Our Shared Shelf discussion
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Our Shared Shelf
Very proud to be part of this journey and movement with so much people (and not only women) all around the world.
Dear Emma,As it's sad to think of not reading your bi-monthly book announcement (I always look forward to them!), I do think it's great that you're focusing first and mostly on yourself and your projects. I wish you all the best in them and I thank you for this amazing community you created and that it had grown over time.
Looking forward to seeing more of your wonderful work in this world as it's a true inspiration, not only for young children but also for us adults.
Lots of love and best wishes from Argentina.
Cynthia
Thank you for helping to facilitate this journey for us. Best wishes, Emma! Happy New Year!
This book club have helped me and others discover so many interesting books and subjects. I am very grateful for having a community to share news and ideas. Even though I don’t write regularly, I made so many friends from this book club. We all mature at some point and our desires grow in a different path at times. I hope to read even more feminism and immigration related books to show others that we are not alone in this path to equality. May this year bring us some hopeful justice and happiness! Thank you for Our Shared Shelf and it is nice to be a part of a intellectual feminist book club.
Then this the end, sad and happy. Sad because this might become a ruin but everyone has their priority. A bit expected though.Happy because I met great people here.
This book has come to an end but I'll keep writing my story. Farewell and all the best to everyone! 😊
The most important: Thank you! And good luck, love and emotional wealth!
Loved being here from start to end. I’ve grown so much as a feminist and a woman coming into adulthood in the last three years. Thank you for something so awesome, Emma x
Thank you so much for creating this group! I have enjoyed reading along and participating in discussions when possible. This group has taught me so much, and I look forward to everyone's suggestions to continue learning.
Thank you for sharing your time, your thoughts, and inspiring everyone here. I may not have posted as much as I would have liked but I read many of the books and they opened my eyes greatly. Thank you! best wishes on your new journey and thank you for being a part of mine!
Mod
Thank you.
I must echo other sentiments from the other members to share that your book selections have helped expand my awareness and the conversations and perspectives here have enriched my soul.
Thank you
You all showed such amazing patience and heartfelt love for putting up with all of our joys and needs and desires and wants. It has been a master class of watching a movement be born and bubble up in probably wilder ways than you imagined and you all carried on with such grace and empathy, (behind closed doors I'm sure you wanted to throttle us) but to the public it was always considerate and loving.
Thank you
And thank you for just creating a space in these tumultuous and trying times where we could all sit down and reflect on what we agree in and areas that we may not have considered. I have met some amazing people through this book club; many who I can call friends.
I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors and hopefully some more free time to laugh and love.
Thank you
Thank you Emma for creating this group! I have not been very active as it is hard to make time for things sometimes (so I can only imagine how complicated it can get for you), I think it is amazing how smart and open-minded this community is and I hope it will continue to live <3Happy new year to all of you, best of luck in all of your projects!
Thanks, Emma - may you continue to grow and change and thrive! You are making a difference in the world!
Dear Emma,Happy 2020 focusing your energy on some personal and professional opportunities! Thank you so much for creating the very important and stupendous OSS! You are an amazing independent thinker, activist and mischief maker and you are very inspiring! I feel truly grateful to learn from you and to be part of the greatest feminist ninja gang the world has ever seen! Thank you very much for sharing about OSS being your distress signal and call for help! I am very happy about OSS becoming a beacon and guiding light. I will very much miss your regular bi-monthly book recommendations via the board. I will keep my eyes peeled for your future book recommendations on your fascinating Instagram account! I will march in a Women's March in Portland, Maine on Saturday, 1/18/2020 wearing,,,my feminist ninja gang pink kitten hat! I am giving my best wishes to you!
Love,
Billy
Portland, Maine
Happy 2020 to you, Emma, to our dedicated moderators, and to everyone in this wonderful group. It feels like the end of an era! And what a lovely few years filled with books, discussion, interviews, growth, and community. I must confess that I am happy to see this transition—with my own personal projects and career opportunities cropping up, my ability to participate on Goodreads has been inhibited. I am pleased to know that we will still get to share our recommendations on Instagram. Mostly, I am happy to continue to see your recommendations, Emma. It has been a pleasure to view your progress on this feminist journey as I have also grown and moved forward on my own. To everyone else, thank you for the many discussions (the pleasant, the impassioned, the contentious, and everything in between)! I look forward to finding your posts nestled within the hashtag and all of the books we can aggregate together.
Hello everyone and Happy Belated New Year!While I understand that everyone has to move on eventually and it is in part sad (I dislike endings!), I also believe this community will continue to be awesome simply because we all are :-)
That said, trolls will be whacked if there are any but it is unlikely to impede the quality of thing here in general I think :-)
This group has been so imperative in my personal growth as a human being. I've always been a reader, but I almost exclusively stuck to novels and comedic autobiographies (which I still love). Through OSS I've opened my mind up TREMENDOUSLY to all kinds of authors and viewpoints that I don't know if I would have had the drive to seek out if it weren't for this group.
I've read (or attempted) every single book suggested (shoutout to Toronto Public Library!) and I am SO in this fight for gender equality now. I'll stand up to friends or acquaintances when they are subliminally misogynistic/racist/xenophobic/any other kind of toxic person and I have anecdotes and facts to back up my viewpoints!
I've also met a great group of women through OSS who through these past few years have graduated, moved to Spain, got married (actually, 3 of us got married!) and had children. What a way to get to know your neighbours!
And now, I will continue to open my mind and find empathy by reading the words of those who had experiences different than mine. All the while I will encourage everyone I know to do the same. The compassion we find for others when reading their stories is transformative. Thank you, Emma, for showing me that I too can undergo that transformation.
What a thrill it has been for me to be apart of this community from the beginning. Even though I haven’t posted very much this experience has encouraged me to live a life long dream to become a writer. I just recently enrolled in a writing course to bring my skills up to par and have made a list of ideas I’ve had for a novel. Thank you for putting this group together and I look forward to seeing where we can take it.
This has been and always remain amazing! Looking forward to all that's coming!
When I started reading this post, I was afraid Emma would announce OSS ends here. Glad to see the community will still live on. While the change is sad, it's also a new beginning. Let's hope the lively and stimulating discussions will continue!It's been humbling to be a part of something so big, so impactful. All the thanks to the moderators for making it happen!
Happy New Decade! I’ve been silent here for a long time; watching, reading along. From the bottom of my heart I want to say a huge thank you. This group, the conversations, and most importantly the books have changed me. Emma, I look forward to seeing your recommendations, and know that whatever you set your focus on you will change lives.
Thank you Emma for all you‘re doing! Not just with your bookclub! I‘ve gained so much knowledge by reading books you recommend it‘s incredible so I‘m really thankful to you for creating this community :)
Emma wrote: "Our Shared Shelf was a title dreamed up by YOU, all of the amazing individuals who support and contribute to creating conversations around intersectionality, feminism and equal rights. It was impor..."Thank you for the great book recommendations and discussions and good luck with your future projects! Happy 2020! See you on instagram <3 <3 <3
Thankful for everything that's been so far and everything that's yet to come! ❤
I am so proud to be part of this group you have shared with us as we have shared it among ourselves. You are an amazing person and I am grateful to be a small part of this much larger wheel of utterly amazing people. I say wheel instead of circle because, while circles are unifying, a wheel is a circle that also moves forward. No matter how crazy things can sometimes get. Thank you for starting this and I will be keeping an eye out for future books!
I agree with everyone here, thankful for all the good readings. All that I have learned from OSS so far is beyond words, and I look forward to many more lessons <3
Thank you for creating a community so full of boom, life and conversations that have moved us forward. While I’m sad to see you go, I’m just as excited to see where else you find yourself and the projects that will come out of it. Thank you for being a reader, and for sharing that with us for so long. Good luck on everything to come :)
Happy 2020 to The OSS Community, Emma and all the moderators! Thanks for this beautiful chance to know better what means to be a feminist.Emma, I really wish the best for you in your new proyects. I'll miss your letters, but I understand your decision and believe me I'm happy for you.
Whatever you are thinking to do, I trust it's the best you.
I can see you happy and full of blessings.
With Love, from Chile.
So... it's been four years already, huh? :-)Just a week ago, a torrent of heartwarming memories rushed on me the other night; memories about being part of this beautiful community. This all started as boiling, sparkling mess... people numbers skyrocketed in hours, new discussions were popping up every minute or so. Everyone was infected with pure excitement.
We tried to figure out so many things back then, haven't we? What's right and what's wrong was surely among them. But soon enough, everything started to take shape.
And now that time has passed, the true glory of this project has emerged: the conversations. Thoughts. Experiences. I wonder how many books one could possibly write while simply reading these. Every time I checked back once in a while, I was amazed by quality, thoughtfulness, and growing amount of research material for future generations, and I'm serious! One shouldn't overlook this possibility. And I was truly happy to see the community flourishing no matter what.
Thank you, Emma. You have changed many lives with this little mischief. And although I wasn't here for long, you have definitely changed mine.
And if it is time to make another mischief - everyone will be excited about it; there's no doubt on that!
So let's have an exciting, productive and (in a good sense) life-changing 2020 everyone!
Wonderful! Best of luck with your new dreams, ideas, challenges and adventures for 2020.
With love, a fellow Book Fairy!
But I just got here, lol. All the best <3
I have to say that, while I did enjoy the group we have here, I realize that I could have been a more active participant in our conversations. Reading this announcement is upsetting to me, because it signals an end to this community as you make the switch to a more popular platform (that I refuse to use). Thank you for all of the new books that you've introduced to us over the past years. I will miss this space.
Thank you Em for your honest, heartwarming, and always sharp thoughts you share with us. Sharing - not only but above all - thoughts and telling stories, to listen and to respect each other, being open-minded and full of hopes and dreams is a way of life we need to acquire - for the sake of our own self-interest as well as for the sake of society as a whole. Thank you for being such a strong and inspiring person. I wish you all the best for your upcoming projects and all the love you deserve. Let's keep on reading and let's keep our spirits free!
Thanks for starting this and I wish you the best for your future projects. I don’t have instagram and I don’t intend to open an account there, so I do hope that you find the time to make your book recommendations here.
Best wishes
Hi Emma, Firstly, thank you so much for bringing together all these light minded women. I truly feel the meaning of solidarity.
I’m a working mother of two so it’s difficult to go out and socialise let alone find women that enjoy women’s literature. You’ve brought this amazing group of people to my door step and I’m very grateful xx
I really don’t know how you’ve found the time to keep this group going. You’ve been using your Time-Turner pendant haven’t you? 😁 all jokes aside I hope this group continues to thrive and looking forward to seeing you pop in from time to time.
Best wishes with your new journey and sending you love and light xx
Regards
Hülya
**for those of you that wish to follow me on Instagram: @hulii_f
Unfortunately simple minded people like me enjoy following a figurehead. Emma should pass the torch to a willing feminist celebrity / community leader then a few years later they pass it on again. Best not to leave it in the hands of the masses to trickle into obscurity. We sheep need a ‘She’pard.
If we could think as broadly or discover great new topics as efficiently on our own would be here in the first place?
Could have grown with into the next Oprah’s Book club.
Anyhow,
So long and thanks for all the fish.
We live in a male chauvinist and separatist society. For any woman it becomes difficult to be at ease, because for millennia the man has stolen a lot of scene from women a little for fear a little for simple uncontrolled ego. It will take a long time to create a great change, but the woman is strong, she is the creator of life, and the mature times will come when the power that man holds today will completely pass into the hands of women. The important thing is to manage power differently and not stupidly like man. In groups like Our Shared Shelf I see the sparks that will ignite the fire of global change, which I hope will also happen naturally with the evolution of the human being. I hope to be able to follow your journey for a long time. I greet all the members of this group and the ambassador Miss Emma Watson.
I love this idea because it will offer a lot more people to join the group and share their own views on the books!
Well I haven't said a lot in the group, I have read all the discussions and gained some great friends in this group. I am surprised that this is taking the turn that it is, and like others I am not on Instagram as it's just not my type of platform so I'm sad I won't be able to follow along anymore. I wish Emma all the best though, and will be hoping that maybe after a little time away, she might bring it back. Regardless, I'm still a huge fan of Emma and look forward to what else she does in the days to come. Thank you for being a fellow book lover and being so will to share that love with all of us!
Emma, thank you. This is news to me. I look forward to seeing your book picks for 2020.Diana
Emma wrote: "Our Shared Shelf was a title dreamed up by YOU, all of the amazing individuals who support and contribute to creating conversations around intersectionality, feminism and equal rights. It was impor..."
Thank you Emma and Moderators for your dedication to this group - I’ve been reading along most of the book picks since 2018 and some books before that (thanks to you I discovered one of my favourite books - Gloria Steinem’s My Life on the Road) . I appreciate the book reccomendations, author interviews + reader Qs, member discussions and generosity of Pay it forward. By the way, if anyone is looking for another book club/group I’ve discovered Reading Women Podcast which shares book reccomendations by or about women - it’s both a group on Good Reads and also website https://www.readingwomenpodcast.com
Best wishes and happy reading!
Emma, thank you so much for this incredible community! Without this I would have never stumbled upon such important and incredible pieces of work. Thank you for creating such a wonderful path to learn, I look forward to what 2020 brings!
Thank you Emma for changing my life . Thanks to all mods for hard work you put in keep this forum tidy. Well no Emma but legacy stays with this forum.
I am not going anywhere is still lot to fighting for. Still lots to learn. Still lots to conquer.
Peace out
For now ;)
Emma wrote: "Our Shared Shelf was a title dreamed up by YOU..."
Will you please create a gif from the old banner photos and post it on your Instagram so that we can watch the books collect on our shelf?
Will you please create a gif from the old banner photos and post it on your Instagram so that we can watch the books collect on our shelf?
Thank You Emma.Thank you to all of the Moderators.
Our Shared Shelf will live on!
Always.
Onwards!And thanks to the mods for being so responsive and diligent.
Thank you Emma for sharing your idea and your dreams.
Go well, Emma! Your life is your own, and I’m glad you are taking it in the direction you wish, even if I will miss you book choices here. May your new direction be a wonderful adventure.
I'm still figuring this site out for myself but the moment I discovered this group, I knew that I was in the right place. Thanks, Emma and the OSS team!
Our Shared Shelf
Books mentioned in this topic
My Life on the Road (other topics)Men Without Women (other topics)
Educated (other topics)
Fruit of the Drunken Tree (other topics)
A Place for Us (other topics)
More...
Circling back to the title for a moment. It annoyed me that Our Shared Shelf was constantly abbreviated to “O.S.S.”. The same letters (different order) as the international symbol for distress! However, over the years the three letters have developed their own beautiful meaning for me. This book club initially was my own kind of distress signal! Life, it turns out, can be difficult to navigate. We are often caught in the storm and lost at sea. The journey to becoming an independent thinker, activist and mischief maker is treacherous! OSS was my distress signal and call for help - and it came! It has become a beacon and guiding light. If you know someone sending out a jumbled distress signal, please pass on or tell them about OSS. Activism and change making can feel lonely. This is your tribe, this is your collective consciousness and we are raising it together.
At the beginning of every new year, and particularly so now as it is the beginning of a new decade, I’ve been prompted to look at my next steps. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking! First of all Happy 2020, it’s going to be an amazing year for all of you. This year I want to focus my energy on some new personal and professional opportunities and while I want to say YES to everything – it’s IMPOSSIBLE.
What does this mean? Moving forward the OSS board will be unmoderated but remain open keeping intact all previous conversations. I will not be making the regular bi-monthly book announcement via the board, I will be making future book recommendations through Instagram using the hashtag #oursharedshelf instead. My wish is that this community continues to share and announce their own book recommendations with this hashtag keeping what we’ve built together alive and well for the future. I am excited to see it continue to grow and mature. I might just be reading along with you! Keep your eyes peeled as I announce other books later this year.
Love
Emma