“Straightforward and simple”: Amazon Customer Review of “Why Are You Atheists So Angry?”

I’ve gotten some nice Amazon customer reviews for Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and I thought I’d repost some of them. Here’s a good one, five stars out of five. (As of this writing, the book has 148 customer reviews, and 120 are either 5-star or 4-star.) Here’s what Capencer51 had to say:

Straightforward and simple

A lot of atheist books out there rely heavily on science, but not every person is well grounded in science. This book is a must read for anyone that fits into that category and is curious about the thought processes of atheists. Greta documents her reasons why religion makes her “angry” and brilliantly backs up her reasoning in a way that anybody can understand.

Thanks, Capencer51! And if any of you have read Why Are You Atheists So Angry?, it’d be awesome if you’d post a review.

***

Here, by the way, is ordering info for the book in all three formats — print, ebook, and audiobook!

Ebook editions:
The Kindle edition is available at Amazon.
The Nook edition is available at Barnes & Noble.
Smashwords has the book in multiple formats, including iBooks, Sony Reader, Kobo, Kindle (.mobi), Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, any other reader that takes the Epub format, Palm Doc (PDB), PDF, RTF, Online Reading via HTML, and Plain Text for either downloading or viewing.
All ebook editions and formats cost just $7.99.

Print edition:
The print edition is available at Powell’s Books.
The print edition is also available at Amazon. However, be advised (if you haven’t been already) that seriously abusive labor practices have been reported at Amazon warehouses. Please bear that in mind when you’re deciding where to buy my book — or indeed, where to buy anything. (For the record: Powell’s employees are unionized.) Again, that’s the link for Amazon US — it’s available in other regions as well.
The print edition is available at Last Gasp.
The print edition is $14.95 USD. It is published by Pitchstone Publishing.

Wholesale sales of the print edition:
Bookstores and other retailers can get the book from Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and other standard wholesale distributors. It can also be purchased directly from the publisher, Pitchstone Publishing.

Audiobook edition:
The audiobook version is available at Audible.
The audiobook version is available on iTunes.
The audiobook version is available on Amazon.
And yes, I did the recording for it!

Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

“A worthy addition to any atheist bookshelf”: Amazon Customer Review of “Why Are You Atheists So Angry?”

A worthy addition to any atheist bookshelf

Don’t expect a philosophical thesis that silences religion once and for all. Don’t expect a league of new arguments to use against believers.

Rather, expect a very condensed, easy to read introduction to some of the things atheists think, and some of the reasons they are so passionate about them. The book is written in a very conversational style, and at 156 pages, isn’t too long to chew through in a few days. More importantly, it’s not too long that you can’t ask friends and family to read it when they start to ask questions about your atheism. This is an excellent book to get someone’s feet wet. If they’re interested further they can jump off into more thorough texts referenced at the end of the book. Or maybe, they can just walk away with a little clearer idea of what an atheist believes. Either way, this book fills a gap much needed by the atheism visibility movement, and it does so wonderfully.

Thanks, Rhsanborn! And if any of you have read Why Are You Atheists So Angry?, it’d be awesome if you’d post a review.

***

Here, by the way, is ordering info for the book in all three formats — print, ebook, and audiobook!

Audiobook edition:
The audiobook version is available at Audible.
The audiobook version is available on iTunes.
The audiobook version is available on Amazon.
And yes, I did the recording for it!

“Greta writes so well and clearly”: Amazon Customer Review of “Why Are You Atheists So Angry?”

Greta writes so well and clearly.

I occasionally visit a liberal Methodist Sunday school class on modern theology. I’m going to try to convince them to read this. (Wish me luck!)

Thanks, Joe! And if any of you have read Why Are You Atheists So Angry?, it’d be awesome if you’d post a review.

***

Here, by the way, is ordering info for the book in all three formats — print, ebook, and audiobook!

Audiobook edition:
The audiobook version is available at Audible.
The audiobook version is available on iTunes.
The audiobook version is available on Amazon.
And yes, I did the recording for it!

Farewell

As you may have already heard elsewhere, I’m leaving Freethought Blogs. Today is my last day here. I’m one of the co-founders of the new blogging site, The Orbit, dedicated to atheism and social justice.

I’m going to keep this short, since it’s very emotional and bittersweet. My years here at Freethought Blogs have changed my life in ways both large and small, and have made my career as an atheist writer. I am hugely grateful to Ed and PZ for starting this network and inviting me to join it, and I’m hugely grateful to colleagues here, both present and past. I have every expectation that Freethought Blogs will continue to thrive and flourish, and I look forward to the two networks working together.

And I hope you come visit us at The Orbit, at the-orbit.net! The bloggers there come from Freethought Blogs, the Patheos Atheist channel, Skepchick, and independent blogs. Our roster currently includes Alex Gabriel, Alix Jules, Alyssa Gonzalez, Ani, Ania Bula, Aoife O’Riordan, Ashley F. Miller, Benny Vimes, Brianne Bilyeu, Chris Hall, Dana Hunter, Dori Mooneyham, Greta Christina, Heina Dadabhoy, Jason Thibeault, Luxander Pond, Miri Mogilevsky, Niki M., Sincere Kirabo, Stephanie Zvan, Tony Thompson, and Zinnia Jones. Hope to see you there!

Support the Black Skeptics “First in the Family” Humanist Scholarship Fund

Please support the Black Skeptics of Los Angeles First in the Family Humanist Scholarship initiative! Please donate if you can — even small donations help, they really do add up — and please spread the word on social media.

In 2013, Black Skeptics Los Angeles (BSLA), a 501c3 organization, spearheaded its First in the Family Humanist Scholarship initiative, which focuses on providing resources to undocumented, foster care, homeless and LGBTQ youth who will be the first in their families to go to college. Responding directly to the school-to-prison pipeline crisis in communities of color, BSLA is the first atheist organization to specifically address college pipelining for youth of color with an explicitly anti-racist multicultural emphasis. If current prison pipelining trends persist the Education Trust estimates that only “one of every 20 African American kindergartners will graduate from a four-year California university” in the next decade. In addition:

The school-to-prison pipeline disproportionately locks up African American and Latino youth, leaving many with criminal records and no possibility of “re-entry” to employment, housing or higher education

African American youth are severely over-represented in foster care, homeless populations, and juvenile jails

Foster care and homeless youth of color have some of the lowest rates of college transfer and graduation amongst college youth populations

LGBTQ youth of color have disproportionately high suspension/expulsion and push-out rates in U.S. public schools

Black females are consistently suspended at greater rates than ALL OTHER groups besides black males

So-called inner city schools have fewer Advanced Placement, college prep and honors courses and highly qualified STEM teachers than their white suburban counterparts

With your support, Black Skeptics hopes to award at least four youth $1000 scholarships to assist with their books, tuition, housing and other living expenses. Their 2013-2015 scholars are now at USC, UCLA, UC Riverside, Cal State University Long Beach, Babson College, University of North Texas, UC Merced and El Camino College.

So please support the First in the Family Humanist Scholarship initiative! Please donate if you can — even small donations help, they really do add up — and please spread the word. Thanks!

BSLA and their alum also thank their previous supporters: Freedom from Religion Foundation, American Humanist Association, Atheists United, Black Non-Believers, Minority Atheists of Michigan and more!

My Erotic Novel Crowdfunder Has Passed $2,000! Thanks, All!

Hi, all! I’m writing an erotic fiction novel, I’m crowdfunding for it — and the campaign just passed the $2,000 mark! Big thanks to the 73 backers so far who have kicked in. This support is going to give me the time I need to complete this book, and your confidence in my work means a lot. I’m sure you’re going to enjoy your perks (detailed below) — and mostly, I think you’re going to enjoy the hell out of this book.

For those who haven’t contributed but are interested: My novel is currently titled Coming. It tells the story of one woman’s sex life, starting in 1970 when she’s 18, and ending in roughly the present day. Each chapter describes a different sexual encounter, at a different point in her life: essentially, the book is a series of intense sex scenes, with several years between them. I’m looking at this woman’s life — her name is Sheila — through the lens of sex. I’m exploring Sheila’s sex life, the rest of her life, and how they intertwine. In particular, I’m looking at how she makes choices about sex: Sheila is often adventurous, even reckless, and she makes decisions impulsively, but she’s also cautious, a careful planner, and likes to be in control. I’m interested in how being both impulsive and a control freak plays out out in her sex life.

Yes, I’m writing the novel with lots of fun, hot, sexy sex. Women with women, women with men, probably some men with men, probably some gender fluidity, some of it kinky and SM-y, some of it not. It is an erotic novel, and I’m making it erotic. It’s also a novel — a story about people’s lives. As you know if you’ve read my erotic fiction, I hate erotica that’s, “plot, sex scene, plot, sex scene.” I don’t see these as separate. Erotica is much hotter when you feel what the sex feels like — not just what’s happening physically, but the emotions, the sensations, how this sex is going to change the characters’ lives.

I’m not going to be falsely modest — as an erotic fiction writer, I am very good at this, it’s one of the things I do best. People who have read my short erotic fiction collection, Bending, can attest to this. Don’t take my word for it — the reviews, both professional and from customers, are glowing.

So. Hopefully you’re intrigued, and want to read this novel. Why am I doing an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign?

There are expenses with writing and publishing a book. I generally self-publish my ebooks, which means paying a formatter. I’m a control freak about cover design, which means I get wonderful covers — but also means I have to pay a designer.

But the Number One expense of writing a book is time. Books do not spring fully formed from an author. It takes time — and I’ll need to pay the bills and the mortgage while I’m writing it. I’ll keep doing my other paid writing — blogging, magazine articles, etc. — but I won’t able to do as much of it. Writing a book is immensely fun, deeply rewarding — erotic fiction especially — and it produces something of substance that people want to read. But it takes time. Whenever you buy a book, or support an author’s crowdfunding campaign, that’s most of what you’re paying for. The more money I raise, the more time I’ll be able to put into this book, and the better it will be.

I’m offering a number of perks for donators. They’re listed on the Indiegogo page. Perks include: advance ebook copies; signed print copies; exclusive progress reports; invitation to a private launch party; a PDF copy of my “Kill Your Darlings” file for the book (a rare glimpse into the creative process!); a one-on-one Skype conversation discussing the book (no, it will not be Skype sex!); or copies in all formats of every book I’ve ever published, and every book I ever publish from now on, with all print copies signed with a personalized Thank you. But mostly, I hope you want to read this novel. Please kick in what you can, and please help spread the word. Thanks!

Godless Perverts Social Club – Game Night! Tuesday March 1

Godless Perverts is having another game night! Our last two have been well-attended and big fun, so it’s back by popular demand, on Tuesday, March 1. As you may have noticed, Wicked Grounds has a huge stash of games including chess and checkers, Cards Against Humanity*, Scrabble, Fluxx, Slash, Gloom, and much, much more. Feel free to bring your own games if you’re not sure Wicked Grounds has a copy of your favorite.

We’re meeting at Wicked Grounds, the kink cafe and boutique, at 289 8th Street at Folsom in San Francisco (near Civic Center BART). 7-9 pm. Admission is free, but we ask that you buy food and/or drink at the cafe if you can: Wicked Grounds has beverages, light snacks, full meals, and milkshakes made of literal awesome sauce. We meet at Wicked Grounds on the first Tuesday of every month: we also meet in Oakland, on the third Thursday. All orientations, genders, and kinks (or lack thereof) are welcome. Community is one of the reasons we started Godless Perverts. There are few enough places to land when you decide you’re an atheist; far fewer if you’re also LGBT, queer, kinky, poly, trans, or are just interested in sexuality. And the sex-positive/ alt-sex/ whatever- you- want- to- call- it community isn’t always the most welcoming place for non-believers. So please join us. We meet at Wicked Grounds on the first Tuesday of every month: we also meet in Oakland, on the third Thursday. Hope to see you there!

Godless Perverts presents and promotes a positive view of sexuality without religion, by and for sex-positive atheists, agnostics, humanists, and other non-believers, through performance events, panel discussions, social gatherings, media productions, and other appropriate outlets. Our events and media productions present depictions, explorations, and celebrations of godless sexualities — including positive, traumatic, and complex experiences — focusing on the intersections of sexuality with atheism, materialism, skepticism, and science, as well as critical, questioning, mocking, or blasphemous views of sex and religion. Godless Perverts is committed to feminism, diversity, inclusivity, and social justice. We seek to create safe and welcoming environments for all non-believers and believing allies who are respectful of the mission, and are committed to taking positive action to achieve this.

*(If you decide to play CAH, please be cautious; it can be a really hard game between people who don’t know each other and aren’t familiar with each others’ limits and triggers.)

Secular Meditation: A Review

The very short review of Rick Heller’s Secular Meditation: If you’re curious about secular meditation and mindfulness, there’s finally a book for you. And it’s a good one.

The somewhat longer review: the book is exactly what it sounds like—a guide to meditation practices, written from an entirely secular viewpoint. And it’s hugely welcome. The vast majority of writing, teaching, and other guidance about meditation come from a religious or supernatural perspective. So when humanists want to pursue these practices, we’re given teachings and techniques we mistrust because they’re founded on supernatural assumptions. We understand that the mind is a product of the brain and the rest of the body, and that the mental or physical practices of meditation might affect how we think and feel—but we have to figure out which of these practices have good research supporting them, and which are nonsense or even dogma. We might even be subjected to teachings that denigrate us, telling us that our supernatural soul is the most important part of our being and our lives are hollow if we don’t believe in it. Even supposedly secular teachings about meditation are often rooted in supernatural ideas about “energy” and whatnot.

*****

Thus begins my review of Secular Meditation: 32 Practices for Cultivating Inner Peace, Compassion, and Joy, for The Humanist. To read more, read the rest of the review. Enjoy!

Yes, I’m Asking For Donations For an Erotic Novel

Your asking for donations for a porn novel? Are you kidding?

A commenter on Facebook asked this the other day, replying to a post about the crowdfunder I’m doing for my erotic novel, Coming. Here’s my reply:

Yes, I am.

I think sex is important and interesting, and I think it’s worth writing about, in both nonfiction and fiction. I’ve been writing about sex from a feminist, queer, political perspective for decades – long before I started writing about atheism. Many of my readers enjoy and respect my writing about sex, and want to support it and read more of it.

If you don’t want to read this novel and don’t want to support the crowdfunder for it, don’t. Not everyone is interested in everything, and that’s fine: I’m probably not going to support a crowdfunder for a book about golf. But if you hold sex writing in contempt and think the very idea of asking for support for it is ridiculous, I’m going to ask you to either reconsider that opinion or leave my page.

And for those who do enjoy and respect my writing about sex, and want to support it and read more of it: Here’s the link to the crowdfunder! A little more about the novel: Tentatively titled Coming, it tells the story of one woman’s sex life, starting in 1970 when she’s 18, and ending in roughly the present day. Each chapter describes a different sexual encounter, at a different point in her life: essentially, the book is a series of intense sex scenes, with several years between them. I’m looking at this woman’s life — her name is Sheila — through the lens of sex. I’m exploring Sheila’s sex life, the rest of her life, and how they intertwine. In particular, I’m looking at how she makes choices about sex: Sheila is often adventurous, even reckless, and she makes decisions impulsively, but she’s also cautious, a careful planner, and likes to be in control. I’m interested in how being both impulsive and a control freak plays out out in her sex life.

If this makes you want to read the novel — please kick into the crowdfunder if you can! I’m offering a number of perks for donators, including signed copies of the book, regular updates about the book’s progress, invitations to a private book launch party, one-on-one Skype conversations about the book, and thank yous, of course. (A complete list of perks is on the Indiegogo page.) If you don’t want to read the novel, that’s totally fine; whether it’s because you don’t like erotic fiction or aren’t interested in this particular book. But if you’re going to express dismissive contempt for the very idea of erotic fiction as something of value, you picked the wrong writer to tangle with.

Clinton or Sanders? READ THE COMMENT POLICY BEFORE COMMENTING

I want to have a conversation, and I’m putting very strict limits on it. If you can’t abide by these limits, please don’t participate. If you violate these boundaries, I will block you or put you into comment moderation, possibly without being given a second chance (at my discretion).

I want to hear your case for Clinton over Sanders, or for Sanders over Clinton. If you’re on the fence, I want to hear why. More about election specifics in a moment: here are the discussion parameters. READ THEM CAREFULLY.

I only want to hear from people who accept that this is not an obvious choice, or at the very least understand and respect why some people would make a different choice. I want the conversation to remain civil, with absolutely no name-calling or personal attacks aimed at the candidates or the other people in the conversation. I’m even going to ask people to dial back on invective and heated rhetoric aimed at ideas and behavior: usually I’m okay with that, but here I’m not. I want a civil, calm conversation, based on the assumption of good faith. And this should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: I do not want to hear even a whiff of sexism or misogyny aimed at Clinton. If you so much as use her first name while using Sanders’ last, you’re out of the conversation.

And I specifically want to hear your thoughts about which candidate would be a better President and why. I don’t want to hear arguments based on electability. I’ve seen convincing arguments that both candidates are more electable, based on current polling, who’s traditionally likely to vote, which demographics each candidate is likely to bring to the polls, etc. I have my own thoughts on that subject, but it’s not what I want to discuss here. And I don’t want to hear arguments based on either candidate’s followers being jerks. That’s happening on both sides, and unless you can make a REALLY convincing case that this is relevant to which candidate would make a better President, leave it. I want to know which candidate you think would make a better President.

Here’s my current state of mind. I did that “I Side With” quiz to see which candidate agreed with me on more of the issues. I got 98% agreement with Sanders — and 95% agreement with Clinton. That difference is insignificant. Even if there had been a significant difference, stated positions on issues aren’t the only thing that matters (although of course they’re hugely important). A candidate’s history also matters: are they likely to go back on their word, are they effective at building coalitions, do they listen to criticism and respond well to it, are they in bed with corporate interests, and so on. And of course, not all issues show up on this quiz or others like it; this quiz skews more towards platform positions than voting records; and while it allows you to weight which issues are more important to you, it doesn’t allow you to say “Dealbreaker.”

The most persuasive big-picture argument I’ve seen for Sanders: he’s the only candidate who could potentially change the system. Clinton is on the liberal side of moderate, a business as usual candidate — and the business is broken. The political and economic system in the United States is rotten to the core, it needs radical change, and Clinton will not make that happen.

The most persuasive big-picture argument I’ve seen for Clinton: Sanders is not good at management, compromise, organization, or getting along with people generally. If Sanders is elected, he’ll be a bad President and will be unable to effect the changes he’s promising.

So — make your case. Again, SEE THE COMMENT POLICY ABOVE, and if you can’t abide by it, please stay out of the conversation. Thanks!

Greta Christina's Blog

Atheism, sex, politics, dreams, and whatever. Thinking out loud since 2005.

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“Straightforward and simple”: Amazon Customer Review of “Why Are You Atheists So Angry?”

“A worthy addition to any atheist bookshelf”: Amazon Customer Review of “Why Are You Atheists So Angry?”

“Greta writes so well and clearly”: Amazon Customer Review of “Why Are You Atheists So Angry?”

Farewell

My Erotic Novel Crowdfunder Has Passed $2,000! Thanks, All!

Godless Perverts Social Club – Game Night! Tuesday March 1

Secular Meditation: A Review

Yes, I’m Asking For Donations For an Erotic Novel

Clinton or Sanders? READ THE COMMENT POLICY BEFORE COMMENTING