Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

   Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

by Ronan Farrow

Pages: 448

5 stars out of 5

This book made me angry. But, I think it is supposed to make you angry. Reporter Ronan Farrow stumbled upon a conspiracy that had long protected men in power in the media, the government, the world of finance and Hollywood.  As he dug deeper to find out how many women had been sexually harassed and some assaulted, he discovered a network that covered up what was going on for decades. Women were afraid to come forward both because of a threat to their careers but for some their life and the lives of the family members had also been threatened. Some people disappeared. Ronan thought about backing off the story when he realized he was being followed and photographed but his partner and his sister kept encouraging him not to be another  man who had let these women down. He lost his job and had to sell the story freelance but eventually the truth won out. Several people in this book have recently been convicted of their crimes while others are still awaiting trial. Sadly, some are still protected. 

Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro

A series of short stories depicting Del, a young girl growing up in a small rural Canadian town in the 1940's. Definitely an important early example of a feminist novel, hitting themes of sexuality, sexism, and the economic prospects for women in that era. I also enjoyed reading a book set in the 40's that wasn't about World War II, but rather focused on everyday life. It's a good read, if a bit slow, and a bit outdated at this point-it was published in 1971.

Beautiful writing, worth a read for those who enjoy slice-of-life stories.

277 pages

Women Talking

 Women Talking
by Miriam Toews
Pages: 216
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This historical fiction in inspired by true events of a real Mennonite community and the author imagines how different women and men in the community may have responded to these events.

One evening, eight Mennonite women climb into a hay loft to conduct a secret meeting. For the past two years, each of these women, and more than a hundred other girls in their colony, has been repeatedly raped during the night. At first the male leadership told them, this was their punishment for their sins but when the women learn that they were actually drugged and violated by a group of men from their own community, they must decide how to respond and how to protect themselves and their daughters from future harm. 

The police from outside the colony have come in and arrested the men and now the men of the colony have decided that they all (including the women and girls who are too young to understand what happened to them) must forgive the rapists and welcome them back into their community. The men set off to the city to raise money for bail and this small group of women meet to decide - should they stay in the only world they have ever known with those who have harmed them, or should they venture out into the unknown and hope for safety there. They ask the only man to remain behind, the school teacher who was a formerly shunned member of their community to record their discussion. 

None of the women can read, write or even speak the language outside of their colony. Can they risk their lives and those of their children to escape their rapists. If not, can they truly forgive not only the rapists but those who are bringing them back into the colony and knowingly putting them in danger again. If they leave what age of male children do they take with them? Is it too late to save their young sons? Have they already been corrupted by the leadership that allowed this to happen in the first place? 

Breakthrough: The Making of America's First Woman President by Nancy L. Cohen

Nancy Cohen interviewed dozens of women politicians from both parties, political consultants, and voters. She takes us through the history of women's involvement in the public square, starting with the fight to win voting rights. The book was written during Hillary Clinton's campaign for president,  but deals with the path she followed to get there, not whether or not she would win (which of course, she did not.

Focusing on the struggle to get women elected, she examines attitudes about women in this country, and the way young women are breaking through the barriers erected to hold them back, especially in politics, but also in many other areas.

I think this is an important book for everyone to read, but especially women. We need to understand our own biases toward ambitious women, and why it is important to have their leavening influence on society.


338 pages

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The artwork was gorgeous and emotional. It won me over fast. 5 stars for the art.

The themes were excellent. This story is all about being on that cusp of a girl to becoming a woman, and figuring out what that means and how females are perceived by others, including what ideas and opinions they absorb from others, versus what opinions they form on their own. It's that cross divide that comes between giggling and playing kids games in one moment, and doing and talking about really grown up things in the next moment. This element of the story is brilliant, and it comes with a bit of nostalgia for those of us who are grown up and remember those confusing times of sorting out not only what kind of human we wanted to be, but also what kind of woman we wanted to be, including whether we are who we are, or we are how people see us. For theme, the story also gets 5 stars.

The reason I gave it three stars, is because the actual storyline is so rough and sometimes very tedious. There's no real plot. It's more character driven, so you are just along for the ride. There are bright moments, but they are few and far between, and then there are pages where you just want to keep turning and not linger. I remember thinking several times that I was just ready to be done, and it's not like it's a lengthy read.

It's not a particularly memorable story either, though I appreciate the grace in some of its subtlety. Also, there's a limited number of people that I'd actually recommend this to, and I definitely wouldn't read it again.

I think there's some underlying brilliance here, but it ended up being more of a disconnect for me. I think there are some sections that could have easily been edited out to help the story, and had they added a few scenes that gave the story a bit more heft or urgency, that would have helped compel the reader to turn the page out of interest, instead of just out of obligation to power through.

Book 59 read in 2018

Pages: 320

The Widow's War by Sally Gunning

Lyddie Berry lives on Cape Cod just before the Revolutionary War. Her husband Edward is a whaler, gone on fishing expeditions for months at a time. Lyddie is used to being in charge of her own life, keeping her home and household running smoothly and efficiently and used to being alone. She and her husband have a loving, mutual relationship.

But when he is killed at sea, she finds that he has left her son-in-law in charge of her and all that she thought she owned. However, at that time women could not own property, so she inherits a widow's third of the homestead, and use of the cow. She has only one daughter, so her son-in-law, as the only male relative inherits the rest. She moves into her daughter's home, but chafes under the restrictions placed on her by her son-in-law.

When he finds a buyer for her home and insists she sign the deed, she rebels, and moves back into her third of the house. Her son-in-law makes her life a living hell, but she perseveres, and manages to keep her independence.

336 pages