Changes

Despite the many interesting and nuanced areas of discussion, it feels like 'Speaking Up' is missing half its content. The research is absorbing but it's also dense and leans towards the theoretical. This is not a book to read in a cafe (I tried); it demands the quiet focus you'd give to an academic text. It is repeatedly frustrating to see Jule shed a light on an intriguing piece of research but then move on to the next concept without any suggestions for how we can change norms like the fact ''women come out as the de facto intimacy experts over men''. 'Speaking Up' would be a more relatable and satisfying book if each chapter had a case study of a few pages, a personal experience of the relationship between language and gender. And for those of us who love self-help, real world tips to try would be brilliant - while there are bullet pointed summaries at the end of the every chapter, the sheer quantity of interesting information Jule packs in makes it difficult to come away with any clarity. Of course, as the aptly named 'anti conclusion' says, this is not a subject which should be boiled down to a few neat explanations and do's and don'ts. Having read the book, the reader will likely be more aware of the nuances of language use as we go about daily life but humanising the subject matter would make this a more varied and enjoyable read. Our everyday speech is an important and far reaching enough subject that making it accessible to people should be key, and 'Speaking Up' doesn't go nearly far enough to do this.

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