Welcome to Litsy!

I went for a walk on Xmas morn, probably for the first time ever. I was so organised. I ate beautiful food all day eg. a baked brie, lobster and scallop pots, mini meatloaf and pavlova but I didn‘t make anything from scratch which is very unusual for me. It was a very relaxed day. After I scored these books from the Little Free Library, I spent a couple of hours on the beach sussing them out which is something I love to do with new to me books.

I saw Clementine Ford, Iesha Small, Darren Chetty and Jamie Thrasivoulou at Birmingham Literary Festival last night and they were all absolutely brilliant! Clem started by saying that her book doesn‘t say that men are shit, but that she doesn‘t care if they think that it does (I‘m paraphrasing!) Hilarious! Made me love her even more 😂😂😂

A look at how many boys are raised in a culture of toxic masculinity & the serious consequences, not just for them, but for the girls in their lives. Thought provoking, infuriating, & heartbreaking. 4🌟

TW: some harrowing descriptions of sexual assault.

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Oneworld Publications, for the opportunity to read an ARC. #NetGalley

My local library organised a talk from one of my favourite feminist writers as part of the city‘s current festival of the arts. This is the first time I‘ve been able to go to something like this and I really enjoyed it. As well as getting to listen to the inspiring and personal talk with Clementine I got her to sign my copy of Fight Like A Girl and she was lovely #authorcrush #feminism

Rad bookmail! 📚✊💚 #librarything #earlyreviewers

My #februaryreads. 5/6 were written by females which I‘m pleased with. Most were pretty good! Tagged book has left the biggest impact. I also bailed on my first book for 2019!

I‘m currently reading three more books which I should be finished with soon. I read a bit slower this month but I‘m still proud of my efforts! 😊 After this month I‘ll have more time on the weekend to read.

This lived up to my expectations! 😁 I personally enjoyed it even more than Fight Like A Girl. A lot of the information & views weren‘t new to me, but Ford has a response & explanation for EVERYTHING, so I found this side of the book really useful. I took my sweet time reading it because I wanted time to reflect on each chapter & then talk about it with my partner. It‘s another book that I think EVERYONE should read. 💚💚💚

#feminism

Re the recently released Ghostbusters reboot.

#aussiesrule2019

🙌🙌🙌

#aussiesrule2019

If you‘re playing along, this would be a good one for the book about gender prompt.

A fantastic book examining toxic masculinity and its effects on everyone. Very accessible, it will make you laugh and want to punch something. Definitely recommend it!

THIS!

Clementine Ford, dropping almighty truth bombs. 💔

1. The colour of the cover of Boys Will Be Boys is DIVINE! 😍💚
2. Neither! Paul & I have never really celebrated Valentine‘s Day.
3. Certain shades of blue, but only because they don‘t suit me. I love colour. 💛🧡❤️💜💙💚
4. I‘m not sure. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I know my mum like the name Declan, so maybe that? I‘ll ask next time I see my folks.
5. Okey dokey!

#friyayintro @howjessreads

1. Animal Farm by George Orwell, Why I‘m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge, & Boys Will Be Boys by Clementine Ford.
2. 🦁 Gryffindor, but deep down I think I could easily be a Slytherin as well!🐍
3. You. It‘s not as good as the book but I‘m still enjoying it.

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

Ford is a forthright Australian journalist. In this her second book she takes male entitlement and toxic masculinity apart. An excellent read.

My faves for 2018. 52 books read for the year, which is pretty good for me. Before Litsy I‘d manage about half this.

Upon reflection I see there‘s quite a non-fiction focus and a lot of Aussies 🇦🇺. Bring on 2019.

Thanks for all the fun and inspiration 😙🥂👏📚❤️.

Wonderful. Read it!!! @MrsMalaprop

Feminism at its finest! It‘s making me mad, making me cry, and making me want to change the freaking world, starting with my son.

This book is for women AND men.
“This is not a book about how men are shit. This is a book about how the world we live in allows men to do deeply shitty things.”
“We should demand more of boys. We should also demand more for them.”
“Everyone‘s afraid that their daughters might be hurt. No one seems to be scared that their sons might be the ones to do it...”
Such important issues, issues I have and will continue to discuss with my boys.

Finished this on the plane home from Bali last night, after seeing Clementine talk and then sign my copy at the #UWRF18 😍.
Clementine is a trailblazer. I know some object to her fearless style, but I think she is awesome. She is doing such important work.
This book opened my eyes even wider to patriarchy, toxic masculinity, rape culture and how we are all unwittingly socialised to maintain systems of power. Essential reading.

I‘m here! At the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali, Indonesia. We went and picked up our wrist bands today & are looking forward to diving into a sea of books and culture and human rights tomorrow.
❤️📚🌴🍹👏🙏.

Following on from my quote yesterday Clementine concludes this...see photo.
Scary and though provoking stuff, and I‘m only 4 pages in 😳.

#31bookpics #thoughtprovoking #currentread

Quoting Ananya Roy,
“The first act of violence that the patriarchy demands of males is...that they engage in acts of psychic self-mutilation, that they kill off the emotional parts of themselves. If [he] is not successful in emotionally crippling himself, he can count on [others] to enact rituals of power that will assault his self-esteem.” ⬇️

Went to the Perth book launch with @Rissreads tonight. For those unaware Clementine Ford is a fierce and fabulous Australian feminist. Her first book Fight Like A Girl was brilliant. Can‘t wait to read this one...