1. What does feminism mean to you? Does it have to do with the work sphere? The social sphere? How you dress? How you act?
Wikipedia's article on feminism is useful here. I grew up in the 1970s, when feminism was in its second wave. It was all about equality and wiping out all forms of discrimination. The Equal Rights Amendment was a very big deal. This period certainly shaped my personal definition of feminism, which was largely about the workplace. When I entered the workforce in 1984, my antennae were "live," ready to pounce on examples of discrimination. As it happens, I have been fortunate to spend 25 years working for a company that, while far from perfect, has never given me cause to complain about discriminatory practices. And because I personally felt secure, I was able to broaden my definition as feminism's third wave came about. Today I see feminism as more all-encompassing. It concerns the rights of women in all countries, all social classes, and in all aspects of our lives. Feminism also encompasses women's history and theology. So much of what we've been taught in these areas has been presented from a predominantly male point of view. I love learning about the role of women in history, dating all the way back to Biblical times.

2. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
I think my response to the first question pretty well answers this one!

• Irish at Ticket to Anywhere
• Mandy at The Narrative Causality
• Jill at The Magic Lasso
• Fleur Fisher at Fleur Fisher Reads
• Michelle at 1morechapter

The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley.  In late 1992, a good friend invited me to join her F2F book group ("F2F" being a bit redundant, because at the time online book groups probably didn't exist, did they?).  Anyway, this group of women nurtured my interest in books by female authors.  Mists was the first book I read with this group, and I was very pregnant at the time.  I probably read half of the book while I was on maternity leave, enjoying the fact that newborn babies sleep a lot.  That soon changed, but by then I had finished!


A book I acquired in some interesting way (gift,serendipity in a used bookstore, prize, etc.):
The Brontes Went to Woolworths, by Rachel Ferguson.  For reasons I don't fully understand, this Virago Modern Classic is considered highly collectible and has sold for $100 or more on sites like Amazon.  A friend of mine was bitten by the Virago collecting bug and when she saw this for £0.01 on Amazon UK, she pounced.  But then, she read the book and didn't particularly care for it, and decided to send it to me.  Now, that's a good friend!

Ein Freund ist jemand, der dich gern hat , by Joan Walsh Anglund (English title: A Friend is Someone who Likes You).  I have several books by Joan Walsh Anglund, published in the early 1960s and given to me when I was a very little girl.  They are sweet little stories about love and friendship with titles like, What Color is Love?, Love is a Special Way of Feeling, Look out the Window, and Christmas is a time of Giving.  This one is representative, since the whole collection has travelled with me throughout my life.  While all of my other titles are in English, this book must have been purchased when I was about five, and we were living in Germany.  My mother hand-wrote a translation on each page.  When I open the pages I can still picture myself sitting in a little chair enjoying the words and pictures.

A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry, my current read.  As predicted last week, it's taking a while to finish -- I'm about two-thirds of the way through now -- but oh, it's wonderful.  Such well-developed characters, such fabulous use of language.  While the subject matter is rather depressing, it's also filled with some memorable, uplifting moments.   And the characters are so alive, I will think of them long after I've finished reading.
 

• Jill at The Magic Lasso
• Raidergirl at an adventure in reading  
• Mandy at The Narrative Causality

1. Tag 3-5 people, so the fun keeps going!
2. Leave a comment at the original post at A Striped Armchair, so that Eva can collect everyone’s answers.
3. If you leave a comment and link back to Eva as the meme’s creator, she will enter you in a book giveaway contest! She has a whole shelf devoted to giveaway books that you’ll be able to choose from, or a bookmooch point if you prefer.
4. Remember that this is all about enjoying books as physical objects, so feel free to describe the exact book you’re talking about, down to that warping from being dropped in the bath water…
5. Make the meme more fun with visuals! Covers of the specific edition you’re talking about, photos of your bookshelves, etc.

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 6 random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.

1. Both of my children arrived early; the first was born 3 1/2 weeks before her due date and the second, 2 1/2 weeks before. I highly recommend this approach.
2. I am 46 and have no desire to color my hair, despite the presence of gray.
3. I am afraid to move in reverse while upside-down. This means I have never been able to do a backwards somersault.
4. I always bake from scratch and hate using a mix. And Bisquick .... yech. Making biscuits and pancakes from scratch is soooo easy!
5. I have never been able to grow my fingernails. This came in handy when I was younger and played the violin. I am less pleased with it now but seem unable to change it.
6. I am obsessive-compulsive about "unread messages" in my e-mail, or in groups like LibraryThing. I really hate the sight of all those unread marks and can spend waaaay to much time trying to turn them all "read."

1. Alisia at Book Haven
2. Joy at Joy's Blog
3. Raidergirl at An Adventure in Reading
4. Michele at 1MoreChapter
5. LiteraryFeline at Musings of a Bookish Kitty
6. Trevor at The Mookse and the Gripes

Jill over at The Maggic Lasso has tagged me with the Blogging Tips Meme.  There are some great ideas here!  Pass it on ...

It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)

Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general.

After that, tag 10 other people. Link love some friends!

Just think - if 10 people start this and the 10 people pass it on to another 10 people, you have 100 links already!

1. Look, read, and learn. **** http://www.neonscent.com/

2. Be EXCELLENT to each other. ** http://www.bushmackel.com/

3. Don’t let money change ya! * http://www.therandomforest.info/

4. Always reply to your comments. ******* http://chattiekat.com/

5. Link liberally — it keeps you and your friends afloat in the Sea of Technorati. ** http://chipsquips.com/

6. Don’t give up - persistence is fertile. ** http://www.velcro-city.co.uk/

7. Give link credit where credit is due. *** http://www.sfsignal.com/

8. Pictures say a thousand words and can usually add to any post. **** http://scifichick.com/

9. Visit all the bloggers that leave comments for you - it's nice to know who is reading! * http://stephaniesbooks.blogspot.com/

10. Thrown in something humorous occasionally, to keep things fun.* http://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/

11. Sometimes, less is more. Step back and look at your blog - is it too busy? Are there enough pictures to make it interesting? Think about how a visitor would perceive your blog - making it visitor-friendly will help get you return visits. *  http://mrstreme.livejournal.com

12. Keep in mind that people might be using a feed reader (Bloglines, Google Reader, etc.) to keep up with your blog.  This means they see your posts, but not that gorgeous new design template, or your completely redesigned sidebars.  So if you change your blog's "look and feel," write a post about it to let everyone  know!  http://laura0218.livejournal.com

Now, it's my turn to tag some blog authors. I only came up with 8, so if you're reading this and aren't listed, don't be hurt ... consider yourself TAGGED!  

Joy at Thoughts of Joy
Heidijane at Adventures in Bookland
Sally at Books and Musings from Downunder
Kathrin at Crazy Cozy Murders
Ariel at Sycoraxpine
Charlene at The Literary Word
Cestovatela at World Enough and Time
RaiderGirl3 at An Adventure in Reading

I've been unofficially "tagged" by 3 blogs (Kookiejar, Lisa, and Wendy), all of whom oddly enough have August birthdays.  So let me mix it up a bit.

I.   Go to Wikipedia and type in your month and day of birth (no year):

February 18

II.  List three events:

1885 - Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published for the first time. 
1901 - Winston Churchill makes his maiden speech in the British House of Commons
1991 - The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at both Paddington station and Victoria station in London.

III. List two births:
1931 - Toni Morrison, American writer, Nobel laureate
1954 - John Travolta, American actor 

IV. List one death:
1546 - Martin Luther, German religious reformer (b. 1483) 

V.   List one holiday:
Gambian independence day

Now I'm supposed to "tag" five other people ... but as my blogging buddies have done, please consider yourself "tagged" if you read this and want to play!  I'd appreciate a comment with a link to your blog so I can visit and see your response.