No Nipples

A long time ago my little sister got one of the early Barbie dolls: Black and white striped one-piece, unbendable legs, over-sized bosom, no nipples, and a goofy grin. Even if in the form of a male fantasy, Barbie was a move in the right direction, away from the ever popular Raggedy Anne or the early indoctrination of the Betsy-Wetsy doll.

Last week cancer took my baby sister. I remember that doll. I keep reading.

August 2023 Reading Pool

1. Cesar Birotteau — Balzac, Honoré de
2. Six Poets: Hardy To Larkin — Alan Bennett
3. Landing — Emma Donaghue
4. The Lay of the Land — Richard Ford
5. Virtual Light — William Gibson
6. “J” Is for Judgment — Sue Grafton
7. The Map of Tiny Perfect Things — Lev Grossman
8. City of Endless Night — Milo M. Hastings
9. The Last Chairlift — John Irving
10. Knots & Crosses — Ian Rankin
11. Fury — Salmon Rushdie
12. The Trampling of the Lilies — Rafael Sabatini
13. Juliet — Le Marquise de Sade
14. The Demon — Hubert Selby Jr.
15. Félicie — Georges Simenon
16. Stalin’s Ghost — Martin Cruz Smith
17. Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont — Elizabeth Taylor
18. The House of Broken Angels — Luis Alberto Urrea
19. Julian — Gore Vidal
20. To Paradise — Hanya Yanagihara