spiritual teachers and sexual power

I think by this point you all know that I've been reading some books on women and Buddhism.

I'm returning Turning the Wheel to the library today. I found the introduction really helpful, as I wrote in a previous post, and I also read a significant chapter called "Secrets," which was on the problem of male Buddhist teachers in America having inappropriate sexual relationships with female students. It seems that most texts do not mention anything about this, and it's hushed up in many communities for a variety of reasons.

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Anyway. This has made me think a little bit about things, and my conclusion is that it's not okay for religious leaders to ask for sex from their followers. It's too hard for people to say no to someone who they see as the key to their dreams. Dude, find some other religious leaders to have sex with. Or stick with your partner(s).

I think I've gotten everything I need from this book, at this point, and I'm returning it to the library.

Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn

This series has gotten some pretty awesome reviews, so I started reading it. The plot concerns a world in which all males have suddenly died, with the mysterious exception of the main character, Yorrick, and his pet monkey, Ampersand. I like it so far (ie, to the end of the first collected volume). The plot is good, the characters are interesting and believable, and the dialogue is pretty funny in places. Three stars.

The Best of Friends by Sara James and Ginger Mauney

This was a recommendation from the booksense site. This book follows two friends for more than twenty years as they pursue their dreams of careers, husbands, and children. I love the alternation between the women's voices - it's a non-fiction book, and each woman writes her own story. I also liked the descriptions of different parts of the world. I was happy, too, that the book does not whitewash the times when things didn't go so well; they don't always stay in touch, and sometimes they resent each other. What I suppose I didn't enjoy as much, well, I guess you could say their dreams are a bit mundane. At the end of the day, they both decide that their awesome careers are just not as wonderful as being moms. Also, because one writer is a reporter, much of her story is about covering various tragedies worldwide, which was a little bleak. Nor do we ever see her chasing a happy story.
I'd give it three stars, because it was engaging and hard to put down. But I don't feel like it really gave me a sense of how awesome women are or how much they can do in the way that I thought it might.

now that's service

Because I am such a FINE customer, and because I was SO early in my requesting, the library was sweet enough to call and tell me that HP7 was in for me today. I wasn't willing to buy the book, especially since I don't have volumes two through six in my collection. Given that, I will try to read it quickly so that the other people in the long, long line can get their turns.