So apparently I can now blame Neanderthals for my allergies! And here I have been blaming my mom all these years for not breastfeeding me when I was a baby. I am sure my mom will be relieved to know she is now off the hook. I’m going to have to think of something else to blame her for now. (I love you Mom!)
That glowy post-vacation feeling evaporated when my alarm went off yesterday morning and when I got home last night I just couldn’t face a computer screen any longer (I’d been looking at one all day). Today isn’t that much better but at least I have some interesting places on the internet that I can direct your attention because I know you all need more links to click on and things to read!
So Emma Watson, who you may know as Hermione Granger, is going to start a feminist books group on Twitter. It is going to be called Our Shared Shelf and the first book up for discussion is Gloria Steinem’s latest, My Life on the Road. I am really impressed with how well Watson has grown up. She’s a goodwill ambassador for the UN and in 2014 launched the UN’s HeForShe Campaign that asks men to step up and help women fight sexism. I think Hermione would be proud of how little Emma turned out.
It is kind of interesting and a little strange how many celebrities these days have book groups. Gwyneth Paltrow runs a cookbook group, Reese Witherspoon has a book club on Instagram, and Mark Zuckerberg has a book group too. Are they filling in where Oprah left off? Have the floodgates been opened? If it gets people reading who might not read otherwise, I am all for it.
If this essay at the Los Angeles Review of Books doesn’t give you chills then you are a far too trusting and innocent person in this world. The essay examines Orwell’s 1984 and how Orwell lays out the politics behind how the state gained so much control. Sure, people have been chattering for years about Big Brother watching, but this is a serious article that turned my stomach into knots. It says stuff like this:
Orwell is clear: regardless of shifting enemies, the Party perpetuates a permanent state of war in order to maintain complete control over society.
And this:
The first essential ingredient in permanent war is that ‘it is impossible for it to be decisive.’ And that is intentional, using up the products of ‘the machine’ without ‘raising the general standard of living.’ If the machine was used not for war, but to eliminate human inequality, then ‘hunger, overwork, dirt, illiteracy, and disease could be eliminated within a few generations.’ But an all-around increase in wealth would threaten ‘the hierarchical society.’ ‘If it once became general, wealth would confer no distinction.’
And it just keeps piling on the bad.
So as to not end on a big downer, wondering what is behind the door for us in room 101, allow me to present a delightful distraction.
You know scientists announced four new elements earlier this week? They have not named them yet and there is a petition afoot to name one of them “Octarine” in honor of author Terry Pratchett who died in 2105. Octarine, in case you don’t know, is the color of magic and is only visible to wizards and cats. Its abbreviation would be Oc and pronounced “ook” in honor of the librarian at Unseen University who was turned into an Orangutan and can only say “ook.” You can sign the petition at Change.org.
Whether or not you know Pratchett’s Discworld books, wouldn’t it be really awesome to have an element inspired by books? Go on, go add your name. Octarine, element 117 on the periodic chart will be one I won’t ever forget!
Signed….the great Pratchett rules! I agree with on Emma Watson, in the days of all kinds crazy stunts or hyper media publicity, I really like the way this young lady is trying to make a difference!
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cirtnecce, woo! I have no idea if the petition will make a difference but you never know! It’s really great to see a young woman use her celebrity for good. I really admire her for that.
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Octarine should be Element 118 or something. it should have an 8 somewhere.
I remember back in the days when I was a bookseller, i did make fun of Oprah’s book club. Then I saw how it was selling books – interesting books. Not sure if everyone who bought the books read them – but it made me change my mind about celebrity book clubs – because if someone has good intentions, and they are really getting people out there reading books, even if it’s just one more books – why not? Who am I to make fun of someone trying to make a difference.
I like Emma Watson. (Which doesn’t say much because I also like Miley Cyrus) (Or maybe I actually just like Hermoine Granger) So, yeah, I signed up for the bookclub on Goodreads. It’s totally a celebrity factor thing, yes. But when I was trying to find Gloria Steinem’s book for the bookclub earlier today – I wanted to save some money with a library copy – and I saw there’s already a reservation queue for the title. There’s some other people out there who wants to read Gloria Steinem because of Emma Watson.
What a wonderful thing.
We really should have more celebrity book clubs. Unless it’s a Kardashian bookclub. Then, no.
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Excellent from Emma Watson = there must be huge pressure on someone like her not to be a feminist (not least from online trolls).
I always rather liked the Neanderthals – they were certainly much nicer than the above mentioned internet trolls!
Chilling article about Orwell and modern politics. I actually read 1984 again at the new year ( a fit of masochism) and was impressed by its power and even the melodramatic tone of room 101 convinced me more than it did. Will go and read the article.
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Celebrity Big Brother has just started up over here though the level of celebrity involved is a bloke who is a friend of a Kardashian! I don’t think there will be any thoughtful bookclubs from these!
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Ian, I imagine you are right about there being a lot of pressure on her to not be a feminist. I have heard she has had some moments of big social media backlash for some of her statements.
Heh, yeah by all reports that I have heard the Neanderthals were pretty nice which is probably why they got wiped out unfortunately. But at least we still have their genetic donation!
It’s been a few years since I last read 1984 but every time I read it it gets scarier and scarier! Sounds like Celebrity Big Brother has a very broad definition of celebrity! 😀
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darkorpheus, unfortunately the way the periodic table is organized it falls to 117 which is close to 118 🙂 My husband was a bookseller back in the heyday of Oprah’s book club too and it certainly did move books off the shelves. And perhaps it got people to read or to try something they would not have otherwise and that can only be a good thing, I agree! I like Emma Watson and it’s good to know there are so many people interested in her book group! I hope you are able to get a copy of Steinem’s book! I wonder what kind of books they would read in a Kardashian book club? 🙂
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For the Kardashian Book Club:
It’s actually a thing –
http://www.amazon.com/Kim-Kardashian-Selfish-West/dp/0789329204
O.M.G.
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I have no words for that
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This is a very insightful post Stephanie.
I really admire Emma Watson for her work and communication in regards to women’s issue. It is great that she is starting a book club in order to further explore these topics.
It is so fascinating how all these years later, Orwell is still so relevant to out times.
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Brian, thanks! Emma Watson is one smart young woman and I hope her books club goes a long way to inspiring many others. And Orwell, fascinating most definitely. And frightening too!
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I’m not sure I would label myself as “feminist” but I am someone who believes in civil and intellectual equality for everyone. Regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or religion. I haven’t experienced a “war on women” personally and suspect it is used as a political red herring a great deal of the time. So I guess I’m a troll. I’d like to think I’m a pretty cute troll though, right? Nevertheless, whatever encourages just one more person to read is fine with me and I do admire Emma Watson. (I never seemed to like many of the Oprah books so I didn’t follow after awhile). Bravo to anyone who starts a book club. (And maybe the internet and thereby the world would be a kinder place if we stopped calling people names who don’t share our points of view? Or who watch Fox News? :> It’s a start). Achoo, by the way. I’ve got ’em too.
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Grad, you sound suspiciously feminist to me! 😉 I was never an Oprah follower either though I was always interested to hear what her picks were! Well fellow allergy sufferer, I suppose that means we both had Neanderthal ancestors!
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I was just reading about Emma Watson’s proposed book club elsewhere and while I admire her initiative I do wonder just to what extent you are going to be able to have an in-depth discussion about the type of book she is proposing within the limits of twitter. Maybe other people are better at condensing their thoughts than I am.
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Alex, yes, I wonder what kind of conversation can be had on Twitter too, but where there is a will there is a way I suppose. And even if the conversations don’t end up being long or in depth, it’s cool to just have people reading.
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I don’t even like Terry Pratchett, and I think “octarine” would be a cool thing to name an element. Do the people who discover the element get to decide what it’s called? Or is it more like a scientific consensus thing? If it is the former, I do not hold out very much hope…
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Jenny, the scientists who discovered the elements get to recommend names but they have to be approved by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the names have to follow strict naming conventions. The internet says there has been much controversy over this. Imagine that! 😉
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Oh it was hard to get back to work wasn’t it? Really cool stuff about the book groups by celebrities – I had no idea. And, although I have not read any Pratchett I have to sign the petition. Octarine sounds very cool.
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Iliana, so hard! I had no idea celebrity book groups were such a thing either. Octarine sounds like a tasty fruit doesn’t it?
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I have often thought that about 1984 – and how our mobile phones, laptops, etc, provide the perfect way for us to be screened and traced. Mr Litlove noticed recently that his phone reconstructs his days for him and tells him where he has been and when! Scary stuff. As for allergies you have all my sympathy. I keep getting a bloodshot eye, which feels like I’m allergic to something but what? What? How can it possibly be? The real problem with going back to work after Christmas is that it happens in January. Now if it happened in March, we’d all be a lot happier!
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Litlove, the more use technology the more of our privacy we give up. Add in CCTV everywhere and I just don’t know how anyone can have a degree of privacy without living off-grid in the middle of the woods. It’s frightening. Oh, your poor eye! I hope whatever is bothering it goes away soon! I think if I didn’t have to go back to work until March I might actually be grumpier because by then I really would have gotten used to not going to work every day!
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All those book clubs–they just get me into trouble. Must look away as if they are reading something that sounds really interesting I want to join in and then I get distracted from my own reading. But how cool that Emma Watson has started one! And I really should reread 1984–I read it a very long time ago. How scary to think how spot on he was!
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Danielle, heh, I hear you! Better to just ignore them and pretend they don’t exist. The really terrifying thing about 1984 is that we think something like that could never happen here in the US but the article points out all of the ways that various elements or a totalitarianism are creeping in and how we are pretty much letting it happen. That’s scary!
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Well, I’m a feminist, and I love seeing young women – particularly young celebrity women – take up the mantle. Good on Emma Watson.
As for octarine, sounds cool to me though am I allowed to say I haven’t read one Pratchett. I know he’s fun and I bet I’d like him, but I’ve never felt driven to read him over other things. BUT re science decisions, have you heard that this might be the year scientists agree we are in a new epoch, the Anthropocene. Pretty cool though perhaps not when we think about the changes that make them think we are in a new epoch.
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whisperinggums, it is really heartening that so many young (celebrity) women are taking up the mantle of feminism. It is sad that there remains so much work to do so it’s good to have all that young energy and enthusiasm.
I forgive you for never having read Pratchett and I completely understand not feeling driven to read him. We can’t read everything no matter how hard we try! I have heard about the Anthropocene news. It has been making an appearance in popular science books for the last few years so it is exciting the official science community is catching up and coming to consensus on it. It is cool but yeah, it loses a bit when you start thinking about all the things that are behind it.
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Yes, it really is. My daughter has teemed up with one – well, she’s a minor celebrity but she has had roles in several TV series here and northern America – to work on feminist body issues. I love seeing it.
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That is so cool!
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I think so.
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