Read Women discussion

This thread is for sharing recommended long reads, essays, reviews, articles and podcasts regarding literature, hopefully predominately but not exclusively focused on women authors.

Here's an LA Review of Books essay shared by Beverly in the Literary Fiction by People of Color group that I found to be an eye-opener.

"Big Lit Meets the Mexican-Americans: A Study in White Supremacy"

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/b...

What non-book content have you been reading and thinking about lately? Share it here.

Here is a list of 56 books by women and nonbinary authors of color being published this year. I am particularly excited about the first one on the list which is a collection of short stories by Zora Neale Hurston, eight of which were "lost" stories.

https://electricliterature.com/55-boo...

and in case your TBR is getting a bit low (!), check out The Millions First-Half book review (includes male authors):

https://themillions.com/2020/01/draft...

January alone offers:

Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener

Topics of Conversation by Miranda Popkey

Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance by Zora Neale Hurston

All the Days Past, All the Days to Come by Mildred D. Taylor

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende and more

For fans of Leila Aboulela, World Literature Today's interview, "Writing as Spiritual Offering: A Conversation with Leila Aboulela," is a great read.

https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/...

World Lit Today has started a new feature, Conversations on the Future of Translation. Its inaugural post is entitled, "Translation Trends and Blind Spots." In it the author interviews Elizabeth Jacquette, a translator from the Arabic, executive director of ALTA and judge of the National Book Award’s translation prize.

https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/...

Carol wrote: "For fans of Leila Aboulela, World Literature Today's interview, "Writing as Spiritual Offering: A Conversation with Leila Aboulela," is a great read.

https://www.worldliteraturetod..."

Thanks for this. I plan to read her Elsewhere, Home soon.

Story❤ wrote: "Carol wrote: "For fans of Leila Aboulela, World Literature Today's interview, "Writing as Spiritual Offering: A Conversation with Leila Aboulela," is a great read.

https://www.worl..."

I started it last year but didn’t get far and life got in the way. I want to get back to it, too..

Shared on Twitter by Roxane Gay:

Best Books about Black Feminism

https://nymag.com/strategist/amp/arti...

CrimeReads this week published the following column written by Annie Lampman, focused on an interesting and not often tackled theme: Diverse, Women-Authored Novels Set in Remote and Forgotten Places. The subtitle is, "in some novels, the isolation is just as vivid as the characters..."

https://crimereads.com/diverse-women-...

Her identified list includes:

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (Barbados, 1830, Canada, London, Morocco)

Perma Red by Debra Magpie Earling (Montana's Flathead Reservation, 1940s)

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (set in an undetermined time, probably the later 1950s, in a northwestern State, possibly Idaho)

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (small town Ohio 1977)

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (North Carolina coast, 1952 - 1969)

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (Mississippi Gulf Coast, immediately prior to Katrina - August 2005)

Women Talking by Miriam Toews (a Mennonite colony resembling one that existed in 2005 - 2009 in eastern Bolivia)

The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich (North Dakota’s Ojibwe Reservation and its border town, Pluto, 1911 - 2011).

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (starts in Ghana’s coastal Fanteland in the mid-1700s, and then moves over time from the Gold Coast to Mississippi plantations, the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem.)

Idaho by Emily Ruskovich (Set between 1973 and 2025 in northern Idaho)

I've read Crawdads and Everything, and while they were fine, I wouldn't put either on anyone's must-read list. I very much want to read Homegoing, but may read her sophomore effort first. I've also wanted to read Housekeeping for some time, in theory, but for some reason am resisting Robinson. Perhaps I'm under a misimpression that she's more sensitive, writing about feelings, for lack of a better term, than is my preference? I don't know for certain and I'm no doubt missing out.

What are your thoughts? Any favorites or "do avoid" titles here? Are there other novels you've read that fit this team of isolation and which you recommend?

I gave up on Robinson's series Home, Gilead,etc And from what I remember your impression fits those more, but I love Housekeeping which is a much quirkier, less introspective book - although it has its introspective moments. So it's possible you'd like that but not the others.

I loved Homegoing and Salvage the Bones both of which I think give voice to 'forgotten' communities very well. I gave up on Washington Black and Everything I Never Told You. I want to readThe Plague of Doves - another in this 'loose trilogy' by erdrich which I loved and think fits the bill very well is The Round House. As does last month's group read Ceremony

It’s that time of year when we’re happily deluged with second-half release lists.

Here’s the Guardian’s, which highlighted some different categories and titles than are on, for example The Millions second half most anticipated and the like. Note: includes male authors.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

If you see a list you like, share it!

The 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist, celebrating the best of Canadian fiction, was announced earlier this week, and 4 out of the 5 finalists are women authors! The winner will be announced on 9 November.

Gil Adamson, for her novel Ridgerunner, published by House of Anansi Press

Shani Mootoo, for her novel Polar Vortex, published by Book*hug Press

Emily St. John Mandel, for her novel, The Glass Hotel, published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Souvankham Thammavongsa, for her short story collection, How to Pronounce Knife, published by McClelland & Stewart, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada

https://scotiabankgillerprize.ca/the-...

If you've read any of these and recommend it, let us know.

I'm reading Ridgerunner right now, Carol. I really adored her The Outlander a few years ago--about the flight of a woman who becomes 'a widow by her own hand'. It's rare to find a book that's both exciting and poetic but that one really was.

House of Anansi Press is a small press that publishes so many good books.

https://houseofanansi.com/collections...

Thank you, Story! Adding to my TBR and my Christmas list, lol.

On a different topic, via the FSG enewsletter - which includes a list of events that FSG authors are participating in, I followed a trail to this most-awesome event schedule for the Wisconsin Book Festival, which is offering an amazing a lineup of free, crowdcast author events and discussions this week.

https://www.wisconsinbookfestival.org...

On October 15th, at 4:00 (all times Central Time) the first event features Emma Straub; at 7:00 Nikki Giovanni and Kiese Laymon, and at 8:30 Angie Kim Miracle Creek and Kiley Reid Such a Fun Age.

Completely off-topic but does anyone know if the sudden change to the default typeface on here and on the book pages is temporary or deliberate/permanent? Finding it quite hard to read/painful on the eyes! I need new reading glasses but the pandemic means I can't visit my optician for a new prescription. Or is there a setting I can use to adjust it?

Alwynne wrote: "Completely off-topic but does anyone know if the sudden change to the default typeface on here and on the book pages is temporary or deliberate/permanent? Finding it quite hard to read/painful on t..."

That really sucks, Alwynne! I'm not sure on what device you're visiting Goodreads, but you can change the default typeface to something more readable if you're on a computer by changing the settings of your webbrowser. See for example the instructions for Firefox (I checked and it works for Goodreads).

I don't think you can change the font in the app, though. You could try contacting Goodreads through the help-page. I'm sure you're not the only one with this issue.

Hi Alwynne, that sounds very annoying! I haven't noticed any changes and I am using the desktop version on Chrome on my phone

Thanks it's gone back to normal now but I think I somehow logged in during some test of the new book page design because the format looked familiar i.e. had the much larger book cover - although stretched out the covers looked distorted - different font size and paler presumably to fit stuff around the larger visuals. I hope the new design doesn't end up launching like that, can cope with the visuals but the typeface was really fussy and tiny and it changed on the group discussion pages too! I struggled to read it and don't have an actual visual disability, just fairly low level glasses for reading that my optometrist relates to being onscreen such a lot...I think for anyone with a visual disability of any kind the new design would be a real problem.

A link to LitHub's David Boyd's most interesting article on Hiroko Oyamada, author of The Hole and The Factory.

https://lithub.com/hiroko-oyamada-wro...

Carol wrote: "A link to LitHub's David Boyd's most interesting article on Hiroko Oyamada, author of The Hole and The Factory.

https://lithub.com/hiroko-oyamada-w..."

Thank you, Carol!

I mentioned this in another group but 'New York Review of Books' has temporarily suspended its paywall so lots of great articles currently free to read.

Thanks, Alwynne!

Thanks Carol, btw my 'Home' feed stopped working about 16 hours ago maybe longer and not receiving any reviews or updates from anyone, checked a few random friends' profile pages and people have definitely been posting just not coming through on the feed. Have GR switched off the feed for some reason? My notifications are fine though! Also is there a thread for this kind of general message that I should be using?

Got some news that the issue’s been recognised and being sorted out, it was posted in one of my other groups.

“The GR Help answer to the current problem of home page not updating -

"Hi Goodreaders! We apologize for the trouble with this. The issue has been reported and our developers will be working to fix the issue. Thanks for your patience."

ICYMI short Guardian article on women ghost writers
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

Nice article on women behind Hitchcock's 'Rebecca' - still my favourite version,
https://crimereads.com/rebecca-at-eig...

For all of us small press fans, Electric Lit published a list of "20 Small Press Books from 2020 You Might Have Missed," linked below. (includes 1 male author)

https://electricliterature.com/best-s...

This list is so appealing, I could happily spend 2021 reading 15 or so of them.

Akashic: The Schrödinger Girl by Laurel Brett

Catapult: You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat

Coffee House Press: Sansei and Sensibility by Karen Tei Yamashita (short stories)

Counterpoint Press: The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun

Deep Vellum Publishing: The Ancestry of Objects by Tatiana Ryckman

Dzanc Books: The Snow Collectors by Tina May Hall

Europa Editions: The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar

Feminist Press: Apsara Engine by Bishakh Kumar Som

Greywolf Press: Barn 8 by Deb Olin Unferth

Red Hen Press: Subduction by Kristen Millares Young

New Directions: The Hole by Hiroko Oyamada

Other Press: Beside Myself by Sasha Marianna Salzmann

Seven Stories: The Emotional Load: And Other Invisible Stuff by Emma

Soft Skull Press: Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda (linked short stories)

Tin House: A Girl Is a Body of Water by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

Transit Books: Include Me Out by María Sonia Cristoff

Two Lines Press: Lake Like a Mirror by Ho Sok Fong (short stories)

Unnamed Press: A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

Verso Books: Burn It Down!: Feminist Manifestos for the Revolution, edited by Breanne Fahs (includes > 75 !! manifestos)

If you're of a mind to support Black-owned bookstores for your small press book purchases, check out this list.

https://aalbc.com/bookstores/list.php

Thanks for sharing these, Carol. Lots to explore.

I really enjoyed both The Hole by Hiroko Oyamada and The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun and hope to be picking up Where the Wild Ladies Are from my library within the next few weeks.

Small Press Books by Women

https://electricliterature.com/best-s...

Thanks for that Story...

Interesting article about Tove Jansson and Astrid Lindgren I came across in another of my groups

https://aeon.co/essays/pippi-and-the-...

Some articles by and about women writers that might be of interest:

https://lithub.com/on-george-eliots-u...

https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches...

https://lithub.com/eudora-welty-how-m...

https://lithub.com/tracy-k-smith-on-t...

https://theboar.org/2020/11/100-years...

And an extract from Dubravka Ugresic's new book
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/i...

Lots of good reading here...thanks, Alwynne!

Story and Allwyne, you've exponentially improved my weekend with these lists and links. really awesome stuff to dig in on here. thank you!

Electric Lit published the following intriguing nonfiction list compiled by the outgoing publisher, Jamia Wilson, entitled, "7 Highly Anticipated Books to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Feminist Press", a reading list for 2021.

https://electricliterature.com/7-high...

The Echoing Ida Collection by Kemi Alabi

We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival: Essays on Sex Work and Survival by Natalie West
by Jessica Zucker

We Are Bridges: A Memoir by Cassandra Lane

This is How We Come Back Stronger - (april release, not yet on this platform)

Black Box: The Memoir That Sparked Japan's #metoo Movement by Shiori Itō

We Were There: The Third World Women’s Alliance and The Second Wave by (October release, not yet on this platform)

Thanks Carol will check those out and glad you found the earlier links interesting...

You're welcome, Alwynne!

This article from Electric Lit article and list of authors and novels by Korean women focuses on the Korean #MeToo movement primarily, and fiction, secondarily: "What the Literature About Contemporary Korean Womens' Lives Illuminates About Our Own." It's a highly impactful read.

https://themillions.com/2020/11/what-...

Thanks Carol particularly interested in Korean lit so pleased to hear about this one!

From the NYTimes, an op-ed entitled, Just How White is the Publishing Industry? which is worth reading for many reasons, including for a broader sense of disparities in pay between authors of color and white authors.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...

Thanks for sharing this Carol, as they say in the article I expected there to be a bias but the extent of that bias is shocking

This list from Oprah's magazine, 55 Most Anticipated Books of 2021, is focused only on releases in the first 5 months. It includes a handful of male authors but is woman-author-heavy and inclusive and I must say, I am most excited as I read these descriptions.

https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainmen...

Thanks Carol! Great list. I'm especially excited about:
How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House,
We Run the Tides
How Beautiful We Were

Short essay by Atwood on The Female Body:

https://web.stanford.edu/~jonahw/AOE-...

Thanks Story!

From Electriclit, 7 Literary Translators You Need To Know, because their work is helping fight imperialism and erasure. Yay, translators!


https://electricliterature.com/7-lite...

Article for any Woolf/Mrs Dalloway fans:

https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...

From the Jan 10 edition of the New York Times, "With ‘I Hate Men,’ a French Feminist Touches a Nerve" re Pauline Harmange's debut, I Hate Men, which I now desperately want to find and read.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/bo...

Carol I fancy that one too plus the Alice Coffin! Thanks for raising it, hadn't heard of either author or book.

Roxane Gay’s 2021 Book Club list. Most intriguing and a great TBR augmentation tool. (Includes male authors)

https://www.charisbooksandmore.com/ro...

Thanks Carol!

A round table discussion from Crimereads of 4 authors pushing espionage fiction into new places. Lara Prescott, Lauren Wilkinson, Tracy O'Neill and Rosalie Knecht.


https://crimereads.com/the-women-push...