I want to get on the bandwagon of people who have loved Roxane Gay’s debut essay collection, Bad Feminist (Aug. 5 from Harper Perennial), so bad that I’ve been tossing and turning my lukewarm reaction to the book around in my head for a couple of weeks, trying to figure out what I might be missing. What I’ve finally concluded is this: Bad Feminist is a relevant and worthwhile collection of essays, a collection I’m glad that exists, but a collection I think is organizationally flawed.

It would help, I suppose, to start out with the idea of being a bad feminist. For Gay, being a bad feminist means embracing feminism while also admitting to being human, messy, and flawed. Ultimately, the book argues, being a bad feminist is better than not being a feminist at all. This is from one of the concluding chapters:

Maybe I’m a bad feminist, but I am deeply committed to the issues important to the feminist movement. I have strong opinions about misogyny, institutional sexism that consistently places women at a disadvantage, the inequity in pay, the cult of beauty and thinness, the repeated attacks on reproductive freedom, violence against women, and on and on. I am committed to fighting fiercely for equality as I am committed to disrupting the notion that there is an essential feminist. …

Being a feminist, however, even a bad one, has also taught me that the need for feminism and advocacy also applies to seemingly less serious issues like a Top 40 song or a comedian’s puerile humor. The existence of these lesser artifacts of our popular culture is made possible by the far graver issues we are facing. The ground has long been softened.

These ideas – feminism isn’t an all or nothing proposition, people who are feminists make mistakes, feminism is still needed given the conversations about women and society we are still having – rang deeply true to me. The first few essays were so spot on in their criticisms of pop culture and politics that I thought for certain this would be one of those collections that bent my brain in a good way. Gay is such an elegant, eloquent writer – she’s a pleasure to read on literally any topic.

But, unfortunately, the collection faltered for me as it approached the end. The essays are organized by theme – Me; Gender and Sexuality; Race and Entertainment; Politics, Gender and Race; and Back to Me – which seems like a good idea. The problem is that by the time I got to the fourth or fifth essay in a section, the arguments start to repeat themselves, just with different topics melded together.

The point where this organizational issue crystallized for me was “When Less is More,” a critique of the television show Orange is the New Black. Basically, Gay argues against that implication that people of color should like all pop culture that is about people of color and that the show, largely, is not as good as the critical gushing implies.

My first reaction to the piece was (I am embarrassed to admit) annoyance… Are you kidding? Is nothing good enough? … I hate that I had this reaction. Hate it. I know that I’m able to have this reaction because of my privileges as an upper-middle class, white, college educated woman. I’ve had the opportunity to see my life experience reflected accurately in pop culture, rather than portrayed in a way that reinforces stereotypes and still privileges another story over mine. These are moments when privilege matters.

Intellectually, I also know that this essay is a good, important piece of criticism. And in the context of the broader critical conversation about Orange is the New Black, it provides a solid discussion on how to think about the show’s portrayal of race more deeply than just, yay, acting roles for women of color! But in the context of this collection, following essays critical of Tyler Perry and Fifty Shades of Grey and The Help and “Blurred Lines,” it felt exhausting.

And that’s, I think, where I come up lukewarm on this book. The ideas in Bad Feminist are relevant and important and absolutely worth considering. But I wish that I had thought more about how to read this book before I started (or, that the publisher would have arranged it differently from the start). If I had, I would have approached it differently, spreading the essays out over a longer period of time, or jumping to read essays in different sections of the book.

Taken individually, the essays are great. Good feminists, bad feminists and questioning feminists will all find food for thought in this collection.

Other Reviews: Books Speak Volumes |

Time and Place // 9:50 a.m., for the last time at my desk in our current house. One week from today we’ll be in our new place!

Eating and Drinking // Blueberry Greek yogurt and blood orange cinnamon black tea

Reading // I spent most of this week reading How Star Wars Conquered the Universe by Chris Taylor (Sept. 30 from Basic Books). I’m, at most, a casual Star Wars fan, but I absolutely adored this book, which looked at the history of the movies as well as the ways the movies have impacted popular and fan culture. It was fascinating. This morning, a also flew through the third deluxe edition of Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn and others (a hardcover collectors edition that combines #24–36 of the series into one book). Today I’m going to start re-reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman, in anticipation of the third book in the trilogy, The Magician’s Land, coming out in August.

Watching // I’ve been doing a lot more reading than watching this week (huzzah!), but when I did have some down time I started with The Legend of Korra (the sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender). I like exploring this universe with an older protagonist.

Buying // Last weekend — when I was home for my cousin’s graduation party — I visited Half Price Books and picked up two titles, Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell and Making Comics by Scott McCloud.

Blogging // Work was really busy this week, so it ended up being a quiet week on the blog, just some short reviews of The Good Spy by Kai Bird and Hunting Season by Mirta Ojito. I hope to get a post or two up this week, but with moving prep I’m not sure how much time I’ll really have.

Contemplating // I blogger I really like, Kathleen Forbes (Kapachino) recently completed Whole30, a nutritional program that focuses on whole, healthy foods for 30 days as a sort of nutritional reset. Her before story sounds so much like what I am struggling with now — a little overweight, headaches, low energy, out of control eating — that I am going to  look into doing Whole30 myself.

Hating // Packing? Our packing has gone well, so far, but I’m tired already. I got almost all of the books packed — my goal today is to finish that up.

Loving // My favorite bookshelves are on sale at Target this week and (I think) we’ll have room for another one in the new house. More shelves!

Wanting // One of the things I love about our current house is the beautiful tiger lilys in one of the gardens. I have my fingers crossed that they’ll bloom before we move on Saturday.

Anticipating // I’m definitely going to focus on reading nonfiction in August, other than the three books in The Magician’s trilogy. Some of the books I’m most excited about are Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbot (Sept. 2 from Harper), On Immunity by Eula Biss (Sept. 30 from Graywolf Press), and What Stays in Vegas by Adam Tanner (Sept. 2 from PublicAffairs).

I have a shelf on my desk where I keep books that I’ve finished but haven’t reviewed. There are several books that have been sitting there for a month or more that I keep meaning to review… and then can’t find much to say about despite having generally good feelings about them. In the spirit of decluttering my desk, I’m going to dispatch with a couple of these unread remnants in one quick post. Here we go!

Hunting Season by Mirta Ojito

In November 2008, a group of teenagers in a small town in Long Island attacked and murdered Marcelo Lucero, a 37-year-old undocumented immigrant from Ecuador. In the wake of Lucero’s racially-motivated murder, the town became a central location in a nationwide debate about immigration. In Hunting Season: Immigration and Murder in an All-American Small Town, Mirta Ojito uses this story to explore how hate can manifest under the surface of a small town and illustrate larger questions about our nation’s policies towards immigrants.

I was interested in picking this one up because I live in a small town that has a (relatively) large Hispanic community thanks to a couple of larger agriculture businesses in the region. Given that experiences, Ojito’s reporting on how an influx of immigrants can impact small communities felt entirely accurate to me. Unfortunately, the book overall felt a little flat — it just didn’t have the emotional impact I was expecting out of a book on such a difficult topic. I’m not sure what the reason for that is, but it was something I remember thinking after I finished the book.

The Good Spy by Robert Ames

On April 18, 1983, a bomb exploded outside the American Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people.  The attack was a geopolitical turning point. It marked the beginning of Hezbollah as a political force, but even more important, it eliminated America’s most influential and effective intelligence officer in the Middle East – CIA operative Robert Ames.  What set Ames apart from his peers was his extraordinary ability to form deep, meaningful connections with key Arab intelligence figures. Some operatives relied on threats and subterfuge, but Ames worked by building friendships and emphasizing shared values – never more notably than with Yasir Arafat’s charismatic intelligence chief and heir apparent Ali Hassan Salameh (aka “The Red Prince”). Ames’ deepening relationship with Salameh held the potential for a lasting peace.  Within a few years, though, both men were killed by assassins, and America’s relations with the Arab world began heading down a path that culminated in 9/11, the War on Terror, and the current fog of mistrust.

As you can probably tell from the summary, The Good Spy is a book that has a lot of moving parts. As a result, it’s very information heavy, but for the most part it didn’t feel bogged down in relaying too many facts at the expense of story. The narrative moves along quickly, and Ames’ biography provides a useful timeline for anchoring a bigger story about the struggle for peace in the Middle East. This was one of the more comprehensive yet readable books on that topic I’ve picked up, although it may not be narrative enough for every reader.

Briefly // The boyfriend and I are moving! We signed a lease on a new rental house last weekend and are gearing up to move into the new place on August 2. It’s quick, trust me, I know. I’m not sure what that is going to mean for the blog over the next month or so, but I’m hoping it won’t be too disruptive.

Time and Place // 8:25 a.m. on my sister’s couch in the Twin Cities.

Eating and Drinking // Fage Greek yogurt and water

Reading // This week I finished three books, Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin, and Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis Wiebe and Roc Upchurch. I’m still thinking about Bad Feminist, but honestly, I’m not sure if I loved it or not. Rat Queens is part of my foray into comic books thanks to ComiXology and the inspiration of Book Rioters Rebecca Schinsky and Amanda Nelson.

Watching // My sister and I finished watching Merlin together last night. The boyfriend and I rented 21 Jump Street on Friday (funny and dumb) and a friend and I went to see X-Men: Days of Future Past on Tuesday. It was a busy week of watching!

Listening // I’m still making my way through Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand on audio. It’s amazing so far. Hillenbrand knows how to tell a story, and Louie Zamperini has an amazing story to tell.

Buying // Since we’re moving, I’m trying not to impulse buy any new books. But I did have a book on pre-order that arrived this week, Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley. This is a graphic novel about a young chef who discovers a way to have second chances on her life thanks to a magic mushroom. It sounds super fun. Also, the book for the Riot Read, a monthly book club from Book Riot, arrived — Landline by Rainbow Rowell. I want to start that one soon.

Blogging // This week I shared thoughts on two trilogies that I loved and some nonfiction recommendations on bananas and presidents.

Promoting // This tutorial on how to create bright and sharp phone photos from Elsie Larson at A Beautiful Mess was really helpful, since most of the photos I take casually are photos from my cellphone.

Hating // The prairie can get windy! Earlier this week I came home to see my container garden totally tipped over. The poor tomatoes.

Loving // We got a new Keurig for the office. I don’t drink coffee, but it’s fun to use to make tea and other specialty drinks. I had a lot of chai tea this week.

Wanting //I got it in my head that I really want to get a library book cart for my office at the new house. I think it’d be so fun to store review copies and whatnot on so I could keep track of them better.

Anticipating // I’m tentatively planning an unofficial “Nonfiction August” to start digging into the pile of books I brought home from Book Expo America that publish in September. I also haven’t read any seriously amazing, mind-bending nonfiction in what feels like months — a nonfiction binge should help change that, right?