I'm sure there are theses that link the sociopolitical climate of the time to whether or not horror is entertainment, and if so what kind.

The theory is that horror movies are popular when things are going badly. People are anxious; they want catharsis. So, Japan's economic downturn in the 1990s led to the horror boom over there.

With print... I think horror is better suited to short forms, and the market for short stories and novellas has withered away. Although, it seems to me that the number of horror comics is increasing, so maybe that's where the short-story writers are going.

I belong to a feminist book group and I'd like to suggest a work of fiction for one of the meetings: They've read "Posession" which I liked but they all hated, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman(Whatsherface from The Yellow Wallpaper) I love fiction, but I'm not sure what to suggest. We mostly read...manifestos, I suppose. I want something a little challenging, but not as involved as "Possession", but not so Oprah-ish that there's only one possible reaction you could have(group leader likes debate) Thoughts?

You know, erika, I think you could do any of Laura Lippman's last three stand alones and find a lot to talk about (especially Every Secret Thing which has a whole passel of complicated women characters). They are very well written and move along nicely. Plus it would be fun for you!

If your book club hated Possession, I think you need a new book club.

Signed, possibly irrational with the love.

Rationally, I suggest "Little Women."

I'm guessing they're impatient, flea. It took some investment, but I liked it a lot when I took the time for it. Lisah, good idea. Might as well work with my crime-junkie proclivities, but I'll be keeping track of the other suggestions as well because we're a smallish group.

I'd suggest Margaret Atwood'd Cat's Eye [link] which is a fucking great book. Or Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons, [link] which is slighter, but a good read.

The Wide Sargasso Sea? Although I don't know if that's feminist so much as postmodern...

The Awakening by Kate Chopin is a classic feminist work, although certainly not cheery. For something different, there's Louisa May Alcott's Work, which is a semi-biographical adult novel that talks about the difficulties women had trying to make a living. Another possibility is Dorothy Sayers' Gaudy Night, which focuses on the choices women have to make.

Another possibility is Dorothy Sayers' Gaudy Night, which focuses on the choices women have to make.

One thing to keep in mind with Gaudy Night is that it is very much a product of its time. I have a hard time reading it because of some of the assumptions that are made.

I think those assumptions are things you can talk about in terms of feminism. The basic questions haven't changed: Do we choose the life of the mind or of the heart? Do marriage and children limit what women can accomplish? Do men have to make the same choices?