Lipstick Jungle: Does it help women?

I just finished reading Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell this weekend. I picked this book up on sale one day long ago because I was curious about the author of Sex and the City (SATC). I never watched SATC nor did I read that particular book, but I am aware of the basic premise. These types of books are not my usual fare and I'm not even sure what I mean by "these types of books" -- Chick Lit? Fem Lit? Hmmm ...

Anyway, Lipstick Jungle is the story of three 40-something women climbing the corporate ladder in New York City. One is a magazine executive, another a movie exec, and the third is a fashion designer. Interwoven throughout the corporate/professional climb is the age old significant other relationship storyline. In one sense, these women are not your average Jane Doe -- they have way more money and corporate/professional power than the average woman; but even as I was internally pooh pooh-ing these storylines and characters, a part of me could relate. I could relate to the gender disparities that still exist in the corporate/professional world and the way in which women are expected to be 100% available to do business and 100% available for family duties ... all at the same time.

Through her characters, Bushnell points out the way in which women who climb the corporate ladder are viewed differently and often held to a different standard by society, their colleagues and family than are men pursuing the same goals. I can still remember the first time I was called a b*tch by a male colleague because I stated that something under my purview would be done legally and according to corporate policy. I was in no way nasty about it, but apparently I was a b*tch for refusing to back down. This is only a small and rather minor personal example of the types of situations that Bushnell presents in Lipstick Jungle.

Bushnell also points out some things that are not intuitive behaviors for many women when they participate in business/professional ventures. Let's just call it the, "It's not personal, it's business" way of doing business. (Side note for those that don't know what that means. It is a quote from the movie The Godfather. Most men know about this type of interaction. Many women either do not or prefer not.)

I don't want to belabor the plot and I can only stretch the gender disparity as official treatise in this book so far, but I guess I would say that the book is interesting for bringing out this issue and does point out the need for a "thick skin" when doing business. But why not read a non-fiction book, essays or articles on these topics? For myself, I would prefer to go the non-fiction route and give these topics more direct thought rather than dredge them out of a fictional story that many women would consider "beach" reading. I fear that for many readers the book would simply be read as a women-rule-men-suck anthem. Of course, that is my own preference and opinion.

What are your thoughts? Do books like this help the cause of gender parity or do they hinder? Would most women read this book the way I did?

Note: I'm not sure what kind of comments this will generate (if any), but please be respectful if someone has a differing opinion.

TSS: Reading Journal #1

Edit: I wrote the following post a few days ago and had it sitting in draft mode until this weekend. When I got up this morning to read blogs, I noticed that Iris of Iris on Books was thinking along the same lines! We've both written about book blogs as reading journal. In fact, we are both using the same label "Reading Journal." I guess great minds think alike. Go over and see what Iris has to say.

When I started this blog, it was a pastiche without any real focus. Mostly I just wrote random pieces in order to discipline myself to sit down and write. Then I stumbled into book blogs and decided that I would focus on books and reading. The intent was to treat my book blogging as more of a reading journal than anything else. Mostly I've written reviews (the word "review" being loosely defined) and kept track of my reading list. I'd like to go back to the idea of keeping a reading journal here on Tip of the Iceberg. This is mostly for my own benefit, but I do enjoy sharing my thoughts and hearing what you all have to say in response. It is always exciting to receive comments at the blog and share thoughts on Twitter.

With all of that said, here are some of my recent thoughts ...

I've been doing well with the TBR Double Dare. All twelve books and one short story that I've read in 2012 have been from my TBR shelves. This is gratifying since I'm trying to read more books I already have and buy or borrow less. This is old news for most of you AND it is also something that many of you are trying to do. If you are trying to read mostly TBR books this year, how is that going?

I went kind of crazy buying YA books last year and then got a little weary of so much YA. Don't misunderstand, some of it has been quite enjoyable but after the umpteenth YA with teenage characters and teenage concerns I was craving something else. At this point, I'm spacing out the YA books so I can enjoy them a bit more.

Another area I've burnt out on a bit is the paranormal genre. Again, I'm spacing out the reading of those I still have on the stacks.

The reading for the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge is going along nicely. This challenge lasts all year, so I can pace myself on reading from that genre too. I try to mix up the types of mystery books I read which helps alleviate burn out. Reading the short story "Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Poe was more of a classics read for me than mystery, and A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters was more of a historical. I tend to read a lot of crime fiction so have been careful to mix those up with other mystery sub genres to keep from tiring of it.

Have you noticed a theme yet? Apparently, I'm trying to keep from reading burn out.

The year long Clarissa reading project is moving right along. The readings for January and February were not too demanding, but the amount of reading time I'll need to dedicate to Clarissa increases as of March (now!) since the number of letters for each month become more copious. I'm looking forward to it, but it will require some discipline. Hope I can keep up!

So far I've only had one book that I started reading and then set aside. I started The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson last month. It is non fiction about the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. I'm not sure why I lost interest. Perhaps I didn't want to read a book with major focus on a serial killer. I'll try to return to it soon. I don't think it is the book so much as it is my mood. Just looking for something not quite so real and depressing I guess.

I did find reading The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley to be a nice antidote to The Devil in the White City. A bit of time travel, G-rated romance, and Cornish countryside was just what I needed. It was such a lovely read and a bit of escape from real life.

I picked up Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell right after completing The Rose Garden and decided to read something else before getting into that one. Jumping straight from a lovely, soothing, G-rated romantic novel into a book about 40-something women climbing the soul eating career ladder and juggling bad relationships and kids was just not going to work for me. So I read Wither by Lauren DeStefano, a dystopian YA novel that was only mildly jarring before going back to Lipstick Jungle. I'm almost done with the Bushnell book. I'm not sure why I even had that book in my TBR stack. I think I picked it up on sale and was curious about the author who was responsible for Sex and the City; not my usual kind of reading and I probably won't be reading any more Bushnell books.

Well, this has been a bit of a ramble! Perhaps future Reading Journal posts will be a bit more focused in some fashion. This is new for me so I'll be working it out as I go.