Wednesday, April 14, 2010

College Girls by Lynn Peril


First, I suck. I've been meaning to post this blog for almost a week, but I've either been too busy or just not in the blogging kind of mood. Which is a shame because this is a really good book!

College Girls is a nonfiction look at, you guessed it, college girls through the years. The author explores how women first were given the opportunity to a higher education, and how not only the collegiate landscape changed, but the girls themselves. Also included are societal impressions of college girls, from the thought that they were all spinsters in the 1890s to husband hunters in the 1940s and 1950s to women with loose morals in the 1970s.

This is the first nonfiction book I have picked up in a while. I originally planned on reading bits and pieces of it for the purpose of some research, but I was so fascinated with the description that I felt the need to just read it cover to cover. Frankly, I'm glad I did. Never before have I felt so proud to have a college degree. Periodically my jaw dropped with surprise at the things people actually believed 100+ years ago (women should not study during their menstrual cycle because it would disrupt blood flow and thus damage their reproductive organs?!), and parts of it I found immensely interesting. I loved the photos and various advertisements that were included because it really gave a great feel to the particular time period represented.

My only complaint about this book was that the author spent too much time I felt on early early early college days (1800s) and not as much time on college girls in the 1930s and on. I would have loved to have seen more information about those eras, how the Depression affected colleges and the girls there, how WWII impacted college, and so on.

One more complaint: This book actually made me miss college days a little bit. You never realize how fun they were until they're long gone.

2 comments:

  1. Added to my TBR!
    I look back at college and am thankful I went, experienced and lived. I wouldn't want to go back knowing what I know now. That was part of the fun!

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  2. I think I posted this on the GR review, but you should definitely pick up Pink Think by the same author.

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