Play Book Tag discussion
April, 2016: Female Author
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Announcing the April Tag: Share Your Reading Plans and Suggestions
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Yeah, I think you and I are contraindicators for each other. (And I'm no..."Oh, I have several polar opposite reading friends on PBT and their input is just as helpful as that of my reading twin Linda.
Typically, if someone like Jen L or Sara W like a book that I immediately take it off my TBR! lol!
P.S. I adore you Jen and Sara!
I plan to read Fates and Furies and sounds like I book I will like. Probably means no for you :)I am thrilled with this month's tag. I actually try to make an effort to read diversely -- attempting to read books from authors (or book content) who vary with respect to genders, racial/ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation, and country of origin. I track all these things to make sure I get a good mix.
With all the press about women authors not being published or recognized with the same degree as white male authors, the last year or so, I have made attempts to buy books written by women and borrow books written by men.
I don't have any specific recommendations b/c it's too broad a category. I personally love Adichie, Atwood, and Toni Morrison. I'm excited to have a month of reading women authors
Barbara wrote: "Well, Michael, here's your chance to challenge yourself! I'll bet you could find something written by a woman that you would enjoy. :-) "Just hard to believe people bother to use that tag. There is a growing tradition of people in their annual summary of readings to attend percent of female authors read and encourage people to try for more balance to address historical barriers to careers and publishing for women. I have a low percent because of my reading so many thrillers and sci fi.
I guess I will take the opportunity to read something that speaks to women's issues. Maybe Miriam Toews' "A Complicated Kindness", about growing up Mennonite in rural Mannitoba, or Ursula Hegi's "Stones from the River", about community recovery in rural Germany after WW2. I also want to pursue a non-fiction coming of age tale in Communist China, either "Red Azalea" (Anchee Min) or "Wild Swans" (Jung Chang).
I offer some suggestions for using topic to home in on key gender related topics.
Recommended reads--non-fiction:
History of feminism: Margaret Fuller, An American Life (Megan Marshall)
Woman adventurer in Middle East with political impact: Desert Queen (Janet Wallach)
Female horse trainer and aviator in colonial Africa: West with the Night (Beryl Markham)
Women mountain climbers: Savage Summit: Women of K2 (Jennifer Jordan)
Rape and war: The Rape of Nanking (Iris Chang)
Sexual slavery: Half the Sky (Sheryl WuDunn with Nicholas Kristoff)
Fiction:
Women in science, anthropology: Euphoria (Lily King)
Women in science, botany: Signature of All Things (Elizabeth Gilbert)
Immigrant experience: White Teeth (Zadie Smith)
Colonial life and early slavery: A Mercy (Toni Morrison)
Gender choice: Annabel (Kathleen Winter)
Forced prostitution during war: Song of the Exile (Kiana Davenport)
Identity and sexuality: Hausfrau--Jill Essbaum
Coming of age, rural: My Antonia (Willa Cather)
Coming of age, lesbian: Rubyfruit Jungle (Rita Mae Brown)
Tough females fighting crime: The Rope (Nevada Barr)
Tough females fighting crime: Chalk Girl (Carol O' Connell)
Women saving the species from aliens: Dawn (Octavia Butler)
Michael wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Well, Michael, here's your chance to challenge yourself! I'll bet you could find something written by a woman that you would enjoy. :-) "Just hard to believe people bother to use ..."
Stones from the River is superb! And there are a couple of scenes that even a lover of thrillers might like, even though on the tame side.
Michael wrote: "I guess I will take the opportunity to read something that speaks to women's issues. Maybe Miriam Toews' "A Complicated Kindness", about growing up Mennonite in rural Mannitoba,"Toews is on my list of authors to read for the first time this year. I have All My Puny Sorrows as the book to try. I own it so could easily toss it in and shake up my planned mix.
It seems to me that women are writing more sci-fi/fantasy but have noticed that a few current books by women have initials in the author's name - NK Jamisin and VE Schwab. Both authors are well reviewed on GR and are high on my list for fun reads.
A book I've not seen recommended that I loved is The Round House. IMHO it is Erdrichs's best.
Denizen wrote: "A book I've not seen recommended that I loved is The Round House. IMHO it is Erdrichs's best. "Looking forward to getting to this one. I have been reading Erdrich in publication order. Though many of her books have a common setting and repeating characters, they aren't a series and reading in order isn't necessary, just my approach. She is one of my favorites.
Kate wrote: "Hahaha! It sounds like the best horizon to stretch here is the "how many books I can read off the pile on my bedside table" horizon ... ."Ok, this cracked me up . . .but I suspect it is also extremely accurate!
Some day essays will be the tag. I hope.
Diane wrote: "#2 is Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris#3 is The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
."
Yes, I own both of these in paperback. Someday I will in fact read them. Before I give them away while downsizing hopefully.
Nicole wrote: "No, just no to My Name Is Lucy Barton. I just cannot get on the Elizabeth Strout bandwagon. ""But, but Olive Kitteridge. . .
Nicole wrote: "Typically, if someone like Jen L or Sara W like a book that I immediately take it off my TBR! lol! "ahem. My book twins.
Jen wrote:With all the press about women authors not being published or recognized with the same degree as white male authors, the last year or so, I have made attempts to buy books written by women and borrow books written by men.I don't have any specific recommendations b/c it's too broad a category. I personally love Adichie, Atwood, and Toni Morrison. I'm excited to have a month of reading women authors .."
Well said!
Michael wrote: "I have a low percent because of my reading so many thrillers and sci fi. ."Perhaps you aren't looking in the right places.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor...
I am going to try an new Author in April. Curiosity Thrilled The Cat by Sofie Kelly
Not only is she a female Author but book is going to fulfill my Shelfagories,#6.A book based entirely on its cover. It has two cats and a shelves filled with books on the cover. I was drawn like a moth to flame.
I am also going to read
That was my other post. Going to make some changes.
Taking off Mercury.
Adding.
Anita wrote: "But, but Olive Kitteridge. . .. . ."I was not blown away by Olive Kitteridge. I gave it three stars.
Denizen wrote: "...A book I've not seen recommended that I loved is The Round House. IMHO it is Erdrichs's best...."I wouldn't disagree with that. A 5-star read for me. I didn't consider it for the list as it deals with a boy's methods for dealing with his mother's loss to violence. A strong woman character that would fit with the theme I am reaching for is Fleur in books like "Love Medicine" and "Tracks".
Anita wrote: "Some day essays will be the tag. I hope. "Or you could have them this month.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles...
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Michael wrote: "I have a low percent because of my reading so many thrillers and sci fi. ."Perhaps you aren't looking in the right places...."
Thanks for the links! I read whatever seems good for mystery-thrillers and certain women writers come my way. I haven't even logged on my shelf all the Patricia Cornwell I went through. I added a set of 23 to the Listopia list of best female sci fi writers (https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6... ). There just aren't as many as male ones, though they may dominate the fantasy genre.
I wondered how many of the 900+ were on the fantasy side rather than the sci-fi side. I read neither and so wouldn't recognize one from the other. (I love lists, in case you hadn't noticed.)
Michael wrote: "Maybe Miriam Toews' "A Complicated Kindness", ..."I wasn't crazy about this one, but I think you might like it! Enjoy whatever you decide on!
Anita wrote: "Some day essays will be the tag. I hope. ..."And I keep hoping one day for "graphic novels". :-)
Susie wrote: "Karen, is it read by Reese Witherspoon?"TKAM is read by Sissy Spacek
Go Set a Watchman (Lee's second novel) is read by Reese Witherspoon.
Michael wrote: ""Just hard to believe people bother to use that tag."
Perhaps, but then some readers find they read mainly male authors and then want to find some written by women. On Shelfari, where you could narrow things down by searching with two tags, that could be helpful. I use that tag out of habit from that. It's sort of like tagging an author by nationality, although sometimes those are done incorrectly as well. Paulette Jiles is an American author who spent a number of years in Canada, but to call her a Canadian author is a mistake, particularly since she's been back in the US for a long time now.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: " (I love lists, in case you hadn't noticed.)"I like the lists for neglected or underrated books, with different lists for under 500, 100, and 50 ratings.
LibraryCin wrote: "Anita wrote: "Some day essays will be the tag. I hope. ..."And I keep hoping one day for "graphic novels". :-)"
Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike is a graphic novel written by a woman
So many! Top suggestion is A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell.Other recommendations from favorite books of the last three years:
Fiction:
Cat on the Edge by Shirley Rosseau Murphy - a talking cat cozy series, that I can't seem to get enough of.
The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbolt and Agnete Friis, a 4 part Danish mystery series.
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Wolf Winter by Cecelia Ekback
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga
The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
Nonfiction:
My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life by Ruth Rechl -part memoir, part cookbook
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elizabeth Tova Bailey
Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu by Kira Salak
I will probably read one by a woman author from my radar list:
Where the Trees Were
Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo
Across a Hundred Mountains
Salt to the Sea
The Bitter Side of Sweet
Nothing Holds Back the Night: A Novel
The World Without Us
The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter: A Novel
]The Lizard Cage
All Stories Are Love Stories: A Novel
The Lightkeepers
Backlands: A Novel
Rina1775 wrote: "LibraryCin wrote: "Anita wrote: "Some day essays will be the tag. I hope. ..."And I keep hoping one day for "graphic novels". :-)"
Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike is a graphic ..."
Actually, I've noticed a ton of woman getting published in graphic novel form. The most prolific seems to be Kelly Sue DeConnick. In addition to Pretty Deadly, she's done some Avengers and the reboot of Captain Marvel (who is female) as well as Bitch Planet.
JoLene wrote: Actually, I've noticed a ton of woman getting published in graphic novel form. Here are some good ones:
Alison Bechdel: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic and Are You My Mother? - the author reflects on the relationship with her father and mother
Barbara Yelin: Irmina
Cory Doctorow: In Real Life
Mariane Satrapi: The Complete Persepolis
Just for something different than everyone else, my suggestion for this tag is A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert. As for what I will read, I guess I will just wing it. Right now I am more focused on the fact that I have not finished a single book all month.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Anita wrote: "Some day essays will be the tag. I hope. "Or you could have them this month.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles..."
Thanks so much for this!! I also love lists!
Sara wrote: "Right now I am more focused on the fact that I have not finished a single book all month. ..."Ugh, tell me about it. Let's start a support group.
Booknblues wrote: "Fiction:Cat on the Edge by Shirley Rosseau Murphy - a talking cat cozy series, that I can't seem to get enough of.
The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbolt and Agnete Friis, a 4 part Danish mystery series.
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Wolf Winter by Cecelia Ekback
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga"
I'm happy to see you recommend Our Lady of the Nile as I didn't realize you'd read and liked it. I added it to the TBR from the Dublin longlist but didn't know of anyone that had read it. I second the recommendation for We Need New Names
Denizen wrote: "I'm happy to see you recommend Our Lady of the Nile as I didn't realize you'd read and liked it. ."I read it last year. It helped in giving me more of an understanding of Rwanda and what everyday people were going through. It did have some elements of magical realism.
On rechecking I did write a review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Nicole wrote: "Sara wrote: "Right now I am more focused on the fact that I have not finished a single book all month. ..."Ugh, tell me about it. Let's start a support group."'
What happened to us? it seems awfully coincidental that it happened at the same time Shelfari died.
Nicole wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Sara wrote: "Right now I am more focused on the fact that I have not finished a single book all month. ..."Ugh, tell me about it. Let's start a support group."'
What happened to u..."
I read a ton in January and February. March has just kicked my butt. I was sick for nearly three weeks, covering for a coworker while she is on vacation, plus dealing with my son's injury. I have been too tired to read when I do get a break. But, I have nothing going tonight and plan to enjoy some Daphne du Maurier and finally read Rebecca. Hopefully in time to finish it this month.
Sara wrote: "Hopefully in time to finish it this month. ..."I will not finish The Secret History this month but probably will finish over the weekend so you better believe I am going to count it!
Sara wrote: "I was sick for nearly three weeks,UGH. That sounds horrible. Glad to see you back!!
A few recommendations of books written by women that are on my personal list of Books Everyone Should Read:My Ántonia by Willa Cather
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
For me, in April:
I'm definitely going to finish The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan because I'm reading it for my F2F book club.
If I have time, I might also try one or more of the following books that are on a Buzzfeed list of best books by women authors, because I have them on my shelf, just waiting for me to pick them up someday:
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin
Booknblues wrote: "So many! Top suggestion is A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell...."I always thought we were on a common track, but you include none I've read except for the Russell and Gilbert. Must attend more closely to your reading choices.
Ta! and happy Spring.
Kimber wrote: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou..." I have this one in my pile to start in April.
Well, I started Peyton Place by Grace Metalious on March 12 ... and I'm barely 1/3 of the way into it. So I guess that will be the first one (and possibly only one) I finish for April's tag.
Better late than never, but I think I can mention a few that haven't been mentioned:Excellent Women, Barbara Pym
Foggy Mountain Breakdown and Other Stories, Sharyn McCrumb
Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear
Persuasion, Jane Austen
The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
Prodigal Summer, Barbara Kingsolver
Prayers for Sale, Sandra Dallas
At Home in Mitford, Jan Karon
Margarette wrote: "Better late than never, but I think I can mention a few that haven't been mentioned:Excellent Women, Barbara Pym
[book:Foggy Mountain Breakdown and Other Stories|1350..."
I love Sandra Dallas!
Margarette wrote: "Better late than never, but I think I can mention a few that haven't been mentioned:Excellent Women, Barbara Pym
Foggy Mountain Breakdown and Other Stories.
AJ wrote: "I just wanted to say that I love the cover picture for this month!"Thanks, AJ! We struggled to find one that we liked and would work in the space so that compliment is nice to hear!
Two of the books that are TOP TOP TOP of my Favorites List areKindred by Octavia Butler
And
Fresco by Sheri S Tepper
Both are very thought provoking and socially relevant. Yet have a storyline that draws you in deeply.
Both could be called "magic realism" though the latter does stretch that a bit. Aliens you know...
Barbara wrote: "...previously downloaded but not yet read Me Before You"READ THIS ONE FIRST. It's such a powerful story. Maybe I'll get to reading the followup novel published recently for this month.
Jennifer wrote: "...(paraphrased) I saved Troublemaker to read this month."I read this recently. Very good read. Very little "celebrity". A lot of "I grew up in a cult and then was thrown out for questioning the rules." I wrote a rather long review for it too.
I will be readingThe Giver by Lois Lowry this month and will post again after I'm done with a review.
Jenny wrote: "I will be readingThe Giver by Lois Lowry this month and will post again after I'm done with a review."
I really liked that one. Good choice.
Play Book Tag
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Yeah, I think you and I are contraindicators for each other. (And I'm not saying that's a bad thing.)