What are you currently reading?

[Lynn]

How the Republicans Stole Religion: Why the Religious Right is Wrong about Faith & Politics and What We Can Do to Make it Right by Bill Press.

[Angie]

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West

[Angie]

Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "1Q84 by Haruki Murakami."

I remember loving this book, although it has been several years since I read it. Might be worth a re-read. :)

[Lynn]

America: The Farewell Tour by Chris Hedges.

[Natasha]

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth. Third of the way through. Enjoying.

[Angie]

Gross Anatomy: Dispatches from the Front by Mara Altman

[Natasha]

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters.

[Ally]

I recently finished Pétronille by Amélie Nothomb.

[El]

I'm currently reading a new novel, Tazia and Gemma by Ann S. Epstein, about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911.

I am also reading a memoir, I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This by Nadja Spiegelman (whose father wrote The Complete Maus). The memoir is more about her relationship with her mother than anything, but her father appears on occasion.

I'm enjoying both of the books so far.

[Natasha]

I've just finished The Night Watch by Sarah Waters and would be interested to know whether anyone who has already read this noticed what must have been a 1940s-style linguist device that I outline in my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just started The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson, which is making me cry with laughter.

[Angie]

I just finished What She Gave Away: A Thriller by Catharine Riggs. 2/5 - was not a fan. It was readable, but, I felt like it was sort of fat-phobic and weird, and I didn't care for the characters, or the ending (what a ringing endorsement, I know). But, now I'm on to She Who Remembers by Linda Lay Shuler, and am thus far enjoying it loads more.

[Lynn]

Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward.

[Natasha]

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. 10% in and gripped.

[Lynn]

Heresy by Melissa Lenhardt.

[Natasha]

Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. 10% in and gripped."

This had a knockout ending. I don't think anyone can ever have predicted how this one was going to wrap up. Wow.

[Natasha]

Now reading The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick.

[Natasha]

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. It's a fleshed out story of a minor biblical character from Genesis, called Dinah, painting a picture of women's lives in those times.

[Natasha]

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.

[Angie]

Women at War in the Classical World by Paul Chrystal

[El]

Return from the Dead: A Collection of Classic Mummy Stories - includes stories from the "heavy-hitters" like Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle... but also a short excerpt by Jane Webb [Loudon].

I was not familiar with her, so looked her up - she was an early pioneer of science fiction (though it was before the term was coined, so everyone said she wrote gothic literature, horror, or fantasy instead).

The Mummy, included in this collection, is just an excerpt. The original was a three-volume novel written in 1827. The full title is The Mummy!: A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century - I definitely want to get my paws on that now.

[El]

Angie wrote: "Women at War in the Classical World by Paul Chrystal"

Uh, that sounds great. How is it, Angie?

[Mimimimimi]

El wrote: "Angie wrote: "Women at War in the Classical World by Paul Chrystal"

Uh, that sounds great. How is it, Angie?"

I second that El, the book sounds pretty interesting. I've added it to my TBR list already, so thanks Angie!

[Angie]

Margarida wrote: "El wrote: "Angie wrote: "Women at War in the Classical World by Paul Chrystal"

Uh, that sounds great. How is it, Angie?"

I second that El, the book sounds pretty interesting. I've..."

Well, I'm only about 25% of the way through it, but so far it's pretty fab. It is straight non-fiction, and should probably be pretty dry, but it is actually really engaging. It's covering a lot of ground as far as mythical characters, goddesses, and even the roles of everyday women. It came highly recommended by a historian friend, and so far, I totally agree with her - it's really interesting!

[Lynn]

Just finished Vox by Christina Dalcher; excellent.

[Angie]

Just finished The House on Mango Street on audiobook, now I'm working on The Midwife's Apprentice (also audio). Still slogging my way through Women at War in the Classical World - which is still pretty great, but it's a lot to take in, and I find myself still needing to break for some fiction.

[Rachel]

Natasha (Diarist) wrote: "I've just finished The Night Watch by Sarah Waters and would be interested to know whether anyone who has already read this noticed what must have been a 1940s-style linguist device..."

The Night Watch is on my list! I love Sarah Waters. I've read her books all out of order, and am currently reading Affinity. My favorite so far has been The Paying Guests, my least favorite was Tipping the Velvet...and only because it lacked the suspense that her others have had! I will let you know if I spot the linguistic device. She always does such a great job with historical dialect (especially in Fingersmith)! I truly love her style of writing, but it's not for everyone. The denseness of her detail paints beautiful pictures, but can be a deterrent for some.

[Natasha]

Rachel wrote: "I will let you know if I spot the linguistic device."

Do, Rachel! No-one else has commented on it at all.

[Natasha]

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie.

[Angie]

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch

[Lynn]

Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House by April Ryan.

[Jo]

A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women: Essays on Art, Sex, and the Mind by Siri Hustvedt.

[Swedx]

You Think It, I'll Say it by Curtis Sittenfeld.

[Angie]

Jo wrote: "A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women: Essays on Art, Sex, and the Mind by Siri Hustvedt." That looks really interesting - I added it to my to read list!

[Angie]

I just finished Dietland which gave me lots of conflicting feelings that I am mulling over before trying to write a review on, and now I'm working on You Have the Right to Remain Fat by Virgie Tovar.

[CD]

I am starting a reread of Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World as today is the 100th anniversary of the War to End All Wars. The Treaty of Versailles continues to echo (arguably Loudly) to this very day.

Appropriately to this group the author, Margaret MacMillan, is one of the great historians.

[Natasha]

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. Nearly 40% in. Amazing book.

[El]

At the Wolf's Table by Rosella Postorino, a novel about the women who were food-tasters for Hitler. Finding this fascinating and well-written/translated. Comes out in February 2019 if anyone wants to keep their eyes open for a copy.

[Angie]

The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang
and I'm listening to the audio version of The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks So far, it feels a lot like the same Gillian Flynn-style gaslighting-driven violence against women by women story that's been so popular the last few years, but I'm hoping it will get better since it was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards...

[Natasha]

Night by Elie Wiesel.

[Angie]

White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg

[Natasha]

A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away by Christopher Brookmyre.

[Lynn]

Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger by Soraya Chemaly; excellent.

[Angie]

Lynn wrote: "Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger by Soraya Chemaly; excellent."

This is in my TBR pile. I'm glad to know it comes recommended by someone in this group!

[Tiffany]

Hi! I'm new in this group.

I'm currently reading Pronography of Meat by Carol J Adams, and I have to say it is really amazing. It shows the link between antispecism and feminism, first showing that eating meat if a part of the construction of male identity, then, that women have been dishumanized and treated like meat in the advertisment and media, and after, the most surprising, how food and animals has been sexualised, so to construct a strong link between the way we should see women and animals. Really interesting!

[Angie]

I am listening to the audio version of The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England It (not shockingly) parallels the last book I was reading (the one about classism in America) in a lot of ways.

[Natasha]

The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence.

[CD]

Vox by Christina Dalcher.

[El]

CD wrote: "Vox by Christina Dalcher."

I just finished reading that. I think we'll be doing a group read of that next year (at least the last time I looked at the poll, it was one of the "winners"); I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on that one.

[Natasha]

Preferred Risk by Frederik Pohl & Lester del Rey, a dystopian novel published in 1955.

[Natasha]

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben. How trees feel pain and look after each other. ...