Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Orlando has always been an outsider...His longing for passion, adventure and fulfilment takes him out of his own time. Chasing a dream through the centuries, he bounds from Elizabethan England amd imperial Turkey to the modern world. Will he find happiness with the exotic Russian Princess Sasha? Or is the dashing explorer Shelmerdine the ideal man? And what form will Orlando take on the journey - a nobleman,... (more)

Bonk

The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

by Mary Roach

The best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and infectious wit on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex. The study of sexual physiology—what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better—has been a paying career or a diverting sideline for scientists as far-ranging as Leonardo da Vinci and James... (more)

Sex and temperament in three primitive societies / by Margaret Mead

Sex and temperament in three primitive societies / by Margaret Mead

by Margaret Mead

First published in 1935, Sex & Temperament is a fascinating and brilliant anthropological study of the intimate lives of three New Guinea tribes from infancy to adulthood. Focusing on the gentle, mountain-dwelling Arapesh, the fierce, cannibalistic Mundugumor, and the graceful headhunters of Tchambuli -- Mead advances the theory that many so-called masculine and feminine characteristics are not based on... (more)

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism

by Bell Hooks

In this classic study, cultural critic Bell Hooks examines how black women, from the seventeenth century to the present day, were and are oppressed by both white men and black men and by white women. Illustrating her analysis with moving personal accounts, "Ain't I a Woman" is deeply critical of the racism inherent in the thought of many middle-class white feminists who have failed to address issues of race and... (more)

The Widow's War: A Novel

by Sally Gunning

Married for twenty years to Edward Berry, Lyddie is used to the trials of being a whaler's wife in the Cape Cod village of Satucket, Massachusetts—running their house herself during her husband's long absences at sea, living with the daily uncertainty that Edward will simply not return. And when her worst fear is realized, she finds herself doubly cursed. She is overwhelmed by grief, and her property and rights... (more)

Runaway

by Alice Munro

The incomparable Alice Munro’s bestselling and rapturously acclaimed Runaway is a book of extraordinary stories about love and its infinite betrayals and surprises, from the title story about a young woman who, though she thinks she wants to, is incapable of leaving her husband, to three stories about a woman named Juliet and the emotions that complicate the luster of her intimate relationships. In Munro’s... (more)

by Candace Bushnell

In Our Time: Memoir of a Revolution

by Susan Brownmiller

There once was a time when the concept of equal pay for equal work did not exist, when women of all ages were "girls," when abortion was a back-alley procedure, when there was no such thing as a rape crisis center or a shelter for battered women, when "sexual harassment" had not yet been named and defined. "If conditions are right," Susan Brownmiller says in this stunning memoir, "if the anger of enough people... (more)

A Natural History Of Love

by Diane Ackerman

The bestselling author of A Natural History of the Senses now explores the allure of adultery, the appeal of aphrodisiacs, and the cult of the kiss. Enchantingly written and stunningly informed, this "audaciously brilliant romp through the world of romantic love" (Washington Post Book World) is the next best thing to love itself.

Black and Blue

by Anna Quindlen

With daring and compassion, Anna Quindlen weaves a forceful, harrowing portrait of a woman and a marriage, capturing the profound intricacies of love and rage, passion and violence. At once heartbreaking and utterly riveting, BLACK AND BLUE is an extraordinary work of fiction and a brilliant achievement. For eighteen years, Fran Benedetto kept her secret, hid her bruises, and stayed with Bobby because she wanted... (more)

Heloise & Abelard: A New Biography (Plus)

Heloise & Abelard: A New Biography (Plus)

by James Burge

New Revelations about One of the Greatest Romances in History Peter Abelard was arguably the greatest poet, philosopher, and religious teacher in all of twelfth-century Europe. In an age when women were rarely educated, Heloise was his most gifted young student. Their private tutoring sessions inevitably turned to passion, and their moments apart were spent writing love letters. Astoundingly, a few years ago a... (more)

To the Lighthouse

by Virginia Woolf

Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men and Women

Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men and Women

by Ph. D. Moir, Anne, Anne Moir, David Jessel

Why can't a woman be more like a man? What is this thing called "feminine intuition"? Why are men better at reading maps, and women at other people's characters? The answers lie in the basic biological differences between the male and female brain, which, say the authors, make it impossible for the sexes to share equal emotional or intellectual qualities.

Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics

Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics

by Bell Hooks

A genuine feminist politics always brings us from bondage to freedom, from lovelessness to loving....There can be no love without justice.-from the chapter "To Love Again: The Heart of Feminism" In this engaging and provocative volume, bell hooks introduces a popular theory of feminism rooted in common sense and the wisdom of experience. Hers is a vision of a beloved community that appeals to all those committed... (more)

The Female Eunuch

by Germaine Greer

The clarion call to change that galvanized a generation. When Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch was first published it created a shock wave of recognition in women, one that could be felt around the world. It went on to become an international bestseller, translated into more than twelve languages, and a landmark in the history of the women's movement. Positing that sexual liberation is the key to women's... (more)

When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America

When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America

by Paula Giddings

When and Where I Enter is an eloquent testimonial to the profound influence of African-American women on race and women's movements throughout American history. Drawing on speeches, diaries, letters, and other original documents, Paula Giddings powerfully portrays how black women have transcended racist and sexist attitudes--often confronting white feminists and black male leaders alike--to initiate social and... (more)

The Chalice & The Blade: Our History, Our Future

The Chalice & The Blade: Our History, Our Future

by Riane Tennenhaus Eisler

The phenomenal bestseller, with more than 500,000 copies sold worldwide, now with a new epilogue from the author-- The Chalice and the Blade has inspired a generation of women and men to envision a truly egalitarian society by exploring the legacy of the peaceful, goddess-worshipping cultures from our prehistoric past.

The Living Goddesses

by Marija Gimbutas, Marija Alseikaite? Gimbutas, Miriam Robbins Dexter

The Living Goddesses crowns a lifetime of innovative, influential work by one of the twentieth-century's most remarkable scholars. Marija Gimbutas wrote and taught with rare clarity in her original--and originally shocking--interpretation of prehistoric European civilization. Gimbutas flew in the face of contemporary archaeology when she reconstructed goddess-centered cultures that predated historic patriarchal... (more)

Gender Diversity: Crosscultural Variations

Gender Diversity: Crosscultural Variations

by Serena Nanda

How can we gain new understandings about sex, gender, and sexuality? What are the relationships between culture and gender diversity? How has the diffusion of Euro-American culture affected the sex/gender ideologies of non-European cultures? This eye-opening account of the differences in how sex/gender diversity is experienced in seven cultures raises our consciousness and challenges our intellectual... (more)

Male and Female

by Margaret Mead

Mead's anthropological examination of seven Pacific island tribes analyzes the dynamics of primitive cultures to explore the evolving meaning of "male" and "female" in modern American society. On its publication in 1949, the New York Times declared, "Dr. Mead's book has come to grips with the cold war between the sexes and has shown the basis of a lasting sexual peace." This edition, prepared for the centennial... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: sex and gender relations

by Virginia Woolf

The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

by Mary Roach

by Margaret Mead

by Bell Hooks

by Sally Gunning

by Alice Munro

by Candace Bushnell

by Susan Brownmiller

by Diane Ackerman

by Anna Quindlen

by James Burge

by Virginia Woolf

by Ph. D. Moir, Anne, Anne Moir, David Jessel

by Bell Hooks

by Germaine Greer

by Paula Giddings

by Riane Tennenhaus Eisler

by Marija Gimbutas, Marija Alseikaite? Gimbutas, Miriam Robbins Dexter

by Serena Nanda

by Margaret Mead