Rating: Summary: Fun and thought-provoking, if not always deep Review: I love BUST, both the magazine and the book. Real women talk about their problems and experiences. Most of this time this book is a lot of fun and gives a lot of food for thought. That said, it's not written purely by academics. These are real women so there's not always an in-depth study of something or ground-shattering revelations. This book, however, is worth the read.
Rating: Summary: A must read for females and hip guys. Review: I loved this book and my only regret is I didn't get it sooner. I subscribe to Bust magazine... so I was fairly convinced I'd enjoy the book before I got it. I must say I had underrated my reaction. This book is terrific... I couldn't put it down. If you're a girl get it and if you know a girl get it for her.
Rating: Summary: NEW GIRL ORDER-NOW IN SESION! Review: I STARTED READING THIS BOOK A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO. IT WAS GIVEN TO ME BY MY SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER PROFESSOR, I LOVE IT. I STARTED READING IT ON THE TRAIN AND I ALMOST MISSED MY STOP. I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN INTO A BOOK THE WAY I HAVE THIS ONE. I HAVE NEVER UNDERSTOOD HOW I SHOULD FEEL IN A WORLD FILLED WITH STEREOTYPES ABOUT WOMEN THAT I JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND. I HAVE ALWAYS CONSIDERED MYSELF A FEMINIST BUT NOW I AM MORE THAN THAT. I AM THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE NEW GIRL ORDER COMMITTEE, IF THERE ISN'T ONE I JUST STARTED IT. THIS BOOK GIVES WOMEN, NO MATTER HOW THEY LOOK, HOW THEY THINK THEY FEEL ABOUT THEMSELVES, A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD AND HOW THEIR BODIES EMPOWER THEM TO CONTROL IT. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK - DO IT, DO IT NOW, IT WILL GIVE YOU SOME SERIOUS GIRL POWER MOTIVATION.
Rating: Summary: Some guys like Bust too... Review: I'm a married man of 33 and I heard about this book on NPR and thought for a moment that Debbie was my wife! They sounded just like each other! I scrambled to write down her name and the title. My Wife and I bought it together and spent the whole weekend reading it aloud. I think this book is a must for all women and especially their husbands. We (men) need to spend a lot more time understanding our women and a lot less time listening to each other. Thanks Bust!
Rating: Summary: Aha! Review: I've had alot of aha! moments in the bookstore, but when I picked up this book, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The introduction spoke to me, and I felt like I had come home when reading some of the pieces. Definitely a must-read for a budding feminist not sure how to define the things tumbling through her mind.
Rating: Summary: Aha! Review: I've had alot of aha! moments in the bookstore, but when I picked up this book, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The introduction spoke to me, and I felt like I had come home when reading some of the pieces. Definitely a must-read for a budding feminist not sure how to define the things tumbling through her mind.
Rating: Summary: I LOVED this book! Review: My husband bought this me for Christmas and I read it all in 2 days (and that was forcing myself to make it take longer). It does remind me of a grown-up version of Sassy magazine, which I loved. It makes me feel great about being a woman, which is not the same reaction I get from most of the other media out there. One thing though: what's up with the dog-sex story? Eeeewww. My impression was that this book was the best of BUST, and that certainly didn't belong. I would give this book to my niece when she gets older, if it weren't for that particular essay. Still, overall a very fun and empowering book.
Rating: Summary: for the shallow, straight, white, urban elitist in all of us Review: Reading this book is a waste of energy. I was going to give it to my sister for her birthday, but after reading it I've changed my mind. There is almost no intelligent content. Oh! how naughty, they swear and they're in your face, but the content is the same tired catty, image-focused drivel. If you want to read yet another "I'm such a feminist because I wear dresses with Doc Martens and I know how to masterbate and drink til I puke and I live in New York or San Francisco and have no hobbies except shopping and painting my nails and gossiping about pop culture" book, then pick this one up. The pages are full of references to the most obvious icons of popular music, tv, and publishing, with nary a mention of female athletes, scientists, tradeswomen, etc (please! I might break a nail and I have a hot date with a totally f***able boy tonight). The book even insinuates that athletic women are anti-feminists who are thin "under the guise of good health"; only Roseanne is a "Real Live Girl." The BUST Guide is as vapid as Vogue, as clueless as Cosmo and more insidious than either because it thinks it's not. The only reason it got a star at all is for a few decent essays and short stories buried in the mess. Had I read those in a different context I would have enjoyed them more.
Rating: Summary: one-dimensional and self-obsessed. Review: The appeal of "The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order" is jarringly similar that of the vapid glossy fashion magazines Bust's writers love to hate (and occasionally work for): It is easy reading, taut with unresolved ethical and philosophical paradoxes, and intercut with rather feeble attempts at insight and actual journalism. This is not to say it isn't entertaining. It is, most of the time. The prose is not bogged down with complicated ideas or long words. It is light and easy reading, the kind one does before bed, allowing simplicity to tickle the brain into slumber. Bust's core philosophy is very simple: Anything I like and find pleasurable is feminist and right and empowering. Because of this philosophy, it is unnecessary for any of the essays to examine why something may be wrong or negative or unfeminist or contradictory. It is an intoxicating atmosphere of stubborn self-righteousness and self-worship, but ultimately, it is completely devoid of any real feminist discussion or philosophy. The essays drop names like Susan Faludi and Naomi Wolf and Camille Paglia, but fall far short of posessing any of the virulence, thoughtfulness, intellect and linguistic prowess of the work of those authors. Ultimately, "The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order" is probably a good introduction to feminism for the novice--especially young teenage girls, as the juvenille writing tends to read as if it could have been ripped out the diary any given 14 year old girl. But for anyone who is well-aquainted with the subject matter, it is going to feel self-indulgent, shallow, and amateur, kind of a "Chicken Soup for the Feminist Soul."
Rating: Summary: one-dimensional and self-obsessed. Review: The appeal of "The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order" is jarringly similar that of the vapid glossy fashion magazines Bust's writers love to hate (and occasionally work for): It is easy reading, taut with unresolved ethical and philosophical paradoxes, and intercut with rather feeble attempts at insight and actual journalism. This is not to say it isn't entertaining. It is, most of the time. The prose is not bogged down with complicated ideas or long words. It is light and easy reading, the kind one does before bed, allowing simplicity to tickle the brain into slumber. Bust's core philosophy is very simple: Anything I like and find pleasurable is feminist and right and empowering. Because of this philosophy, it is unnecessary for any of the essays to examine why something may be wrong or negative or unfeminist or contradictory. It is an intoxicating atmosphere of stubborn self-righteousness and self-worship, but ultimately, it is completely devoid of any real feminist discussion or philosophy. The essays drop names like Susan Faludi and Naomi Wolf and Camille Paglia, but fall far short of posessing any of the virulence, thoughtfulness, intellect and linguistic prowess of the work of those authors. Ultimately, "The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order" is probably a good introduction to feminism for the novice--especially young teenage girls, as the juvenille writing tends to read as if it could have been ripped out the diary any given 14 year old girl. But for anyone who is well-aquainted with the subject matter, it is going to feel self-indulgent, shallow, and amateur, kind of a "Chicken Soup for the Feminist Soul."
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