[The Taboo Text]book Club: October Reads

Last month, I started a series called [The Taboo Text]book Club in which I intend to review the most recent books I've read on a monthly basis. And in the spirit of keeping promises surrounding my blog (see also: sending out newsletters every Thursday and producing consistent content at least twice a week), here we are. 

Plus, you know, reading is sexy. The more you do it, the smarter you get! Here's what I read this month: 

Fitness Junkie: A Novel by Lucy Sykes & Jo Piazza

I la la la loooooooooved this book! It's a hilarious satirical novel about modern fitness culture that's authored by two best friends. How cool is that?! I really liked this book because it touches on the extremity and oftentimes absurdity of boutique gyms and expensive specialty workout classes. It comically explores the exclusivity and cult-like atmospheres of these studios as well as the extreme measures some people take in order to achieve the perfect body. They talk about how workout studios in Manhattan cost $55 to drop in and have live DJs spinning music for each class, which I don't think is much of an exaggeration to real-life NYC fitness studios. Anyway, the book is awesome and I recommend it to anyone who's tried ClassPass. A+

Small Admissions: A Novel by Amy Poeppel

This novel was a little different than I expected it to be, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I thought it was gonna be about rich people trying to get their kids into expensive preschools. It is about a young woman who works in the admissions department at a private grade school, but that's only a small part of the story. The book alternates between various characters' points-of-view and covers themes of academics, being yourself, and heartache. A-

Beautiful Bodies by Kimberly Rae Miller

This is a memoir about a woman's lifelong struggle with her weight as well as her experience as a writer for the health and fitness industry. She also includes lots of historical data about different body types, why certain shapes on women are considered more attractive than others, and how this data has evolved over time. I liked the book okay, but wished she used more commas. B-

What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton

I don't care what ya'll say. Hillary Clinton is my mom. Do you know what I mean? This is nothing against my real mom. She's a lovely woman. But I just feel like I know Hillary. Like she's family. One of my best friends and I got tickets for her book tour in Portland this December and I think it'll be nice to be in solidarity, like a live version of Pantsuit Nation. For those who have a problem with HRC telling her story or going on tour, here's what I have to say:

How 'bout we stop teaching women and girls that if they fail at something or don't get the job they wanted, they should crawl in a hole and never talk about their experience or what they learned? And believe it or not, women are allowed to make money, even when they're already rich! How's that for breaking the glass ceiling? The narrative that women can't or shouldn't recount their mistakes and experiences is downright bad for society. 

Instead of dog-earring or highlighting parts of book, I've been taking photos of some of my favorite pages. Here's one I particularly love, where she explains why representation matters, as in, why it's important to have a black man, a woman, or a member of another underrepresented group in the White House:

Representation matters. Of course you shouldn't vote for someone just because of their race or gender, but if a member of an underrepresented group in politics (a woman, for example) is running for office and she happens to be quite literally the most qualified candidate in the world, it's important to seize the opportunity and elect that person. Needless to say: A+

On the plane to Las Vegas yesterday, I started BFFs Lucy Sykes' and Jo Piazza's other book, Techbitch, which is delightful thus far. 

Well guys, I'm gonna go grab some Mexican food with Joe for lunch and wander around the Strip in my glow-in-the-dark skeleton onesie. I may be blabbing about books like some kind of old lady, but I haven't forgotten that it's Halloweeeeeeeeeen!  

Later, nerds.