Book Review: Destroying the Joint, Why Women Have To Change the World

This is new for me, reviewing a non-fiction book, and a book of essays by some of the most renowned female writers of the country at this time. It all began as a response to comments made by radio host, Alan Jones, who said in regards to women in power that "Women are destroying the joint". What followed these comments was a Twitter-fest of women tweeting about how they are #destroyingthejoint! This book really impacted my views on 'destroying the joint' and how it can be something simple like trying to explain to a child what destroying the joint is (as Monica Dux does in A Complex Problem), or simply challenging the power strures around us. Some highlights for me included: ~ A Fairer Country - Where Michelle Law discusses the differences of life for a female in Hong Kong versus Australia ~ Girl Talk - Lily Edelstein speaks of being a teenager and being unable to define herself. ~ Women Destroy the Joint - Tara moss speaks of the dangerous female in myths and the under-representation of women in areas where decisions on women's issues are being made ~ Politics of Exclusion - Stella Young speaks of being unable to attend feminist events because they are inaccessible to those who use mobile aids to travel, and the under-representation of disabled adults in pop culture ~ Beyond Jeering: An Unapologetic Love Letter to Teen Girls - Dannielle Miller shows that despite the negative portrayal of teen girls in the media that there are teenage women making positive movements in this country. This book will challenge you to think about your views of the world and if it is possible for you to #destroythejoint in some way. Rating 4/5

Book Review: The Einstein Pursuit by Chris Kuzneski

It starts with an explosion in a research facility in Stokholm, where 20 scientists, once the brightest minds of their generation are killed, sending Sahlberg, a Swedish scientist living in America to reach out to the son of a previous employer, Jonothan Payne, asking for protection from those he believes are responsible for the attack. 

Payne agrees to meet Sahlberg, having never met the man himself, on the possibility of getting to know more of his late father's mysterious past. Arriving at the meeting, Payne and Sahlberg are attacked, so Payne reaches out to David Jones, best friend and ex-military officer, telling him to come ready for battle.

After the initial battle is won, Payne and Jones reconnect with old sources and friends to get answers about why the scientists were targeted, while the man looking to abduct Sahlberg is getting closer to them.

This book is pure thrill ride, non-stop action with some comedy throw in the mix to keep the reader involved. Kuzneski is in his stride within the genre and the reader trusts that he will have them guessing till the end.

Rating: 4/5

Book Review: Dexter's Final Cut by Jeff Lindsay

It opens with Dexter dead.

Actually, he is imagining himself dead, acting on the set of a TV pilot shooting in Miami, a role which he finds himself quite adept at, given his need to hide his Dark Passenger from everyone in his life.

The TV show stars are following Dexter and his sister Deb, trying to get insight into how the real people perform their roles on the show.

Dexter is initially paired with Robert Chase, who will be portraying a forensics assistant on the show. From their first meeting, Robert triggers something in Dexter, but he cannot work out what it is that makes his Dark passenger want to sharpen those knives.

While on the job searching for a killer that is killing and mutilating women, Jackie Forest, famous TV star is being stalked and Dexter is assigned to be his bodyguard, which places a strain on his marriage to Rita and his need to protect her two eldest children from a previous relationship from embracing their own Dark Passengers.

As they close in on the killer, Dexter realises what Robert is hiding from them is much darker than he intially figured, leading him to lose control of the situation in a most un-Dexter like way.

This isn't the TV show from Showtime, the characters are the same, but there is a darkness in the book that the show hasn't captured.

Rating 3.5/5

Book Review: Revenge Wears Prada

I finally succumbed. After seeing it on the shelves I had to know, how did Miranda get her revenge on Andy for her actions at the end of The Devil Wears Prada?

Set ten years after Andy quits Runway, she is minutes from walking down the aisle to marry Max and running her own magazine with ex-Runway staffer, Emily (who has turned into her best friend, bonding over a mutual hatred of Miranda Priestly).

They have built their wedding magazine using connections from their Runway days, albeit blurring the truth to meet their needs. While both Andy and Emily fear repercussions for doing so, they do know that without using them, they will not succeed.

A chance meeting with Miranda at a society function, brings back all of Andy's nightmares and anxiety about being around this woman. This is very real to me, having read The Devil Wears Prada and knowing Andy's past with Miranda.

Soon after, Andy and Emily are called in to meet with Miranda where they are made an offer: sell their magazine to Elias Clark, the catch is, they will need to work for Miranda again, for a year.

Andy has her doubts of how this will work, knowing that it cannot be done, however Emily pushes for Andy to make the 'right' decision.

An unexpected pregnancy in a troubled marriage holds back Andy's decision as her friend and husband urge ever to take the deal, leading to a betrayal after the birth of her child that she cannot accept.

At first, the time skips back and forth to explain how Andy and Emily reconnected, and how Andy and Max met are a little confusing and they do take some getting used to, but overall it was an interesting conclusion to the Andy/Miranda story, albeit the revenge that the title implied was less than I was expecting, and Miranda seems almost somewhat less 'devil'-like than in the previous book.

Rating:  3/5

Book Review: Possessed by Niki Valentine

To say that this book 'possessed' me is putting it mildly. I usually read 2 books at a time, but my fascination for this story completely overtook my night... Because I had to finish it in one night. At the centre of the story is Emma, a musical prodigy who has just entered an elite boarding school for musicians called The Conservatoire. On her first day, she meets wealthy twins Sophie and Matilde. Sophie is outgoing and incredibly possessive of her sister, while Matilde is the calmer, quieter sort, to whom Emma is drawn to as a friend. After her relationship with another student ends abruptly due to the machinations of her twin, Matilde suffers a meltdown. It is so bad that Sophie takes her twin away to recover. When school returns, only one twin is back. Depressed, Matilde has taken her own life, a revelation that leaves Emma reeling and wondering how well she knew her friend. As Emma mourns the loss of her friend, she starts to black out, losing track of time. There are times when she believes that she sees her dead friend, only to realise that her mind is playing tricks on her. As she keeps questioning her sanity, Emma comes to realise that the surviving twin is becoming more unbalanced, caught in the delusion that her sister is possessing Emma. Emma plays along, caught between wanting to know more and thinking that she might be able to help her friend, until the final revelation that will make the reader question everything that they've read. I kept on coming up with theories about what was going on between the three girls, including drawing a likeness from the book to the short-lived TV series, Ringer. Definitely worth a look into. Rating 4.5/5