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Introduction

I have an MA in feminist theology...which was never something I planned to do. I am a former soprano with the NYC Opera and live in suburban Chicago. And I play a mean game of pickleball!!!!
My biggest fear is that the 2nd wave would be overlooked in this dialogue , lest we forget about the shoulders upon which we stand. The 2nd wave and institutional patriarchy must be understood so that we don't lose the ground that has been so painfully gained.
I was thrilled to start with a Gloria Steinem book. It will make a good foundation as we turn to the global picture.

My name is Alizée, I am a 25 years old Hungarian women. I started reading as soon as they taught me to, and never stopped since then. Not only do I love novels of any type, but I also like to read all kind of informative books. I am a translator, but I learned sociology, and because I have experienced the inequality between men and women, this topic interests me for a long time, that is why I joined this group. I hope this allows me to read books I normally wouldn't because I never heard of them before, and get to know people I wouldn't else way, because of the distance between us.
I hope you all have a nice day.

I'm Nunzia, from Italy, and I'm 20.
In the last 2 to 3 years I grew more consciousness about feminism and even if I know what feminism is for me today, I hope to realize through this club what feminism has been in the past, what is today according to other people's opinion around the world and what can be in the future. I simply want to know more about the topic to have a larger view of the movement.
I am looking forward to have great discussions with you guys :)

I'm Nunzia, from Italy, and I'm 20.
In the last 2 to 3 years I grew more consciousness about feminism and even if I know what feminism is for me today, I hope to realize through this club what feminism has been in the past, what is today according to other people's opinion around the world and what can be in the future. I simply want to know more about the topic to have a larger view of the movement.
I am looking forward to have great discussions with you guys :)

My name is Isabella, I'm 25 years old and I live i Stockholm, Sweden. I, like many others here, have always liked reading. I am very excited to see that so many people around the world have joined this book club and are engaging in this topic! Looking forward to a great year with great people and great books!

I wanted to join this group because here in the South we have very few role models for women. I am proud to consider myself one and will do all I can to empower young women to empower themselves. My daughters have watched me fight for families like ours and have been blessed enough to meet some pretty kick ass women. While they are still too young to probably comprehend the readings we are taking on, I hope that one day I can refer them to the readings listed in here.

Honestly, I joined this book club because it was the first suggested on my list. I was surprised even more that the topic is about feminism. While growing up, I have always been told that feminism is a strong word. To this day, I do not truly know what this word exactly means. But what I do know are the problems concerning gender equality and human rights. By the end of my journey, I hope to have found a part to play and finally make a difference.
My goal is to meet book lovers from across the world; already this discussion board is filled with people of different backgrounds and ethnicity! Just by scrolling down and reading the comments, I am filled with joy knowing that women and men of all ages are coming together to bring forth a topic that it's concept is often mistaken.
Happy reading everyone :)

My name is Candela and I'm 24. I come from Spain, now living in Germany.
Reading and writing is my life since I was born. Maybe as feminism, but I became conscious nearly one year ago. Now I have found a place where book and equality are connecting a lot of different people, and I feel glad and thankeful for this great idea!
So looking forward to talk and share great experiences with all of you :)

Due to my Indian background and being a female I have experienced alot of disadvantages in my short life and by joining this club, I hope it would enable me to learn about feminism not only in the view of the western world but also in the view of other cultures for example, middle eastern. Once I begin this I hope in the future that I can help children in both genders facing everyday difficulties we would never even think off.
I am also currently studying Sociology at university and one of my chosen modules is 'gender' - I believe my joining this club will help enhance my knowledge and help me grasp a better understanding of the world from various viewpoints.

my name is Chun Yi and I live in Taiwan( and please, no comments like " Taiwan is not independent" or " Taiwan is a part of China" here.) I'm a 22 year-old female.
Interestingly, I got to know feminism after the Sun-Flower Movement on March 18, 2014, in which I'm inspired and encouraged. I met new people who showed me lots of new things including international relations, sociology and, most important of all, feminism.
Feminism attracts me not only because I'm female but also it gives reasons and solutions to many social issues including decreasing birth rate and increasing crime rate. One can't make her life better without knowledge on feminism.



I've been a fan of Emma's acting and activist work the UN. It's refreshing when privileged citizens use their resources to benefit the greater good. I'm joining the club because I can't learn enough about the strong, admirable women who, over the years, have worked and paved roads for equality and justice. I'm excited to join a global club and see the many different insights that are sure to come. Happy reading!

And of course....I love Emma! Have loved seeing her grow up from the cute little thing she was in Harry Potter to the inspiring woman she is today. A true role model.

I am Ilenia, I'm Italian but at the moment I live in Belgium.
I'm a bookworm and a feminist "from birth" as I like to say, since my mom and dad have raised my sister and I to believe in ourselves and recognize our value as human beings, regardless of gender inequalities.
I love this group, it reminds me a similar thing from my past: once I had a high school teacher who made my class read a book a month from a female author since "the usual curriculum already has enough men authors in it" :)
My favourite author of the moment is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I read all her books! I also like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, Zadie Smith, Amelie Nothomb, Kazuo Ishiguro, Luther Blissett/Wu Ming, Jane Austen, etc...
My favourite book is The Name of The Rose: I love to re-read it and find in it so many things I agree with regarding society and the nature of human beings.
So I hope to find interesting reading tips here, to hear your opinions on the book of the month and to hear all your different views about feminism: I cannot wait to learn more and open my mind as as much as I can!

I am really happy about this group because I feel that it would help some of us to learn more about feminism and other topics.
¡Saludos!
Camila
Hi, my name is Shivanee28@gmail. I am from India.
I have joined this group because I want to understand more about human rights and feminism. I follow Heforshe and I really admire Emma Watson... And I love to read.
I have joined this group because I want to understand more about human rights and feminism. I follow Heforshe and I really admire Emma Watson... And I love to read.

I'm Ditte, and I'm 25 years old living in Denmark. I was so thrilled to discover that Ms Watson's book club was happening on Goodreads!
I have a master's degree in English as well as Scandinavian literature and languages, a huge interest (in feminism and gender studies, as well as a great interest in LGBT literature and other minority based literature!
I appreciate Emma's work - politically as well as artistically - and as a 'Harry Potter' fan, I'm thrilled that she was Hermione. In a sense she still is, I mean - a book club?! I think it's PERFECT! I hope to join the community and the reading fun whenever possible! :)

Hello Crystal, nice to meet you! Ooh, I love bell hooks, too! I read her trilogy about love ('All About Love', 'Salvation' and 'Communion'), and I thought it was amazing - it really opened my eyes to a lot of things, especially the second book, which is about the struggle to find love (with yourself and others) as a black person - seeing as I'm not black. I wonder if you might have any bell hooks recommendations for me? :)

I'm Rowena, a 24-year old from The Netherlands.
I haven't read many books during the last few years due to lots of school work, but since I almost graduated university I thought of starting again with the thing I loved the most growing up, reading!
I've always admired Emma for the person she is. I love her work for the UN and the HeForShe campaign is awesome.

What better way to re-ignite my feminist than this!

I'm Jenny, 24, from & currently living in Austria (You know, that's the small European country with all the mountains and snow and all that stuff ;-) ).
I have recently finished both my MA in English and American Studies and my MA (Mag. for all the German speaking folks in here) teaching degree for English and German. I'm also close to finishing my BA in Media and Communications.
As I'm working on my PhD in American Studies, focusing on Literature, right now, I am particularly interested in this feminist online book club.
One of my greatest passions is to read, so combining my work interests with my hobby is kind of a heavenly pleasure for me ;-)

I love to read, and since I graduated, I haven't been reading as many books, which I'm sad about. So, I was really happy to find this book club! I'm really excited about reading and discussing books with you all!




I am Beatrice from Rome, Italy. I am 19 and I love reading, travelling and laughing! :D
I am an artist, a little artist... I make paintings sometimes for my room. And I am a photographer!
I think with art you can escape from some of the awful things in this world... And also books are a kind of art!
I am in love with poetry itself but I also like novels and thrillers!
I discovered Goodreads because of Emma and this amazing book club and I am totally dependent now! :)

My name is Enna
I'm 22, from Canada, currently living in France.
I've considered myself a feminist for several years and recently had the opportunity to take a Women and Gender Studies course at my University (University of Lethbridge). It was such an eye opener but there is so much more I want to learn.
This year I signed up for goodreads book challenge, I decided I'm reading 50 books this year. I hope they will all be as great as the ones chosen here.

For anyone who might have trouble getting access to any of the books we are reading, please remember to stop in at your local library. I am sure that they will be able to help you!
"Everybody’s looking under your mattress
seems they can’t wait to find that pea
maybe you were never quite the princess
Everybody was afraid you’d be"- Ani Difranco


Hello Dee, I'm so glad you have the courage to explain feminism to everyone. Together we'll read lots of books this year :)

I am really excited to get to know some of you guys through this medium, and to be given another excuse to read more (like I don't have enough already! :)

Cinder, I know exactly what you're talking about. I'm already knee-deep in books but still searching for more :D


This is going to be a great and diverse group to discuss! Really looking forward to it.
My name is Carmen, I am 39 years old and a German living in Stockholm/ Sweden.
I am a true believer in feminism. Everyone should be able to pursue the life they want as long as they do not hurt anybody by doing so, without judgement or limitations.
// Carmen

My name is Megan I have just turned 19 and I live in the UK in Derbyshire and I love reading all sorts of genres but always find it difficult to find the right books and even though i love to read i don't find it easy and hope it will come easier. I really want to understand feminism more I can wait to learn more!

I really want to learn more about amazing women in history, past, present and future.
I have always felt in my heart I was a feminist, even though I could not put a name to it. I also want to learn more about what it means to be a feminist, for other people (not just women) and this looks like a good place to start :)
I am also quite the bookworm and love to have any excuse to read more and to buy more books!!

I'm here because I follow Emma ever since she was in the Harry Potter movies. Besides that, I'm also trying to go back reading like I used to do a couple of years ago. Finally, I'd like to expand the subjects I read.

I'm Alicia, and I come from Paris !
I decided to join this group because I want to improve my English, and my knowledges in feminism. I'm really feminist, I have really faith in this combat ! And I think it's a good occasion to know new people who share my opinions (or not, it's really interessing to discuss !).
Oh, and I'm student in history of art !

I had already introduced myself, I'm Anna, from Barcelona (Spain) and I'm 18. I just wanted to say that I am starting a blog where I reunite all the quotes that inspire me from the books I read, and I am looking forward to add one of a book we read here! I am convinced that feminist can inspire through literature.
https://2nbooks.wordpress.com

I decided to join because I'm excited by the recent discussions going on worldwide about feminism and feminist issues, while also seeing the urgent need for continued work for gender equality here in America and across the globe. I hope to become better informed on feminist struggles in all cultures and to contribute in any way possible.

I'm here to connect to a community of feminists and to read lots of feminist literature. I am a big fan of Emma Watson and all she is doing for the world. :)

I'm a fanatic Harry Potter fan, and I've been highly impressed by Emma Watson's rhetoric on feminism. Growing up in a well educated and pretty wealthy area really sheltered my initial views on Civil Right struggles. I've expanded my horizons via reading, travel, and social interactions and I continue to try to learn more from different perspectives and have a deeper understanding of other people.
I think feminism has different tones in different cultures. Many different countries all have nuances to their social structures and equality will look different from place to place. We should strive to be respectful of all cultural backgrounds and integrate their ideas while sharing our own, not overwhelm with what is our own understanding of equality and feminism.
Cheers all! Looking forward to well reasoned debates and mutual learning.

To Jessica who started the group, a man in our writing group was reading from his novel last night. It's based in Singapore.
To Chun Yi in Taiwan, I had a room mate in college from Taiwan. I would so love to reconnect with her. We used to write, but have lost track over the years, and that was lots of years ago.
Hi Winston. I thought Chun Yi posted last, but now I see not so. Have visited New York City a couple of times, and my novel is partly based there. Big Harry Potter Fan. That was the first movie my husband and I saw together.

My name is Megan, I am a 26 year old from Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Emma Watson is an incredible woman and role model and I was so excited to learn of this book club. I am looking forward to gaining new insights and perspectives from this group and of course reading the (I'm sure) wonderful books that are selected.
Happy reading!

I decided to join this group because feminism is very important to me and Emma Watson keeps proving herself to be an amazing role model. It will be very interesting to read all of the books suggested here and to discuss feminism with so many people!

I'm Julia from Hannover, Germany, 23 years old and completely excited about this bookclub.
I always wanted to join a bookclub but it wasn't easy to manage so I'm even more glad to be part of this one :)
Emma Watson is one of the most inspiring women of all time, I'm overwhelmed by the whole lot of things she is doing for equality.
Like everyone else I'm looking forward to great books and new experiences :)

I love all that Emma Watson and other inspiring women do for gender inequality. They truly make a difference in the lives of people and help women (and girls) around the world feel powerful and know that there are people around the world supporting their actions to make the world a better place. I LOVE Emma Watson's work and I admire her greatly. She is an amazing role model since her days being Hermione.
I cannot wait to begin reading and I know that this club will give everyone a sense of hope and inspiration. Nice getting to meet all of you!
Books mentioned in this topic
The House of the Spirits (other topics)You Can Live Happily Married for a Lifetime: Modern Applications of Proven, Timeless Wisdom to Create a Lasting, Successful Relationship (other topics)
Dancing With Ghosts (other topics)
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (other topics)
Women's Work (other topics)
More...
My name's Kirsten. I'm 25 from IL. Like everyone else here, I love reading.
I've never joined a book club, but this one seems like a good choice to start with. And I'm not too familiar with Gloria Steinem, so I can't wait to learn more. Not only from this book, but from future books as well.
I'm so thrilled to see so many people motivated towards reading and feminism!