abgushte's reviews
122 reviews

I used this and the Kaplan vocab flashcards for 4 weeks. My verbal score increased by 20 points and my quantitative dropped by 60. I even thought some of the strategies were pretty handy, but I think it would have been better if I had just taken a lot of practice tests and studied vocab.

I think most women who read this will identify with the Perfect Girl description, or at least will see their friends in it. Martin kind of generalizes that all the Perfect Girls she knows go to prestigious academic institutions (even though she uses anecdotes from various backgrounds she seems to focus on academic achievement) but in my experience that is not necessarily the case. Some readers seem to think she is trying to talk about eating disorders in general when in fact Martin is focusing on Perfect Girls and their relationships with food as a means to perfection, and how this has come about from a feminist narrative. The points on feminism were particularly interesting, and indeed everyone should be outraged that it is widely accepted that women should all loathe themselves (it's kind of conspiracy-theory-ish, actually, that in an era were women should ostensibly have all of this power they focus all of it on hating their bodies).

She admits that no solution can result in instant social upheaval, but nevertheless tries to end on a positive note. She tries to give readers the tools to navigate their own borderline neuroses and the culture that encourages it without sounding TOO self-help-guru-y.

I like how the editors chose some essays that directly address how enthusiastic consent is not effective at counteracting rape for many sections of the population, and also acknowledged that "yes means yes" is just a beginning. It was also a good mix of diverse perspectives on what sexual power looks like for different kinds of people, and also many essays on what healing after surviving sexual violence can look and feel like.

I also absolutely love Thomas Macaulay Millar's "Toward a Performance Model of Sex..."--this totally changed how I think about sexuality and sex and consent and music and everything.

As a music performance major who is burned out and bitter going into her last year of her undergraduate career, this book was invaluable for its ability to have the notion of practicing zazen also be equal to practicing her instrument.

I have taken a bit of a break from meditation and music for 3-4 months now, and these informal talks are exactly the kind of thing I need to get myself to head in the right direction. It's a book that I recommend re-visiting often, for it provides a perfect impetus to look at yourself honestly.