Book Review: Women Behaving Badly

Today’s book review comes at the request of the author Alana Munro after she read my review of Hanna Gray Gordon’s book, The Vu.  I must have done something right for her to request it knowing that I will be brutally honest about it.  To be fair, this is about as honest as I’ll get.  Don’t be scared of what I’ll say, but don’t be surprised by it, either.

Women Behaving Badly is a book that had me thinking hard after I was done reading it.  For non-fiction, it moved along at a good pace so I wasn’t bored out of my mind before the first five pages were done.  It is a book full of truth and insight that too many women don’t see in themselves or in those who they are friends with.

It also had me looking at myself in a new light.  I’m not as bad as some out there who manipulate others and try to take control of everything whether they are wanted or not.  Perhaps that is why I, like the author, was never really accepted into a group of women.  Or, if I was, never there for very long.

Book Blurb from Amazon:

Have you ever been hurt by a woman? Are you fed up with the constant bitching, gossiping and manipulation between the females in your life? Do you want happier and healthier relationships with females? Do you wish to weed out the toxic women and seek out only positive women?

If you have ever wondered why some women are complicated creatures this book will offer you straight talking answers. This book will highlight all the strange, controlling and spitefulbehaviours that some females specialisein. This book attempts to understand what actually drives women to be cruel or bitchy to each other. It attempts to make sense of the huge expectations women place on each other. How can we avoid toxic women? What bad behaviours should we be looking out for? This book explores every cruel behaviour possible and attempts to understand what is really going on between the females in our life. 

Alana goes into depth about the different types of bad women out there.  She covers everything from the forces-of-nature types who have to be number one in everything and the center of attention, to the one who do little but gripe about one thing or another whether it pertains to them or not.  (Something which I am guilty of)  She speaks of women who get all snobby and angry because (OMG) your life gets in the way of the special event that they spent so much time making perfect.

You know, I can be accused of many things, but being that kind of person?  No way, I’d be slapped silly by my mom and I‘m in my 40s, now.

She goes on to explain that the way the world views us as ‘the fairer sex’ and we are not allowed to seem too strong or be labeled as a, pardon the language, a bitch and not worth the attention or too weak and be considered less than what we are.  The world sees women in the light that we are not allowed to fight, we must keep the peace.  We are allowed to show emotion and boy do we show it.  With everything that we must do on top of being mom, sister, nurse, doctor, housewife, cook, maid, what have you, there’s no reason why we explode and behave like we do under stressful conditions.

All in all, I found the book worth purchasing.  There are many points in there that struck a bell and she points at herself as much as she does anyone else.  The stories she adds to emphasize her point at the end of each section set in stone what was just explained.

It isn’t a big book.  I read this on my smart phone using the Kindle app.  So, whatever 1991 is broken down to in a regular book would equal to something shy of a chapbook, roughly 117 pages.

Will I read this book again?  Maybe.  It will be a good reference to get an idea of how a forceful personality shows, or how a motherly type works when a jealous type are talking.  But, I’ll be loaning this book to my sister-in-law who really should be taking notes on how to behave from this book.

For my star rating, I’m going to be honest here, non-fiction is not my favorite kind of reading and it always (including this book) requires the effort to open the book and continue reading after interruptions.  That being said, I give it a 3.5 on the star scale.  It’s good, but the overall tone made it difficult for me to not just yell at the phone while I was reading.  Still, I like it and will recommend it to others who also find themselves on the outer fringes of a group and don’t know why.

P.S.

Now, because of this book, I am stating this now; I am sorry if my behavior was bad, or if I said something that wasn’t considered good or even right.  I have always been told to speak up and try to be as honest as I can.

Which brings to mind the trip to Wichita last year… the behavior I showed in the car going there, constantly bringing up the story idea, that was very bad and not like me at all.  I was both nervous and excited about being included (which rarely happens) and it showed in the worst possible way.  Feel free to give me a brain-duster if it ever happens again.  That is, if I’m ever included again.

My thanks to Alana Munro for creating this book.  Someone needed to do it and I hope to see other works from her soon.

#writemotivation Check-In

Due to malfunction in the cerebrum, there will be no witty snippets to begin today’s post.  Due to this same malfunction, this post is also arriving late.  Please be patient while these malfunctions are being repaired.  Normal function should return within a week or sooner depending on varying conditions.

And for the not so technical (hehe) I’m still recovering from last week’s virus.  I’m over the worst but energy levels are still kind of low.  Thinking hasn’t been easy, even at work, and I tire easily.  That’s why this post is so freaking late.  I’ll be back to my normal, strange, self eventually, but this recovery is a long and slow process this time around.

There is some good news out of the long bout with the virus.  I had lost ten pounds.  Not because of being sick.  I had a decent appetite which helped a lot. Normal weight loss thanks to some help from my medication to control my blood sugar.  Thanks to my general appetite decreasing from being sick, I’ll be shedding a few extra pounds.  I don’t intend to go back to eating so much again.

I still have a long way to go before I reach my goal weight of 180 pounds.  But, the first ten are gone with more slowly falling away.

Doc didn’t put me on any kind of diet, but did suggest several changes to make which I had already started to help manage my cholesterol.  More fiber, less carbs, and more lean meat will be what I’ll have, and definitely more veggies.

Gotta love veggies!  Oh!  And fruit, too.  Yum!  /drool

Due not feeling so good, I haven’t done much on my goals, but I did manage to check one off.  I’ll work on the last one over the weekend if it’s raining.

1) Polish and revise chapters 4 (or five as the case may be) through 7 of Society of Night and Lies.

This one is done!  All I have to do now is add them to the main file on my hard drive so there’s an extra copy available.

2) Write another two chapters of Black Friday 2 and maybe come up with an actual name for the book.

Sadly, nothing has been done to this one, yet.  Like I said, I just haven’t had the energy.

3) Study the craft. Reading project for the month to learn more about creative writing, scene and structure, and other writerly things.

This one can be checked off.  I finished Scene and Structure last week and returned it to the library.  I’ve started Revision and Self-Editing but haven’t gotten very far in it.  There is some good advice in there someplace.  Just got to get through the techno-babble to find it.

How’s everyone else doing on their goals so close to the end of the month?

Icky Week #writemotivation check-in

It has been a bad week for me this week.  Started Monday with a sore throat and a mild case of laryngitis and fell from there..  This virus knocked me down, literally, for the majority of this week.  Just when I thought I could go back to work, it knocked me for another loop which required a doctor.

Because I’ve been out for more than three days, Wal-Mart demands I do the paperwork for a medical leave of absence.  What the hell?  Colds and minor cases of the flu can keep someone out for a week, minimum, and they know this.  But, only three days before needinga FMLA leave of absence form.  Someone, somewhere, has no concept of reality.

More than a week, okay, I can see it.  But more than three days?  No.  But, if I want to work, I have to do it.  *huge sigh*

But, yeah, that’s my week.  I’m filling out the paperwork tonight and running it to the clinic tomorrow for the doc to fill out.  Nausea will not keep me from working for long.  Especially with medication to help.

But, this makes my #writemotivation check-in easy to do.  I haven’t had the energy or the mental capacity to remotely consider writing or editing.  I can say I’ve had ideas for a story I don’t intend to publish except on certain sites.

I‘m in the set up scenes, introducing the characters who’ll be participating and showing their personalities before starting it off.  Let’s just say that this story is one which will make most people want to un-watch and unfriend me if they read it.  That is why I am only posting it in certain places because I know the audience very well.

But, I can say one thing for my goals this month.  I did finish reading Scene and Structure.  It gave a lot of good advice on how to bring scenes together through cause and effect.  This is definitely one book I need for my library.

That is a hint for Christmas/birthday gift.  *cute kitten eyes begging*

Last, but not least, before the worst of my illness hit, I managed to create a page on Facebook that will feature my current published book and the works in progress.

Fantastic Furry Realms  

It still needs a lot of work and for me to update more often, but this has been up for only a week… barely.  Some of you have seen it already.  The rest of you, come by and have a look.  Like it if you want and definitely comment.  I’m proud of just this little bit.

Do watch that page.  Slowly, as I get help and advice, the cover photo will change to help support my main book, Black Friday.

Writing Progress #writemotivation

It is so hot!  How hot is it?  It’s so hot, snowballs are going to Hades to keep cool.  It is so hot, your groceries are cooked before you reach your car.  It’s so hot, the sun is jealous.

Enough of the jokes.  You get the hint.  It be very hot here in Oklahoma once again.  Where are those comfortable temperatures we had last week?

I didn’t feel much like doing this yesterday.  I was being lazy is all.  Very lazy.  Also, I was setting things up so I could work on these goals and figure out which will be done and when.  I’m also seeking willing victims… I mean volunteers… to go over my revisions on Society of Night and Lies as I complete them.

Chapters one through three are ready for review, amazingly enough.  Everything Michelle, thebnc, noted at the last critique session has been implemented, and I hope, put to use on the rest of chapter one and into two and three.  There’s still a few rough spots I’m sure, but need some suggestions to smooth them out.

With #pitchmadness going on, I decided to read through the rules and what is expected so I could figure out what I needed to do.  First thing I saw… the first 150 words ends in mid-sentence.  You just barely meet the main char when it stops, but you get the feel of the bar.  That says to me I need to do some revamping to get her in there.

A synopsis, or even a pitch, is a tad more difficult for me.  I think I have something, but I’ll save it for another post.  As it looks now, this #pitchmadness will have to be missed so I can present something better.

Anyway, onto the goals.  Would you believe I’ve made good progress this week and it’s only Tuesday?

1) Polish and revise chapters 4 (or five as the case may be) through 7 of Society of Night and Lies.

I’ve just revised chapter four.  There’s one sticky spot I’m not sure how to fix, but it definitely feels better to me and shows more emotion from a worried, if drunk, husband and a concerned friend.

2) Write another two chapters of Black Friday 2 and maybe come up with an actual name for the book.

I’ve just barely got started on this one.  More of the planning than actual writing but I know what I want to see happen.  Bickham says a disaster must happen, well, this one won’t be a disaster per se but it’ll work.

3) Study the craft. Reading project for the month to learn more about creative writing, scene and structure, and other writerly things.

Still reading.  John Bickhan does explains things well, but he’s repeating himself over and over.  Scene and Structure is a book for any author to have handy as a reference.

Just ask if you want to help beta read and fix those tricky spots.  I need honest input.

How are your goals coming along?

Monday Report #writemotivation

Here it is, another Monday (Boo!) and time to tell everyone how good, or bad, I have been with my writing goals for the month.  All I can say is… I’ll tell you later.

It has been a rollercoaster of a week for me.  Busy at work which makes tired to think about writing at home.  I found a few more old Nano stories and started reading them just to see where I was in them.  On top of all of that, I was tending to the new kitten (Yay!) we got to make sure my tomcat doesn’t hurt her while they wrestle and get to know one another.

Between those two, I believe we made a record in the amount of time it took two cats to settle in and be sociable with one another.  Before the second day was done, Caffeine was more interested in trying to let her know he was the top cat; which she immediately corrected him much to his dismay.  He shrugged that off and soon found curled up in the kitty cube sleeping with her on the third day.  Ever since, both have been nestling on the bed with me at night to sleep; usually with Hylie (the kitten) snuggled up tight against my knees while Caffeine curls up in his divot by my feet.

Saturday, there was a #writemotivation meet up which was fun.  It was also inspirational as well.  On the way up to Wichita, we were talking about the book Fifty Shades of Gray and why it was receiving as much ridicule as the Twilight books.  There was plenty of good reasons given and some examples the others have found.  None of those I will go into here.

The inspiration I got for this year’s NaNo novel came from those reasons.  It will be a funny take on the scary movie/thrill genre which will give me some experience in that genre.  Imagine if you will a short, anthropomorphic, demonic duck.  His minions are the tall, brawny ostriches who literally have their heads in the sand.  These minions will be in varying degrees of stupid which will be where a lot of the comic relief in the action will come from and the ‘leader’ will have most of the one-liners.  Such this one: ‘Leave me alone, I’m brooding.’  either the demonic duck or his ‘wife’ will say that while sitting on a nest or chair while reading plans for the next conquest.

The bad guys can’t go around unchecked, of course, so on the spur of the moment, we came up with a flamingo.  A flamboyant flamingo who uses a rapier and dances and is already named, Flamenco… as in the dance, which he also does.

There’s two months to go to come up with the situations and comments for this book.  I want people to laugh all the way through this book and feel sorry for the poor bad duck.  That’s plenty of time… or not.

On to the goals!!

1. Work on chapters 1 through 3 of Society of Night and Lies. Make them shine with more show and a bit less tell.

I’ll give you three guesses.  The first two don’t count.  Abso-f***ing nothing!  Nada!  Zilch!  Not a thing done!  I have looked through and found places to start but I haven’t touched it at all since setting it up on Google Docs so my friend can help out.

2. If there’s time, write two more chapters to Black Friday 2.

Since nothing was done to one, nothing has been done with two.

3. Read. Doesn’t matter which author or genre, just read.

Don’t be surprised if this is the only goal I meet this month.  I’m still slogging through the Apprentice Adept series.  I‘m finally on the last book in the series, Phaze Doubt.  It’s slow going because I have never read this one before.  Next, I’ll be reading Scene and Structure and Michelle Pierce’s beta The Sorcerer’s Blade.  Both deserve my full and undivided attention.

That’s it from me.  How’s everyone else doing?