I just couldn’t put it down. I loved the original, and the sequel is a triumph. I don’t get to read novels very often, but I am so glad I made some time for this one. Atwood is a genius.
Excerpt in El País →
So I actually didn’t know this was going to happen, but it seems that Capitan Swing, my Spanish publisher, arranged to have an excerpt of the Spanish book published under my name in Spain’s second largest newspaper. It’s pretty weird to see my name on something that I had no idea about, but I suppose this is standard book promotion stuff. At least I like the photo they chose to accompany the excerpt.
Best bookstore on the Main Line
Whenever I’m feeling melancholy, a quick trip to the Title Page always lifts my spirits. The smell of old books and the friendly smile of Beverly Potter cheer me up in no time.
Interview in El Diario (en Español) →
Thanks so much to Mónica Zas for her great interview questions.
The Spanish media coverage begins →
The Spanish version of the book is about to be released on October 7, and El Español just did a substantive review of Por qué las mujeres disfrutan más del sexo bajo el socialismo: Y otros argumentos a favor de la independencia económica from Capitán Swing.
Thanks to the Black Warrior Review and Tucker Legerski →
A new review of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence.
Proposed new cover for the forthcoming U.S. paperback
It’s much girlier than the last one, but I love the red rose and the orange background.
A fantastic lecture by Anikó Imre at Annenberg
Anikó Imre gave an amazing lecture last night at the Annenberg school at Penn. In honor of the spy shows that she was talking about, some of us professors got together and did a faux Charlie’s Angels/James Bond pose. From left to right are Marwan Kraidy, me, Anikó Imre, Jack Bratich, Peter Holquist, and Kevin M. F. Platt. Academics occasionally have fun, too!
Weird to see my words in Dutch...
Many thanks to Charlie Magazine for running an except of Waarom vrouwen betere seks hebben onder het socialisme. The book has now officially launched in the Netherlands.
Reading Krupskaya
I have been asked to write an introduction to a new reprint of Nadezhda Krupskaya’s Reminiscences of Lenin, and I am very much enjoying the mental time I get to spend with the young Bolsheviks in exile.
The German media coverage begins...
The requests are starting to come in and I am bracing myself for a new onslaught as Suhrkamp prepares for the launch of the German version of the book on October 27th. This short piece is from der Freitag last week: https://www.freitag.de/autoren/der-freitag/eine-hervorragende-einheit
In Memoriam: Sonja Luehrmann - 1975-2019
I was absolutely devastated to learn of my colleague’s death from cancer last week at the age of 44. She was an amazing anthropologist, a prolific scholar, the mother of three young children, and a dear friend. The world is a much dimmer place today.
The breathtaking beauty of the Maine coast...
I made it out to Land’s End in Harpswell before leaving Maine. There are certainly some things I miss about that state, and being so close to the ocean all of the time is definitely one of them.
Spotted in South Station in Boston in the Non-fiction section of the book kiosk
The Spanish Cover of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
Coming in November from Captain Swing Libros in Spain: Por qué las mujeres disfrutan más del sexo bajo el socialismo. Y otros argumentos a favor de la independencia económica'
Maine!
Enjoying the late summer in Maine
Lunch at the Seadog in Brunswick
In conversation with Ruth Behar! →
I was able to have a lovely conversation with the anthropologist Ruth Behar on AnthroPod, the Podcast of the Society for Cultural Anthropology": “Anthropologists as Public Intellectuals: Ruth Behar in Conversation with Kristen Ghodsee.”
A new cover for the Dutch version
I’m so thrilled for the Dutch translation of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism or "Waarom vrouwen betere seks hebben onder het socialisme,” and love their cover redesign.
Summer Reading: Fully Automated Luxury Communism by Aaron Bastani
Fully Automated Luxury Communism: A Manifesto – Aaron Bastani
I just loved this book. Well written and exciting, with lots of thought-provoking arguments. For all fans of Andrew Yang, Bastani’s text is a must read.
“Despite the claim that Marx favoured violent revolution, the truth is he never believed that transition beyond capitalism would be an exclusively political process – something so simple to achieve as to merely require replacing one group of rulers with another. It certainly entailed class struggle and the working class gaining political power, but it also needed new ideas, technologies, and social relations.”
“Liberal ends, specifically the individual being uniquely placed to determine their path in life, are impossible without communist means. The possibility of most people finding happiness and meaning is impossible as these things are commodities – subject to profit rather than need.”