What I'm reading + NOTD pt. 101

Fruit of Knowledge (original title Kunskapensfrukt) by Liv Stromquist is a funny, powerful and eye-opening graphic nonfiction book about the female body and our love-hate relationship with it throughout history.

From Adam and Eve to pussy hats, people have punished, praised, pathologized and politicised vulvas, vaginas, clitorises, and menstruation. In Fruit of Knowledge, celebrated Swedish cartoonist Liv Stroemquist traces how different cultures and traditions have shaped women's health and beyond. 

Her biting, informed commentary and ponytailed avatar guides the reader from the darkest chapters of history (a clitoridectomy performed on a five-year-old American child as late as 1948) to the lightest (vulvas used as architectural details as a symbol of protection).

On the surface this is indeed a entertaining and amusing read (because of the writing style), but the stories presented are indeed horrifying, especially if you are a woman. I definitely recommend this book.

The nail polish is from Depend. There was a limited edition holographic line a couple of years ago. The number of nail polish is not visible any more, but with some research I think that my nail polish is number 2033 Ocean Blue. The holographic effect is so strong. it's one league better that the Catrice one, that I showed you last time. The bottle is so small though, it has just 5 ml of nail polish. The application was easy, and two coats were needed.

Have a great day!

What I'm reading + NOTD pt. 100

Clay Jensen comes home from school to find outside his front door a mysterious box with his name on it. Inside he discovers a series of cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush. Only, she committed suicide two weeks earlier. On the first tape, Hannah explains that there are 13 reasons why she did what she did - and Clay is one of them. If he listens, Clay will find out how he got onto the list - what he hears will change his life forever. "You can't stop the future. You can't rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play." 

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is a YA novel, first published in 2007, but got more publicity again after the television series 13 Reasons Why was released in 2017. The screenplay contains several deviations from the book, including, but not limited to, name changes, plot elements, and character personalities. 

The book received recognition and awards from several young adult literary associations, and the paperback edition reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list in July 2011. 

The nail polish is from Essence's limited edition, that was in stores a few years back. It was a summer limited edition with the name 50's Girls Reloaded and the nail polish has a name You're a Heartbreaker. The colour is blue grey with tiny silver shimmer. A pretty one. 

Have a great day!

What I'm reading + NOTD pt. 99

Lust, romance, attachment... Anatomy of Love explores such questions as whether monogamy is natural, why we choose certain partners and why we might cheat on them. In this completely revised edition, anthropologist Helen Fisher adds a host of new data on the brain in love and on courtship in our digital age. She casts an original (and optimistic) lens on modern love, proposing that we are returning to patterns of romance that evolved in our primordial past. 

Helen E. Fisher is an anthropology professor and human behaviour researcher at the Rutgers University and is one of the major researchers in the field of romantic interpersonal attraction. 

The nail polish is from Catrice (discontinued) with the name Oh My Goldness! and in the bottle it looks like the China Glaze's Harvest Moon, but this one is not a foil nail polish like China Glaze, but it has tiny glitter. And for that reason, I chose a peel off base coat. The polish needs at least three coats for decent capacity, I'd say the more the better and for that reason I don’t like it. 

Have a great day!