Women | A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea.

Title: Alone! Alone! Lives of Some Outsider Women
Author: Rosemary Dinnage
Year Published: 2004 (The New York Review of Books)
Year Purchased: 2005
Source: Unknown
About: A study of women-some famous, others obscure-who fought against the expectations of mainstream society to forge spaces of their own, however tenuous or unappreciated.
Motivation: I’ve always had an adversarial (if amiable) relationship with institutionalized normalcy; it’s something I’ve never worried about emulating. I love kooky and strong and talented women. Those profiled in this book just happen to be some of the most amazing creative and intellectual ladies to ever come along.
Times Read: 2
Random Excerpt/Page 269: “Katherine Mansfield’s diaries cannot be considered the equal of Virginia Woolf’s-she died too young for that, for one thing-but there was a strong bond between them. They were in search of the same kind of writing, the same kind of honesty, in spite of a difference in age and experience; and-notwithstanding ambivalences-they recognized it.”
Katherine Mansfield-Image via Wikipedia
Happiness Scale: 9 1/2

Title: Quotable Women A Celebration
Editor: Molly Jay
Year Published: 2004 (Running Press)
Year Purchased: 2011
Source: A Christmas gift from my baby brother.
About: Quotes by legendary kick ass women are interspersed with vibrant artwork by female artists.
Motivation: I’m also a legend-when it comes to collecting quotes. I have been keeping quote books since I was a teenager. I’m a bit obsessive that way, actually. I find inspiration in strong, creative, intelligent women. My brother knows me well, it seems.
Times Read: 1
Random Excerpt/Page 89: “I’ve dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they’ve gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind.”-Emily Bronte
Happiness Scale: 10

A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea.