MARCH 2018 - "Ha impact!"

[Lea]

Read a book by a female author who is considered to be influential and has had a significant impact in literature, culture and/or society.

I will update this topic with various resources. Please share any you find also!

10 inspiring female writers you need to read - The Guardian recommends 10 influential women authors, with various resources explaining their impact and where you should begin by reading their work. Includes Doris Lessing, Ursula Le Guin, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Clarice Lispector, Elena Ferrante, and more.

20 Most Influential Women Authors Of All Time - this list includes Mary Shelley, Maya Angelou, George Eliot, Harriet Beecher Stowe and more.

10 Women Who Changed Sci-Fi - A BBC list. Includes Connie Willis, Octavia Butler, Anne McCaffrey and more.

13 Female Authors Who Have Broken Barriers - This list by Bustle includes Sappho, Gabriela Mistral, Agatha Christie, Alice Walker and more.

15 Books That Changed Women Forever - this is a list by Elle of books written by women, that "were culture bombs that sparked discussion and challenged mainstream beliefs at the time in which they were written". Includes Betty Friedan (The Feminine Mystique), Mary Wollstonecraft (A Vindication of the Rights of Women), Simone de Beauvoir (The Second Sex), and more.

[Eve]

I have Kindred by Octavia Butler that was my first thought of what to read this month. However, I'm wondering if I should save it for "Men are Weak." Would that count as fantasy for me to read in May, or should I go ahead and read it for March since it's more science fiction? I haven't read it, obviously, so I'm not sure if it would count for May or not.

[Rubal]

Indian women writers https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2017/06/...

[Lea]

@Eve, I think Kindred is more science-fiction since it has to do with time travel. It would be a great pick for March imo (and it's an excellent book).

@Rubal, thank you for the list! Lots of great names there.

[Cecil]

Probably going to use this as an excuse to read The Left Hand of Darkness given LeGuin's recent passing.

[Tejal]

I want to read some Ursula le Guin as she died recently, but I might save her for the "Men are weak" theme. I love Agatha Christie, but I might save her for the 1934 theme.

So, basically, I have no idea who I'm going to read for March, but I am excited by the huge variety of options for the theme. I'll try and tackle something that's been on my to-read list for a while.

[Lea]

Here are two different lists of 50 influential books by Anglo/American women writers. They don't come with explanations, and I think the For Books' Sake list is better, but the comments that readers left on The Guardian list are worth taking a look at.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
http://forbookssake.net/2013/02/11/to...

[Jamie]

For some crazy reason I have never read The Bell Jar so I'm going with that choice for March.

[Katie]

I'm planning to read either The Handmaid's Tale and/or one of the many Octavia Butler books I've picked up but not read yet.

[Rachel]

Doomsday Book & The Handmaid's Tale have been on my shelves so I think I'll tackle them in March :)

[Chelin]

I plan on doing The Handmaid's Tale as well, at a minimum!

[Undine]

I'm gonna do Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents since I've been meaning to for a while!

[Katie]

Lmao I immediately forgot that I said I was saving The Handmaid's Tale for next month and read it right away, so I'll have to pick something else. I can't believe it just slipped my mind like that.

[Sophie]

I think I'm going to read Beloved since both my mom and my dad have bought me copies of it and it's been a few years

[Tejal]

I'll also be reading The Handmaid's Tale for March. I've never read it or seen the TV show so I'm excited.

[Sheneve]

I plan on reading as many works by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for March. My library has 6 of her published works so I'll probably just stick with: Half of a Yellow Sun, The Thing Around Your Neck, Purple Hibiscus, Americanah, We Should All Be Feminists, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

[Sam]

I probably will finally finish reading The Bell Jar for this month.

Would The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule count? I know her writing ended up influencing true crime writers and focusing on victims instead of the murderers.

[Rachel]

I just submitted the challenge post.. should be up soon!

[Rachel]

Sam wrote: "I probably will finally finish reading The Bell Jar for this month.

Would The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule count? I know her writing..."

I would say yes
I found this when I googled her: https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/articl...

[Rachel]

ok, post is up! https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com...

[Sam]

Rachel wrote: "Sam wrote: "I probably will finally finish reading The Bell Jar for this month.

Would The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule count? I know..."

Okay, cool!

[Saray]

I think I'm going with The Bell Jar as well, it's been on my shelf for a while and I read her poems last year and really enjoyed it.

[Kat]

I definitely want to reread a Jane Austen book next month, probably P&P.

I've also been wanting to reread an Anne McCaffrey book. I think I'll start the Freedom series since it's just 4 books. If you like sci-fi I highly recommend her books, my dad got me hooked on her Pern series when I was like 10 and I've adored her books ever since (they aren't YA though).

I want to read something by a new author too, I'm not sure what yet.

[Kelly]

I'm going to be doing The Handmaid's Tale for March

[Vivian]

I just read Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking and enjoyed her writing style, I might check out Slouching Towards Bethlehem next

[Kristen]

Damn I wish I did not read The Hand maid's Tale last year so I could join a lot of you this much. But I am still reading Margaret Atwood with The Blind Assassin so that should be fun

[Alyssa]

I just got a copy of White Teeth so i will probably read that for this month's challenge!

[Ashley]

I just finished White Teeth and Americanah - both were so good. I’m gonna finish/start my Brazil pick Perfect Days and then I’m thinking either Kindred by Octavia Butler or A Wrinkle in Time (if it becomes available, c’mon Overdrive!)

[Jessica]

I picked up Lavinia and The Unreal and the Real Vol 1 from the library. Le Guin is in high demand right now due to her passing and those were the only ones that were available!

[Lucie]

Anyone want to buddy read To the Lighthouse? Been on my tbr list for ages and I just started it. Also going to be joining in with The Handmaid's Tale and possibly The Bell Jar, which are both sitting unlistened to in my Audible library!

[Nicole]

I checked all the lists, and since I'm trying to read the ones I already have, I was torn between two books: The Bell Jar and I Capture the Castle. However, I heard 'The Bell Jar' is really depressing and I'm bumming hard already as it is, so I think I'm going with 'I Capture the Castle.'

[l]

I'm going to read more leguin. I'm also going to try Sujata Bhatt. Idk how significant she is though.

Beyond Respectability: The Intellectual Thought of Race Women fits the idea I think and I need to read it by tomorrow lol.

[susan]

The first list has Elena Ferrante, and I've had all the Neapolitan novels borrowed from a friend for MONTHS - using that as an excuse hahah. I also want to get Beloved from the library.

[Juliana]

I just finished reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Quite odd, a bit sad, but interesting read.
Maybe I'll give The Handmaid's Tale a try at some point but not right now.

[l]

I read le guin's blog collection and tbh it was bad.

[Sarah]

I am currently reading What Happened by: Hillary Rodham Clinton. I read Living History a long time ago and liked it, I do enjoy her writing. This book is ok. It’s not boring, but there are aspects about it that kind of run me the wrong way. I think I’m going to check out Hard Choices next, though, if my library has it.

[Lea]

Sarah, I'm not sure these books really adhere to the spirit of this month's challenge lol. The task is to read a book by a female author (etc, etc), by which we meant a writer by trade, who is considered influential because of the things she wrote. Clinton is a politician, her impact on the world is not for being the writer of Hard Choices but for her political career. I'm sorry!

[Sarah]

Guess I was thrown off by the part where you said they had to be influential to culture and society (among other things). 🤷‍♀️ Guess I won’t be participating after all.

[anolinde]

Would Georgette Heyer be considered influential due to her impact on the romance genre? My understanding is that she basically created the Regency romance.

[Lea]

Most definitely, anolinde. She did create the Regency romance genre, which is of course a hugely popular (not to mention lucrative) genre nowadays. And til this day romance writers are still borrowing from her stories.

[anolinde]

Awesome!! Will definitely be counting The Quiet Gentleman towards that. Slightly random, but I wonder why they don’t do more movie adaptations of Regency romance novels? It seems like they’d have a huge market for it...

[Lea]

I can't think of a good reason at all!

[Tejal]

I just finished The Handmaid's Tale. It took a little while to get into it, but by the end I was completely in that world. I will try and catch up with the TV series to see how it measures up.

I might pick up a Jane Austen (either Persuasion or Northanger Abbey) to continue this month's theme or go back to Feb's challenge as I found The Lost City of Z in my work's book swap.

[Sasha]

I'm trying to read more poetry this month so I read Maya Angelou And Still I Rise

[Kim]

I read A Lot Like Christmas: Stories by Connie Willis. Most of the stories were entertaining but I was dismayed to find so many religious references. Then further dismayed to find out Connie is a fan of Big Bang Theory ugh.

This affects my opinion of her lol

[l]

i just read a married woman by manju kapur which is one of the few indian books (that i'm aware of) with lesbian relationships. not sure if it's Significant but i really liked it. it's a standard middle class woman marriage is oppressive thing but in a different context, and well-done imo.

solitaire by kelley eskridge is also regarded as kind of landmark? lesbian scifi, i believe - though maybe that's more true of the books by her wife, nicola griffith (if anyone remembers hild, she's that writer).

[Eve]

No March Wrap-Up thread this month?

I read Kindred by Octavia Butler, which I loved, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, which I sadly didn't like.

[Rachel]

Eve wrote: "No March Wrap-Up thread this month?

I read Kindred by Octavia Butler, which I loved, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, which I sadly didn't like."

oops it totally slipped my mind, still can't believe it's now april 2nd.

I just started the thread though so thanks for the reminder!!!!