our top ten books
(click on any of the book covers to link to further reviews and prices)
The Red Tent - Anita Diamant A compelling and powerful novel telling the story of Dinah, the sister of twelve biblical brothers (one of them being Joseph of 'amazing technicolor dreamcoat' fame). A woman-centred interpretation of women's experiences in a time which has mostly only been narrated from a patriarchal perspective. |
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The Vagina Monologues - Eve Ensler We've been to see the stage show about 6 times between us - and had to get the script so we could read it in between! Funny, shocking, harrowing and feisty, it's like finding lots of new friends! |
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Woman: An Intimate Geography - Natalie Angier Where medical 'science' has always taken a positivistic and pathological approach to women's bodies, Angier tracks down the intimate - and never before known - aspects of women's bodily geography in a friendly and approachable way. I learned about places I never knew I had! |
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Rediscovering Birth - Sheila Kitzinger A fascinating account of pregnancy and birth throughout history, and across numerous cultures. This book is worth buying for the amazing pictures alone! |
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Women Who Run With the Wolves - Clarissa Pinkola Estes Explores multicultural stories, myths and archetypes of women, looking at these in relation to women's experiences and from the perspective of a psychotherapist. Encourages women to access the healing and creative energies of the "wild" woman - the wise and ageless presence in the feminine psyche. |
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Succulent Wild Woman - Sark An amazing book, encouraging women to be wild, wear outrageous hats and eat mangoes naked! Handwritten and painted, this book explores everything from sexuality, love, and romance to money and power, fears, and recovery, offering women the keys to freely express themselves in every facet of their lives. |
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Women's Ways of Knowing - Mary Belenky and others Looks at the ways in which women learn and know, showing how these are different from the ways men do these things! Offers a real insight into the processes of thinking and knowing. An academic but friendly book. |
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Birthing From Within - Pam England An amazing resource for women and midwives. Drawing from her work as a midwife and in facilitating pregnant women's groups, Pam offers a whole range of new ideas, approaches and perspectives on the ways in which women and their families can prepare for birth, with a focus on spirituality as well as more practical tools. |
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The Whole Woman - Germaine Greer In this book, which is comprised of bite-sized and readable 'chapterkins' rather than long and complex arguments, Germaine Greer looks at the ways in which the health 'care' systems of the industrialised world try to manage different aspects of women's bodies and health. She looks at the high failure rates of many treatments touted as medical 'successes' and the continuing rampant sexism of a medical approach to women's health. |
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Medical Nemesis - Ivan Illich Illich argues that the medical establishment has become a major threat to health, discussing issues from iatrogenic disease to the way in which medicine impacts birth, death, sex, and life, without actually having had any impact on our life expactancy. This is a fairly weighty book, but one which raises some hugely important and interesting issues. |
Medical Nemesis (no pic) |
