Helen’s Comments (group member since Oct 06, 2017)

Helen’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

Jazzy wrote: "Chloe wrote: "Going to have to pass on The Radium Girls as it can’t be found in the UK. I’ve tried Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon UK, Simon & Schuster UK, musicMagpie, Tesco, and Hive. All I can find..."

Hi Chloe and Jazzy: We hear you. At Team OSS, our aim is to keep book selections in a comfortable range for all members. But, books are often priced very differently in every country. Radium Girls is in paperback in the U.S., but not yet in the UK. We won't be choosing any more new releases this year as we know those can be pricey. I did reach out to the UK publisher of Radium Girls and they are now moving up the release of the paperback. Hoping for end of May, if not sooner. In the meantime, it's available as an e-book. Thank you for sharing your pov.

Hi Shannon-Mae: Good question! I understand that the first title is the version published in the UK. and the latter is for the U.S., but should be no substantial difference.

Cyn wrote: "Just started "The Hate U Give" and I'm hooked already."

That's how I felt! Had me from the beginning,

Dear OSS Members:

This was such a fun poll to watch, full of twists and turns, like a good mystery novel. And you submitted some incredible book recommendations! In fact, we had such positive feedback and wonderful suggestions that we’re going to make the OSS Readers’ Choice a regular feature.

With two amazing books at the top that were so close in votes, we decided to declare double winners for May/June.

So, we are extremely excited to announce the first place winner: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas’ extraordinary debut novel, originally written for the YA market, carries a critically important and urgent message about how gun violence, racism and police brutality disproportionately affect communities of color. This ground-breaking book transcends any age bracket and we think it should be required reading for, well, everyone. With intelligence, heart and unflinching honesty, author Angie Thomas makes us laugh, cry and cheer, while 16 year-old Starr finds her voice and a way to fight the system. We’ve had our eye on this award-winner and were saving it for a future pick, but are thrilled that you beat us to it. As an added plus, for our global OSS family, the publisher tells us the book has been translated into over 20 languages.

Coming in a very close second, we are equally inspired to see that you selected: Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore

When Kate Moore found out that her book was in the running for OSS’s May/June selection, she gave us a shout out on Twitter. Don’t know if this boosted the vote, but we do know that this is a brilliant nonfiction book, so compellingly told, that it reads like fiction and deserves wide-spread attention. Sadly, the tragic stories here are true and as a recent news article stated "The Radium Girls - Still Glowing in Their Coffins.” Because of the way Kate Moore brings the science, personal stories and facts to light, we know what these unsuspecting women (as young as 16) endured. Their brave efforts fighting the US Radium Corporation to bring justice created milestones for modern occupational hazard law and reveal what we know today about radium’s effect on the human body.

So, please let us know what you’re planning to read. And we want you to know that we are continually astounded with the quality and depth of thought-provoking dialogue that you contribute to Our Shared Shelf. It makes us feel very proud to be part of building this wise and welcoming intersectional feminist community. Needless to say, we are really looking forward to the discussions around your May/June winners.

Love,

Team Our Shared Shelf x