Task 19: Read a Nonfiction Book About Feminism or Dealing With Feminist Themes

[Henriette]

Rainey wrote: "I am going with We Should All Be Feminists"

I read that one. It is a great little book.
I also read Roxane Gay 'Bad Feminist' for the essay-challenge. It fits here as well. Bad Feminist

[Teresa]

Here's a recommendation from Dismantle Misogyny- Meat Market: Female Flesh Under Capitalism.

[Leigh]

For this, I read Cunt: A Declaration of Independence. It was okay. Had been on my TBR for a while so it was nice to get it off of there and cross another one off the Read Harder challenge list!

[Viv]

I just finished Men Explain Things to Me for this task and would thoroughly recommend it.

[Patricia]

For this one I am planning on going with either Fifty Shades of Feminism by Lisa Appignanesi or The End of Men and the Rise of Women by Hannah Rosin. I believe Fifty Shades is essays so I might read them both and use the Fifty Shades for the Essay part of the challenge. Anyone have any comments on either of these?

[Victoria]

I'm reading Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham. Its really good so far and it also counts for a collection of essays in case I don't find another one I want to read.

[Lisa]

Andrea wrote: "So, I'm thinking Emma Watson's newly formed Feminist Book Club is highly relevant here. The first book being discussed is Gloria Steinem's My Life on the Road. I'm in!"

Great Idea....I've been wanting to read the Steinem's book...I'll count it for this challenge. Thanks!

[Britany]

Finished by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie-- 3 Stars

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Anna]

Thoughts on counting Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town for this challenge? I've just landed a copy, and it's been on my TBR list since it came out; I don't see where else it counts. (Not that I won't read it anyway!)

[Ana]

I just finished I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban and it deals with girls' education. Would that work, or should it be more explicitly feminist?

[Bea]

Ana wrote: "I just finished I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban and it deals with girls' education. Would that work, or should it be more explicitly fem..."

Ana, since it deals with girls' education in a society that discourages such education, I would count it as feminist based on the title alone.

[Teresa]

After much indecision (so many good books in this category), I'm going with Female Man.

[Ashley]

Anna wrote: "Thoughts on counting Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town for this challenge? I've just landed a copy, and it's been on my TBR list since it came out; I don't see..."

Hey Anna! I see the book is shelved as "Feminism" by many on Goodreads (as well as True Crime), so that alone should be good enough to qualify it for this challenge. Secondly, it seems to deal with a major female issue - the blaming of rape victims, saying they must have "asked for it" if a woman is dressed a certain way or had been drinking prior to the assault. I hope you post your review of the book here for us to see!

[Bonnie G.]

Anna wrote: "Thoughts on counting Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town for this challenge? I've just landed a copy, and it's been on my TBR list since it came out; I don't see..."

I liked the book quite a lot. I guess it has a feminist lens, though it is more a study of how the justice system worked (or didn't work) in a handful of cases that it is a philosophical/feminist look at sexual assault on campus. Warning, the well told story is pretty disheartening.

[Julia]

I read The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan and found it fascinating for my Middle East book, but it could fit here, or with transgender, politics.

[Ale]

I've decided to read All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation, as I feel that marriage and a woman's choice of whether to marry remain incredibly important feminist themes.

[Meghan]

I chose Bad Feminist for this task and I have to say...I'm struggling through it :( I was so pumped about it and I don't want to abandon it to switch books (I hate admitting defeat).
Does anyone have an advice or insights for me?

[Anna]

Meghan wrote: "I chose Bad Feminist for this task and I have to say...I'm struggling through it :( I was so pumped about it and I don't want to abandon it to switch books (I hate admitting defeat)..."

If you're determined to read it, maybe break it up in chunks -- one or two essays at a time -- and alternate with a book you like?

That said, there's no shame in abandoning it! This isn't school. No one is forcing you to read anything. And there's plenty of good stuff out there!

[Taiba]

I'm reading Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution for this and I love it. It rings so true for my culture.

[Leslie (updates on SG)]

For those seeking more ideas: http://www.versobooks.com/blogs/2527-...

[Shatterlings]

I am reading Isabel Allendes memoir, she describes herself as a feminist and does discuss women's roles. I might be cheating a bit here, but I struggled to find something in this task to interest me. I wouldn't normally read a memoir so this is out of my comfort zone and I am enjoying it, she's a smart funny lady.

[Martha]

Here's a list of books representing what I've been looking for in this challenge. I took a class on international feminism a few years ago and the issues women face globally are what interest me now. http://www.bustle.com/articles/146403...

[Julia]

I just finished Women Who Kill by Ann Jones. Like a lot of you, I am limited in my selections by the books that my library carries. This book was not very engaging to me, and it took me longer than usual to read it. I am glad that it is over.

[Anna]

Julia wrote: "I just finished Women Who Kill by Ann Jones. Like a lot of you, I am limited in my selections by the books that my library carries. This book was not very engaging to me, and it took ..."

Here's hoping your next book is much more exciting!

[Michael]

I'm going to read Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano. It would also count toward Task 12, but I picked something else for that.

[Samantha]

I read Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit, which I could also count as a collection of essays. I'm obnoxiously hounding my library to order a copy of All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation.

[Julia]

I read Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg for this and I found it fascinating, interesting and great. It's by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik.

[Robin P]

I've already read one for this category but am now readingAll the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation which is very interesting.

[Britta]

I've read I Call Myself A Feminist: The View from Twenty-Five Women Under Thirty for this challenge. Although the 25 'essays' are more like personal blogposts, the book gives an interesting overview of the experience of young women (all contributors are under 30).

[Heidi]

Just finished the Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. It has been criticized for its myopic target audience however it was a seminal work and ground breaking for its time.

[Melissa]

I'm attempting my feminist version of Read Harder, and now that I've read my "official feminist book," I thought I'd post an update of what I've read so far:

Task 3 (Essays): Get Out of My Crotch: Twenty-One Writers Respond to America's War on Women's Rights and Reproductive Health

Task 6 (Biography): Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter

Task 9 (Audie): Glorious

Task 12 (Trans author): Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender, and the End of Normal

Task 15 (Historical fiction): Burial Rites

Task 19: (Feminist nonfic): The Feminine Mystique

Task 23 (Play): Wit

[Bobby]

One of the tricky things about a challenge like this is categorizing a book before you've actually read it and know what it's about. I just finished reading Not Hamlet: Meditations on the Frail Position of Women in Drama by the actress and director Janet Suzman, and although it definitely deals with feminist issues, much of it seemed more a discussion of theater from a female viewpoint rather than from a specifically feminist viewpoint. Last year I read A Room of One's Own for the category of a book by someone of a gender different from your own, and I think if I had known what categories were coming up and what the two books were about, I would have probably read this book last year and the Virginia Woolf book this year.

[Aisha]

For this challenge, i read Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution. This was a really great book to read as it was an introduction to feminist writing. It was a rough read but it was an eye opener. I knew this things were happening in the Middle East but not to the extent in the book.

[Mark]

Will be using Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl for this task as well ( a few others have mentioned it earlier in this thread)

I read Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution as part of Read Harder 2015 and would also recommend that to anyone interested in the Riot Grrrl movement.

[Jessica]

Like many others, I will finally be reading Bad Feminist for this task.

[Danielle]

I'm about to finish A Room of One's Own for this challenge. I highly recommend I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban for this challenge too. I read it last year and it is great and for sure has "feminist themes." I know sometimes people do this challenge with their kids and this will be a great option for that. They even have a "young readers" edition.

[[deleted user]]

Caro wrote: "Can The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution? I think it can work because it launched part of the female revolution, but want to confirm..."

I would count it. The book makes a pretty clear case that it was feminism that brought about the pill in the first place. Birth control is a major feminist issue, so definitely counting it.

[Stina]

It took me several months, as it is a very frustrating read in some ways, but I finally finished The Secret History of Wonder Woman. If you're a big fan of WW, you might want to give it a miss, because it's enlightening, and not in a pleasant way.

It is essentially a biography of the creepy man-child who created WW, so I counted it for the biography task as well.

[Brittany]

Christina wrote: "It took me several months, as it is a very frustrating read in some ways, but I finally finished The Secret History of Wonder Woman. If you're a big fan of WW, you might want to giv..."

I just read this one as well--definitely NOT what I was expecting. I wanted more on her and the feminism behind the comic, not her creator.

[Erin]

I read Witches, Midwives and Nurses: A History of Women Healers for this challenge. I have an obsession with midwifery and the history of it, so this was right up my alley.

[Courtney]

I just finished . Pretty awesome as far as Biographies and it makes me grateful to live in the 2000's. Nurses in victorian society were looked down upon and women didn't really have a say in what they did with their life. The battle Florence against society (in particular people that didn't think women had any place in a hospital) had to go through to improve conditions in military hospitals was horrible. If you are in search for a inspiration, this is a good place to start.

[Katie]

I'm currently listening to Reading Lolita in Tehran for this category. The going is slow, but I find the topic very interesting, especially the feminist themes that are arising from the strong female present in this story.
I find though, that instead of there being just one cookie-cutter strong woman, the story presents feminist themes through women of all types, and that is a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of the "either, or" rhetoric that appears elsewhere.

[Hebah]

Like others, I read How to Be a Woman for this category, and unlike others, I have to say it a slog of a read for me. I struggle with memoirs when I don't have any connection or pre-existing interest in the writer, and some of the humor just didn't work for me. If I hadn't already grimly determined it was going to fulfill this challenge, I'd have abandoned it, so I suppose this is nudging me a bit out of my reading comfort zone.

[Laura]

Katie wrote: "I'm currently listening to Reading Lolita in Tehran for this category. The going is slow, but I find the topic very interesting, especially the feminist themes that are arising from the..."

I read The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan. I read Reading Lolita in Tehran last year. I found many similar themes. I think these two books pair well.

[Nancy]

I listened to an audio version of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange, published in 1974. The author updated one or two of the poems for the version I listened to, for example making an abusive man an Iraq war vet suffering from PTSD. The author describes the work as a "choreopoem," and in performance as a theater piece it is accompanied by dance and movements. The 20 related poems tell the stories of seven women who have suffered oppression in a racist and sexist society. I thought it was a very powerful work, and I hope to find a video of a performance online so that I can see it brought to life as the author envisioned it.

[Julia]

Nancy, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf is a favorite play of mine, from back when. If Ntozake Shange has updated it, then perhaps that means it is being produced on or off- Broadway --and elsewhere!

[Mary]

I read The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley, a collection of essays on feminism, geekdom, sci-fi, and life.

[Kristine]

Just finished Gloria Steinem's My Life on the Road. Can't recommend it enough!!

[S]

Can i read Virginia Woolf's A Room Of One's Room for this theme?
I'm not sure if its non-fiction. thank you.

[Bea]

Saiesha wrote: "Can i read Virginia Woolf's A Room Of One's Room for this theme?
I'm not sure if its non-fiction. thank you."

The description says it is an extended essay based on a series of lectures she gave. It goes on to say, "While this extended essay in fact employs a fictional narrator and narrative to explore women both as writers of and characters in fiction, the manuscript for the delivery of the series of lectures, titled "Women and Fiction", and hence the essay, are considered non-fiction."

Since essays are non-fiction, it should fit.