honestly surprised that it took him as long as it did to have this realization. Having made this startling discovery, his life’s purpose goes from sniffing out scents to learning how to make them. 

I would recommend both the book and the movie to anyone who loves bizarre stories. I can see why the author is a bestseller, especially if his other books are just as good.