Monday News: Book deals, 2016 notable books, women in television, and ‘sexism sucks for everybody’
The best Black Friday book deals from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more – Even though it’s now technically Cyber Monday, most of these deals are still valid (Barnes & Noble has changed their discount to 15% for Cyber Monday), and with the holidays coming…
While most people tend to focus on the big deals on things like TVs or laptops on Black Friday, it’s also a great time of the year to buy books. Yes, actual print books, not Kindles (although Amazon does have sales on a bunch of Kindle models too, should digital be more your speed.)
Here’s where you should be looking if you’d like to build out your library this Black Friday.
(And if you’re stuck for book ideas, check out The Verge’s Holiday Gift Guide or our Thanksgiving book round-up for some suggestions!) – The Verge
100 Notable Books of 2016 – If you’re looking for books to buy with those discounts, here are some suggestions, including Louise Erdrich’s LaRose, Michael Chabon’s Moonglow, Adrienne Rich’s Collected Poems 1950-2012, Hope Jahren’s Lab Girl, and Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air (one of my favorite books of the year):
The year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction, selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. This list represents books reviewed since Dec. 6, 2015, when we published our previous Notables list. – New York Times
The Debate – An engaging and thoughtful discussion among Kristen Bell, Tracee Ellis Ross, Michelle Monaghan, and Cynthia Nixon about a variety of issues in television, from ageism to sexism to diversity and racism (note: the full debate is broken up into several sections, accessible once you click “watch the full video”). Much of what they discuss is also relevant for fiction (especially the discussion they have about diverse stories and ‘artists as influencers’):
What happens when you ask some of TV’s most intelligent and outspoken actresses to discuss the most controversial topics in Hollywood? Honest, no-holds-barred views on diversity, equal pay, age discrimination and violence towards women on screen. Press play to get involved now.- Net-A-Porter
Sexism Sucks for Everybody, Science Confirms – Although we often talk about sexism in terms of social justice and civil rights, a meta-analysis of more than a decade of research finds that sexism is also a mental health issue – for men. In fact, the “toxic” trait of self-reliance can lead to an unwillingness “to seek mental health treatment when they need it,” exacerbating the problem on both individual and societal levels. You can read the study in its entirety here (PDF).
But being sexist, it turns out, also sucks for the men themselves. That’s the conclusion of a meta-analysis published today in the Journal of Counseling Psychology that aggregates the results of nearly 80 separate studies on masculine norms and mental health over 11 years. The meta-analysis, which involved almost 20,000 men in total, found that men who adhered to these norms not only harmed the women around them—they also exhibited significantly worse social functioning and psychological health. . . .
“Masculine norms” can refer to a whole range of characteristics, leading researchers to focus on 11 separate aspects of American masculinity in particular. The researchers found that three specific traits associated with toxic masculinity were particularly harmful to men’s psyches: being self-reliant, being dominant over women and being a “playboy.” Yet other norms, such as putting work and career first, did not seem to have any negative mental health effects. – Smithsonian Magazine
