Introductions

[lethe]

Welcome, Madalena and Katie!

[Terri R]

Terri from the USA here. Almost retired, which is good because I have more books to read than books already read, which is a lot of books. Want to read diversely in all ways.

[Melody]

Hi everyone, I'm Melody. Not exactly new to GR, but in the past I really only used the platform to keep tabs on the books that I've read rather than take advantage of the social media aspect of it. I've only (very) recently decided to be more social (eep!) because I realized I want to have a venue on which to discuss the books I read!

I didn't make a conscious decision to read more books written by women, but looking at my shelves, I can see that I subconsciously end up choosing far more books by women authors than men. I'm drawn towards books with a feminine point of view or a feminist bent, so I was happy to find and join this group.

I've taken it upon myself to try and read a book (or two or three) from every country as an ongoing personal challenge, but I hope this group will help me give a bit of structure in deciding which of the books on my massively huge TBR list to read next. What a lovely coincidence to have both of May's group reads on my Kindle already!

[Wim]

Hello everyone,

I am Wim, from Belgium but currently living and working in West Africa, also on gender and empowerment issues.

I have been reading feminist authors since a long time and joined the group to discover more books written by women. I am also interested in African literature by women.

It is not always easy to get books here, luckily many books are already available on Kindle.

Looking forward to read some books with the group.

[Rhonda]

I'm Rhonda and am from the US. I'd like to see more women authors in the scifi/fantasy genre. I have a few favorites, notably Andre Norton, Mercedes Lackey, Margaret Atwood, Nalo Hopkinson come to mind. Although I am a woman author myself, I'm here as a reader and will be giving and receiving recommendations as such.

[kim]

Hello i’m kim and i live in the US. I love reading and i’m really excited to be in this group and discover some amazing female authors!

[lethe]

Welcome kim and the other new members! :)

[Melissa]

I am Melissa and I live in the USA. I enjoy reading and writing about American History.

[Holidayre]

Hi everyone,

My name's Amandine and I'm a French girl living in the Netherlands. It's been a few months that I'm almost exclusively reading only female writers and my "reader's life" has never felt so good! I've started a Read-Women-Around-The-World challenge (reading 1 book from 1 female author from each country of the world) and I really want to nail it, even though I don't have any time restraint. I hope I'll receive some book suggestions—and be able to give some as well!

[Sara]

Holidayre wrote: "Hi everyone,

My name's Amandine and I'm a French girl living in the Netherlands. It's been a few months that I'm almost exclusively reading only female writers and my "reader's life" has never fe..."

I want to join you on this! At first I was just doing a Read-Around-The-World Challenge, but now I want to switch to Read-WOMEN-Around-The-World. So I'd definitely welcome suggestions as well. Some goodreads lists are so large that they are overwhelming. I've been posting some books by women around the world on instagram serasera7598

[Yara]

Hi! I'm Yara, 20 years old and I am from Ukraine. Reading is my passion since teenage years and I'm always in search of new interesting stuff to read, especially written by women.

[lethe]

Welcome, Yara and (belatedly) Melissa and Holidayre!

[Melissa]

I enjoy reading about history.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Hi, I'm Patty, a transplanted American living in Australia for - gulp - 50 years now and loving it! I've always been a reader, but now that I'm old and sedentary, I'm able to read and review to my heart's content. I haven't purposely chosen to read women authors, but I find that I do, so I thought maybe I could contribute here and find some more!

[lethe]

Hi Patty! Welcome to Read Women :)

[PattyMacDotComma]

lethe wrote: "Hi Patty! Welcome to Read Women :)"

Thanks, lethe!

[Jean]

Hello,
I'm Jean and I live in the U.S. It's the end of the year and time to set So here I am ready to broaden by horizons by intentionally reading more books by female authors. Looking forward to a great year with this group.

[Ozsaur]

Hello everyone!

I'm so excited that I found this group. My Goodreads Challenge this year is 90 books, but I've decided to read women only this year. So I'm taking the 2019 Read Women Challenge as well.

I'm from the U.S. I read mostly science fiction/fantasy, but also dive into other genres when I find something appealing. I also read a lot of apocalyptic novels, especially if there are zombies!

Looking forward to reading/discussing more books by and about women.

[Carol]

Jean wrote: "Hello,
I'm Jean and I live in the U.S. It's the end of the year and time to set So here I am ready to broaden by horizons by intentionally reading more books by female authors. Looking forward to a..."

Jean, it’s wonderful to see you here! I apologize that we didn’t welcome you when you originally posted this greeting.

[Carol]

Ozsaur wrote: "Hello everyone!

I'm so excited that I found this group. My Goodreads Challenge this year is 90 books, but I've decided to read women only this year. So I'm taking the 2019 Read Women Challenge as ..."

@ozsaur, welcome! Your reading list should be fascinating this year, and no doubt we’ll all obtain great sci-fi ideas from your reads, particularly if you start a thread in one or more of our challenge threads.

[Ozsaur]

Carol said: Your reading list should be fascinating this year, and no doubt we’ll all obtain great sci-fi ideas from your reads, particularly if you start a thread in one or more of our challenge threads.

Thank you! And I've been leaning more and more toward women writers for a while now, but this year I just decided to bite the bullet and see what happens. I'm fairly active in my other group, so maybe I will jump in on a few threads!

[lethe]

Welcome, Jean and Ozsaur!

[Ozsaur]

Thank you, lethe!

[Juliet]

Hi, everyone!

I'm Jul and I'm French! I'm not sure why I didn't join this group as soon as I got on this website since I've been reading more and more women (and more diverse authors in general) but here I am for 2019! I hope to discover and share with you guys because reading IRL is a bit lonely for me.

I read various genres; I particularly love thrillers and comics and enjoy literary fiction and sci-fi. I'm working on troubles I have with nonfiction because I'm often really interested but can't get through the reading :/

Well, that's it for now, nice to meet you all!

[Tamara]

Welcome, Juliet! I'm sure you'll find plenty of recommendations and plenty to share here.

[Lark]

Hello everyone. What a wonderful group. I'm joining at a terrible time though because for a long time I've been planning to binge read all of J.G. Ballard's novels in April. Actually that plan will probably inspire me to not read another book written by a man for the rest of the year. Right now I'm reading The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish by Katya Apekina.

[Lietsel]

Hi all! My name is Lietsel and I am currently a PhD student in the U.S. I just finished reading Circe by Madeline Miller and was inspired to read books about women and by women for the rest of 2019. I'm hoping this group will help me stick to that :)

[Mary]

Hi there –

If I haven't introduced myself properly already, I'm an author of travel memoirs, all recent. I've got some upcoming free Kindle downloads from Thursday to Monday repeating, viz:

21-25 March: A Maverick Himalayan Way (new edition)
( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M5VQPTJ )
28 March - 1 April: A Maverick Inuit Way and the Vikings
4 - 8 April: A Maverick Traveller Anthology
11 - 15 April: A Maverick Pilgrim Way
18 - 22 April: A Maverick USA Way
25 - 29 April: Una Viajera Disidente (A Maverick Traveller, Spanish translation)

Here's my blog too by the way: https://www.a-maverick.com/blog

Cheers, Mary Jane Walker

[Gina]

Hi! Everyone in this group sounds so lovely. I saw some mention of LGBT novels and urban fantasy novels, all stuff I'm looking to read more of! All suggestions welcome. Maybe she's a popular choice for a favorite female author, but I took a class on Jane Austen in college and it made me fully understand why she's WORTH the hype. Her skill with words, cultural humor, and just how relatable her work continues to be inspires me so much.

Can't wait to read with you all :)

[Carol]

Lark wrote: "Hello everyone. What a wonderful group. I'm joining at a terrible time though because for a long time I've been planning to binge read all of J.G. Ballard's novels in April. Actually that plan will..."

Lark, welcome! Did you finish the Apekina? What did you think of it?

[Carol]

Mary wrote: "Hi there –

If I haven't introduced myself properly already, I'm an author of travel memoirs, all recent. I've got some upcoming free Kindle downloads from Thursday to Monday repeating, viz:

21-25..."

Mary, it’s great to have you here, and good luck with your downloads. We look forward to having you as an active member.

[Carol]

Gina wrote: "Hi! Everyone in this group sounds so lovely. I saw some mention of LGBT novels and urban fantasy novels, all stuff I'm looking to read more of! All suggestions welcome. Maybe she's a popular choice..."

Gina, so glad to have you join us. We could use more recommendations and suggestions not only for LGBTQ reads but for urban fantasy. Thanks also for reminding of my lax approach to my Jane Austen challenge and that I really do want to finally read Pride and Prejudice this year. lol

[Ozsaur]

Welcome all the new kids!

Lietsel - reading all books by women authors is my goal for 2019, and I've read some pretty amazing books so far. It's going to be a great year in books. Good luck!

[Gina]

Haha, Carol you can do it! We exclusively read the Broadview editions because they have INCREDIBLE annotations that explain cultural references that have since gone out of date in the English language. I'm such an advocate for these editions ever since I've read them. It really brings the story into the present in an easy way if you're not an 1800s British culture expert!

[Toni]

Hello all, I am Toni. I am originally from the midwest US but now living in Bosnia. I am always on the lookout for new recs for female authors. I am currently reading Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht and enjoying it quite a good deal. I am looking forward to discussing new books this year.

[[deleted user]]

Hello everyone! I'm Beth and I'm new to Goodreads as well as to this group. I've fumbled my way around the site well enough to find you, so I thought I'd try my hand at an introduction. (Helen Keller said, "Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all," so here I am trying new things...) I would LOVE to be able to read more, and am looking forward to all of your suggestions. I'm here to prove to myself that the world isn't all dirty dog beds and peanut butter kongs. There's a lot more to see! :)

[Carol]

Beth wrote: "Hello everyone! I'm Beth and I'm new to Goodreads as well as to this group. I've fumbled my way around the site well enough to find you, so I thought I'd try my hand at an introduction. (Helen Kell..."

Beth, so glad you found us! I’m so impressed. I think I was on GR for a couple of years before I joined a group or two and began to feel really connected to other readers. Must be the wisdom of your canine companions ... :)

If you could squeeze in more reading, what would it be? More of what you like? More of something different? I’m curious, not pushing, if you want to settle in before talking books.

[[deleted user]]

Carol wrote: "Beth wrote: "Hello everyone! I'm Beth and I'm new to Goodreads as well as to this group. I've fumbled my way around the site well enough to find you, so I thought I'd try my hand at an introduction..."

Hey Carol, thanks for the warm welcome! I've been incorrectly posting in the wrong spots all day, so I'm not sure how much of the wisdom I've gained, but they've taught me a lot, that's for sure...

I really, really love the Harry Potter series (even at my age) and am over the moon for The Hobbit as well. I have to read in tiny segments, meaning - read a few lines, potty run, read a few lines, time for pills - so I don't want anything too serious. But I do love to learn. I love when an author's voice resonates with me and I "get" them. (Gandhi, Angelou, Tolstoy.) So something funny, lighthearted and inspirational from a thoughtful author with lessons to be learned?!? (Yep, a unicorn...)

It would be nice to find a series to read. I love having that next book to look forward to!

[dalex]

Hi all! Most of my reading is by female authors so I'm not really in this group to challenge myself but to (hopefully) provide some suggestions and encouragement to those that would like to read more books by women.

I have quite a few favorite genres - literary fiction, historical fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, vintage lit. I'm not a big fan of romance, chick lit, or thrillers, and I don't read non-fiction or ya.

I look forward to participating in the group. Happy reading everybody!

[Carol]

dalex wrote: "Hi all! Most of my reading is by female authors so I'm not really in this group to challenge myself but to (hopefully) provide some suggestions and encouragement to those that would like to read mo..."

Welcome, dalex. more knowledgeable mentoring readers and encouragers are always in season. :)

[Fuule]

Hi everyone ! I'm Fuule from France. I'm very happy to have found this group as I have the double objective to read more women and to read literature from every continent.
I like novels, essays and poetry. I look forward to discovering books with you all !

[[deleted user]]

Welcome, Fuule! I'm also fairly new, looking forward to getting to know everyone :)

[Cathrine]

Hi! I'm Cathrine and I'm from Norway. My goal is to read more in general, but definitely also to broaden my horizon in terms of which books I read. I'm also going to start working for a traveling agency in July, and I really want to read books from all the countries I visit!

[Laura]

Hey Everyone!
I am Laura, from Germany but I live in the Netherlands. I do read a lot of female authors but love finding new ones and look forward to any suggestions you all give me :)

[Elizabeth]

Hello everyone, I’m Elizabeth. Pleased to meet everyone in this group! I’m 25 and recently finished my Master’s in Social Work. I really want to expand my reading to women, non-binary and trans writers that have not been necessarily welcomed into the literature canon. Any suggestions, conversations or comments are appreciated.

I’m also really trying to engage with theory books, so any suggestions will be helpful, too! Looking forward to being a part of the group and seeing all the recommendations and suggestions. (:

[Lark]

Carol wrote: "Lark, welcome! Did you finish the Apekina? What did you think of it? ..."

Carol I had an uncomfortable relationship with this novel but even so I'd recommend it.

[Franklinbadger]

Hi! I'm Rebecca. I studied French and German literature more than 15 years ago but I'm sadly very rusty now. I joined this group thinking that I should make more of an effort to read books by women. However, I've since realised that, subconsciously, I almost always gravitate towards books by women anyway (more than 80 per cent of the books I've read this year). Maybe it's something about the way that literary fiction by men is marketed?

Anyway, I'm just looking to chat and get recommendations!

[Carol]

Franklinbadger wrote: "Hi! I'm Rebecca. I studied French and German literature more than 15 years ago but I'm sadly very rusty now. I joined this group thinking that I should make more of an effort to read books by women..."

@rebecca, >80% is a mighty impressive track record! Welcome!

[thered_hairedreader]

My name is Dawn and I read women authors the majority of the time. My genres that I enjoy are historical fiction, historical romance, contemporary romance, some dark themes, and erotica.

[Catherine]

Since I've posted in a discussion, I figured I should introduce myself! I'm Catherine and I live and work on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. One of my goals is to increase the number of women authors I read so I was very glad to find this group. I work at our local University as staff/adjunct faculty and will be starting my Doctorate in Education (Curriculum Theory) this September. That's going to eat a lot into my reading time but I'll do the best I can to participate.