I picked up a roommate's copy and flipped through it a year or so ago, but didn't find anything particularly engaging. I feel like I may not be the audience for this one---I've heard all these hot takes before, they're now lukewarm takes at best.

I wanted to love this book and at times I did. But at other times, I really didn't. It's always going to be awkward to write anything of substance around this subject and keep everyone happy. That being said, I felt irked a lot more than I would have liked. ( )

I’ve noticed that on several books lately that I’ve read on Goodreads that Roxane Gay has posted her thoughts. I respect her opinions as they are always well thought out, never reactive. But they show emotion, as well as clear critique and review of the topic.

Gay writes from the perspective of a Black woman in America and the book explores the issues around that, centring around the idea of being a ‘bad feminist’ as women as expected to be perfect at all times. Gay uses many excellent examples of this, from her own experiences to the notion that a female character in a book is meant to be likeable but it’s okay for male characters not to be. Why can’t we have unlikeable female characters as a positive trait rather than a negative one? There is also the most in depth essay I’ve seen about Fifty Shades of Grey which explores the themes in a light hearted way but totally gets the point across. Why is it not OK for women to like this sort of book? Or Twilight? Some of the texts I wasn’t familiar with, like Green Girl, and I found the review of the themes interesting but not engrossing.

This book was written nearly 10 years ago, but the themes are still just as relevant a decade on. Black Lives Matter, the right to an abortion, sexual violence and gender – it could all be taken from today’s headlines. (Except for the positive vibes of Twitter). Gay challenges the reader to take stock of their own reactions, emotions and prejudices by presenting clear, well researched arguments. But the writing is not dry like you might think based on the topics – it’s like a good friend who Knows Stuff chatting with her. Her style is engaging and acknowledges her faults and strengths. Plus, there are lots of pop culture references and Gay is unapologetic with that, which I love. Pop culture is part of our lives, why ignore it? (And bonus points for in depth Sweet Valley High analysis).

Roxane Gay is a brilliant writer who draws you in. After finishing this book, I immediately went and bought her new essay collection for more fun and smart essays.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

I read Hunger first, this is my second book by the author. I loved both but for some reason it felt like they were written by different people? Maybe it's the tone, this one is a bit more lighthearted dealing with a lot of pop culture. I really enjoyed the easy way she writes intersectional feminism into every aspect of this. I think I read this just in time though, as many of the references are due to become quite dated. Some already are (Cosby). This didn't feel very convicting in any way, as something like Hood Feminism does. Maybe that's because she's trying to explain why she's a "bad feminist" instead of telling us we are. ( )

There's a certain image of a feminist that Gay has in her head -- maybe you do, too? -- and she can never live up to it. She likes pink things and pretty dresses and really bad music. Plus, she has some concerns about intersectionality. All of that is explored in this essay collection, which looks at everything from pop culture to rape culture, sometimes in the same essay. Her conclusion, "I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all," resonates with me -- I'm probably also what you might call a bad feminist, but for different reasons and with less angst about it than Gay seems to have.

I really enjoyed Gay's memoir [Hunger], but this one didn't strike as many chords with me. Part of the issue is that this book has been around for a while. Some of the pop culture references and all of the political ones feel dated, and even when the pop culture stuff was new, a lot of it was stuff I didn't consume. I admit to skimming some of the essays about shows I never watched and books I never read. It's certainly not the author's fault that I didn't get around to reading this book until now, but even if I had read it hot off the presses, I'm not sure how much of those segments I would have related to. Still, the writing is very good, and I loved the bits about Scrabble! Recommended with caveats: remember when you're reading that when this book came out, Trump hadn't been elected and Cosby hadn't been convicted. ( )