#6 He's Just Not That Into You, Greg Behrendt

I picked up this book not realizing that it was a self-help book. I do not, as a general rule, read self help books, because I generally don't need help on anything that I need to read a book to fix. But I picked this one up mostly because the movie looks like its going to be funny, and I wanted to read the book based on that thought. Alas, a self-help book it is.
Despite that fact, it is pretty good. Mostly just Mr. Behrendt telling the female readers that they are beautiful, smart, amazing, attractive, and most of all worthy of being asked out by a man. He was constantly driving home that point that if a man really wants you, he will want to pursue you, and he won't be a jerk to you. He will want to see you, be near you, date you, call you, and have sex with you. Man want to get what they want, and they also like the chase, so if they really like you and want you, they will ask you out, date you, call you, no matter how scared or shy or nervous they are. So all these reasons, or excuses that women use to explain men's behavior is silly and does us no good at all, and mostly just makes us suffer more than we should.
I was amazed to discover that I learned a few things from this book. I have decided that I am perfectly happy being single, and waiting for that guy who really wants me to ask me out, and I am willing to wait as long as I need. Patience and lots and lots of confidence are key.

#2. A Room of One's Own- Viginia Woolf

I finished this yesterday afternoon. It made me think about what Woolf would say about Women and Fiction today. Her theory was that women could only become really great writers if they had at least 500 pounds a year, that they didn't have to work for, and a private room of their own. Her thinking was that until female writers had those two things, they couldn't write they way men write, which she describes as free from maleness or femaleness, if that makes sense.
But I started to think about how Woolf would feel about women authors in our time. What would she say about Toni Morrison, or Stephanie Meyers, or Charlaine Harris? How would she view their novels? Would she say that there is too much "femaleness" in them? I really wondered what she would have to say about all the romance novels we have now; in my opinion she would consider them as being complete failures in literature, because they are almost entirely focused on "femaleness." But maybe I'm wrong.
What do you think? Would her theory hold up today? Does a woman now have to have money and a private place to write in this age of the Internet and self publishing?
I did really like this essay. I thought, for her time period, it was absolutely correct. I admired her for trying not to get bogged down in fighting a feminist battle, but solely trying to identify one connection between Women and Fiction.