BlogHer book club

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened ( a mostly true memoir) .Jenny Lawson. New York, New York: The Penguin Group,

When Jenny Lawson was young, she really wanted to fit in. Growing up in a very small Texas town with an unbalanced taxidermy father and equally eccentric family, she did everything but fit in. Then the anxiety attacks begin. She is terrified to leave her house and when she does, she causes a scene. Let’s Pretend This Never happened is really a story about how those terrible moments in our lives – the ones we want to pretend never happened- are the moments that truly make us the people that we are.

Before reading this book, I had never heard of Jenny Lawson or The Blogess, but I have to admit that I liked her blunt humorous style of writing.  There were a few parts that I had to skip due to the graphic and bloody nature of the taxidermy descriptions, but other than that, I would highly recommend this book. I totally laughed out loud with her and felt sorry for her at the same time. Overall it was an easy and entertaining read, perfect beach read  as long as you don’t mind people staring at you while you laugh hysterically!
Join us in the BlogHer Book club, this discussion is sure to be a good one!

Diary of a Submissive. Sophie Morgan.New York,New York : Penguin Group

Written under the pseudonym Sophie Morgan, Diary of a Submissive: A modern True Tale of Sexual Awakening is about a woman in her early thirties and how she has ended up in Dominant/submissive relationship. She discusses her fairly typical childhood, fumbling sexual encounters in High School and eventually her first taste of the submissive lifestyle after college. Through the years, Sophie explores just what lengths of pain and humiliation she is willing to endure, surprising herself and readers along the way.

Let me first say that I have NEVER read a book like this before. It was difficult for me to get through the book, not because of the subject matter as much as the fact this is a true story. If this were a work of fiction, it would have been much easier for me to read. My biggest problem with “Sophie” is that she tries so hard to convince the reader that she is a smart, independent, caring and strong woman. A strong woman who just so happens to like painful torture at the hands of someone who supposedly cares about her. I don’t buy it. To me, it felt like she was really trying to convince herself that she was strong and independent by writing the book. Honestly, I feel like many parts of the book would be considered by many as abusive. Especially when Sophie is continually pushed past the point where she is comfortable with what is happening. So, if you are completely comfortable and familiar with the D/s lifestyle, you will probably enjoy this book. If not, expect to be surprised at the amount of cruelty involved.

Join us on the BlogHer book club page  to share your thoughts on this and other great reads, I’d love to hear your opinion.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

The Artist’s Way Toolkit it based on the bestselling book series by Julia Cameron. Julia recommends two main exercises that will help to remove blocks and self-sabotaging tendencies: morning pages and artist’s dates. Morning pages are three pages of writing, performed daily, about anything at all. This exercise overcomes the writer’s internal censor and makes writing habitual, she claims. The artist’s date is a weekly block of two hours spent observing, experiencing, and sensing. The balance of the recording describes how the artist can overcome human tendencies such as jealousy, fear, and addiction. The toolkit provides you with a Contract, Thea Artists Date, Artist’s Way Exercises, Creativity Pages and Creativity Notes as tools to use on your creative journey.
I was really excited about this review and the toolkit only to feel quite lost as I logged onto the site. I was not familiar with Julia Cameron or the Artist Way series and I feel like that was my downfall. If you have read the books and enjoyed them, the toolkit could be a great addition to you writing activities. Providing an online journal and one place to keep all of your writing, notes and photos is a great idea if you spend a lot of time online. On the other hand, if you prefer to explore your artistic side outdoors, taking a laptop or tablet to your outdoor place may be a huge distraction. Julia Cameron and the Artists Way series have certainly inspired many people over the past few years and if you are one of those people, the Toolkit may be perfect for you.

I hope you check out the BlogHer book club for more on the Artist’s Way and other great books, it always has interesting discussions which are very easy to join!

I was compensated for this BlogHer Book Club review but all opinions expressed are certainly my own.