The Feminine Mystique 2009 Style

Lately, I've been reading the fascinating book "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan. Written in 1963, Betty broke the silence about the "problem with no name". That is, the problem of a culture filled with bored housewives discouraged to use their minds and trapped at home for a lifetime of cooking, dishes, and diapers. Though womens' roles for years had certainly been dominated by the role of homemaker, it was specifically during the post-WWII era of the 1950's and early 60's that "career woman" became a dirty word and a growing media culture through television and magazines more severely limited what it meant to be a woman. Not only at work, but things like politics and world affairs were deemed far too much for American women to handle. In fact, there were many articles and at least one book dedicated to the notion that too much education was making American women frustrated in their roles as women. Along similar lines to this book, I just watched a movie called "The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio". A great movie based on a true story about a 1950's mother of 10 (yes, 10 kids!!) who earned extra money for the family by entering literary contests. At the time there were lots of contesting opportunities that involved jingle writing. Brilliant on the part of the advertisers, and also very beneficial to those bored housewives who could finally get an outlet for their creativity and flex their mental muscles. So, after getting a pretty good picture of the plight of women in post-war America, I started thinking about how much progress we've made...and yet, how much still needs to be done. I think as women today, we are still struggling with our roles...what do you think?

Escape From Cubicle Nation

Escape From Cubicle Nation, From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur, is a new book by Pamela Slim. I recently read a very interesting interview with Pam on the Open Forum (by American Express) blog: http://blogs.openforum.com/2009/05/03/how-to-escape-mundanity/ in which she discusses things like the right time to start your own business, quitting your day job, etc. It was a great reminder to me why I myself started this entrepreneurship journey, and a good motivator for those times when you start to second guess a few things. It seems like a good way to stay on track, too. You can download an excerpt from Chapter 1 from her website: http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/. Great if you're thinking about striking out on your own, breaking the apron strings to your day job, or need a fresh shot in the arm to kick it into gear. If anyone has read this book already, or has started it, let me know what you think. It's definitely on my reading list.

My Commitment to Reading

My son likes to read, but as he gets older it's been more difficult to find books for him to read that are both appropriate and interesting to him. During the past year or so, his reading outside of school has mostly focused on books like almanacs and fact-type books. However, in an effort to really get him interested in reading for a lifetime of enjoyment, I found a website that lists good books for teens: http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/The-2009-Alex-Awards/349.
This got me thinking about the books I liked to read as a teenager. Then I took my son to the bookstore and directed him toward some popular fiction. He found a Michael Crichton book he wanted and he's been reading it eagerly ever since, often stopping to tell me some exciting detail (which he has never done before)! So, I got the kiddo reading. Check. It also occurred to me that this might be a good way for me to relax and reduce stress in my own life. Recently, I have gravitated toward only books that had some educational value for me. While this is very helpful and obviously a great way to increase my knowledge, it's not a very good way to just relax. Another trip to my favorite bookstore and I had some fun books for myself in an attempt to bring in a little more down time to my life. Now I'm reading "Sammy's House" by Kristin Gore. It's a sequel to the book "Sammy's Hill" that I read and enjoyed a few years ago. What's your favorite book to relax by? Read any really good books lately?