February 2020: Group Read Suggestions + Poll

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Hey guys,

Drop your suggestions for February's group read below!

Also, let me know if you'd be interested in leading any discussions :)

[Stacy]

Maybe a Jane Austen book??

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Stacy wrote: "Maybe a Jane Austen book??"

Oh, I would love to read an Austen novel, but do any of hers somehow relate to veganism/animal rights? Or could we make connections ourselves?

I did read an Austen adaptation (I believe it was a modern Sense and Sensibility?) last year that featured a vegetarian character, and I have made connections between 19th-century novels + authors and veganism in the past, so I'm not ruling anything out :)

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Stacy wrote: "Maybe a Jane Austen book??"

So I just did a quick Google search and learned that someone wrote a book about Jane Austen's novels and animals. The synopsis included this:

"In Austen, hunting and the owning of animals are markers of station and a prerogative of power over others, while her representation of the hierarchy of food, where meat occupies top position, is identified with a human-nature dualism that objectifies not only nature, but also the women who are expected to serve food to men."

We could definitely talk about hunting and the consumption of meat in Austen's novels, if there is interest. I think it could lead to an interesting discussion, and I'm relatively familiar with the animal rights movement of the 19th century, thanks to my senior thesis.

I haven't read any of Austen's work since going vegan, but I was planning on re-reading them this year anyway. The good thing about Austen's work is that it's all public domain, so it's easy to access.

Stacy, did you have a particular book in mind?

[[deleted user]]

The Green and the Red by Armand Chauval It's a romantic comedy originally written in french, here's the description:

"When Léa and Mathieu first cross paths, it is under false pretenses—Mathieu is posing as a vegetarian, infiltrating the local animal rights community for information that will force Léa’s restaurant toward a swifter demise. And while Léa suspects that Mathieu isn’t all that he appears to be, she has no idea how deep his culinary deception goes. Neither of them can deny the attraction they feel for each other, and it seems as though they might be setting a table for two … until Léa learns the truth."

I saw the title in a vegan tumblr account and they say it's pretty good. We could discuss how vegan ideology affects our relationships in our lives perhaps?

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

Kendal wrote: "The Green and the Red by Armand Chauval It's a romantic comedy originally written in french, here's the description:

"When Léa and Mathieu first cross paths, it is under false pretenses—Mathieu is..."

Okay, wow, that sounds right up my alley. I'll be creating a poll for next month's read soon and will definitely include that one! It could be especially great for February because of Valentine's Day.

I just read an excerpt and:

Ah! But I thought vegetarians ate fish.
Nope.
Not even teeny tiny mini-shrimp?
Have you ever seen fish growing in a garden?

The publisher, Ashland Creek Press, has a whole category dedicated to Vegan/Vegetarian Fiction on their website: https://www.ashlandcreekpress.com/boo...

[Dragana]

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https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Who-Fig...

[Tessa, Founder + Curator]

We have two very different books to choose from for February!

The Green and the Red by Armand Chauvel

Léa is the idealistic owner and chef of La Dame Verte, a vegetarian restaurant struggling in a small French town in Brittany. Mathieu is the carnivorous marketing director of the town’s biggest pork producer, which is trying to put Léa out of business to take over the restaurant’s prime real estate.

I think you know where this one's going.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

In a remote Polish village, Janina devotes the dark winter days to studying astrology, translating the poetry of William Blake, and taking care of the summer homes of wealthy Warsaw residents. Her reputation as a crank and a recluse is amplified by her not-so-secret preference for the company of animals over humans. Then a neighbor, Big Foot, turns up dead. Soon other bodies are discovered, in increasingly strange circumstances. As suspicions mount, Janina inserts herself into the investigation, certain that she knows whodunit. If only anyone would pay her mind...

Interestingly enough, both are translated works.

Head to our polls and vote on which one you'd like to read next month! You have until the end of the month :)