Read Women discussion
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Check ins and other randomness
Carol wrote: "New Question: (shamelessly borrowing from the 21st Century Lit group, even though Story's the Official Question Queen)Tell us about your avatar, the image you use for your GR profile? Is it a pic..."
Those are gorgeous works of art. Ruzamov clearly adored his subject because she is portrayed so beautifully.
I'm embarrassed to say that I don't even remember why I chose my avatar now. I didn't want to use a photo so I think I just searched images in google. I'm fairly certain that it is an Australian landscape and is actually quite gloomy which is not at all reflective of my personality. I keep thinking that I should change it but just never get around to it.
lethe wrote: "Carol wrote: "Here is a good presentation of multiple of his paintings. One is NSFW."If you scroll down, there are a lot more that are NSFW ;)
I believe I already told you that I love your avata..."
These are lovely, Lethe. I will have to spend some time looking through his other work. I quite liked his winter cabinet.
Jasper wrote: "Are guys not really welcome here then...?My profile pic is one I made when I started transitioning (ftm), I don't really have many pictures of myself that I like yet. But if people feel uncomforta..."
Jasper, the only limitation on this group is that we only read works written by women (and our definition of women includes those who identify as women). We welcome all opinions and discussions from anyone and everyone who wishes to join us.
I love your avatar and feel quite envious of your artistic talent. I never like any photos of myself but as I do not have your talent I am generally stuck with making the most of the least terrible photo that I can find.
Liesl wrote: "I am generally stuck with making the most of the least terrible photo that I can find."Liesl, this is what pets are for - on the Internet, I am ALWAYS a dog ;)
Welcome Jasper - as Liesel says, the authors are limited to women, but when it comes to readers, there are no binaries here :)
On the internet I am always an animal or flowers, I think, never my face. Stalkers be damned. Using my real name online is pretty unusual too. My avatar is a photo I took of marigolds in my garden a few years ago. I like the colors and composition.
Liesl wrote: ..."Until I looked at your avatar full size, I thought it was two sea turtles under water. Ha ha. I like the intense colors.
Liesl wrote: "These are lovely, Lethe. I will have to spend some time looking through his other work. I quite liked his winter cabinet."Thank you, Liesl :)
Nadine in California wrote: "Liesl, this is what pets are for - on the Internet, I am ALWAYS a dog ;)..."Well this is where I should insert a sad face emoji as I don't have a dog. Your dogs look adorable.
Leann wrote: "Liesl wrote: ..."Until I looked at your avatar full size, I thought it was two sea turtles under water. Ha ha. I like the intense colors."
Ha! Ha!
Ozsaur wrote: "Leann, that's a beautiful photo!"Thank you. I love your avatar too! A crow? The symbolism of the crow is amazing.
I love birds, and I wanted something to do with Poe - something something reading, writing... It's not a raven, but close enough. :-)
I used to have a rotation of owl-ish + book-ish pics I would rotate through, but also decided to just leave it. I think I may have just googled "owl image" and found some. Wonderful prompt Carol, and wish I had an interesting story to contribute, but have loved reading everyone's.
Ozsaur wrote: "I love birds, and I wanted something to do with Poe - something something reading, writing... It's not a raven, but close enough. :-)"Cool, yes! Ravens and Poe <3
Like a few of you have mentioned, I'm really struggling to read atm. Health problems and life stresses are taking their toll on my mental health and ability to concentrate on anything. My profile picture is of the woods in my favourite place in Scotland. I took it on a trip a couple of years ago in spring where all we did for a whole week was walk in the forest and read on the sunny patio outside the cabin 🌲😊🌲
Hannah wrote: "Like a few of you have mentioned, I'm really struggling to read atm. Health problems and life stresses are taking their toll on my mental health and ability to concentrate on anything. My profile..."
You are not alone in this, that's for sure. This too shall pass - everything does.
Lovely story of your avi, Hannah, and sorry about health problems. Fingers crossed we all will return to a more normal life soon.
Hannah, that's a beautiful picture, I would love to visit Scotland someday.I hope you feel better soon.
Carol wrote: "New Question: Tell us about your avatar, the image you use for your GR profile? Is it a pic..."I had been dithering about joining GR (my first and only online social media site) for a while from whether to do so to user name if I did. During a museum visit, I saw a painting of a woman reading & boom, my inspiration had arrived. I googled images and this was my favorite of three - from the blue hair down to her left hand. I had also considered rotating the three top contenders but I thought that that would be too confusing.
I haven't been doing well with my read nonfictions by women challenge so far. Sigh. And current events in Europe are making me cry so I rather find more escapist fiction.
But as the recent years have demonstrated, I really value the interactions on this platform, and in this group in particular, one of my favourites.
Nice story, Woman Reading, and I understand about wanting to escape all the negative events atm.
Woman Reading wrote: "Carol wrote: "New Question: Tell us about your avatar, the image you use for your GR profile? Is it a pic..."I had been dithering about joining GR (my first and only online social media site) for..."
@WR, I didn't see your response until today - and am sorry for acknowledging it so late. I love your avatar art, and I'm glad the interactions here offer goodness. I keep as close an eye on events in Ukraine as one can from the safe distance of the internet accessed from the US, and I also don't see it as healthy (for me) to try to read literature that depresses or saddens. There'll be another season in my reading life to tackle the tough stuff.
How is everyone? Check in if you have a moment. I finally planned a short vacation at the end of the month to a beach 3 or so hours away, and we know we waited too long. We should have planned and taken time off in March, as we've both gotten a bit grouchy and short-tempered in circumstances where we typically can suck it up and not be our respective team's curmudgeon, but at least we are able to do so, and could find a dog-friendly rental that's in our budget. So, yay - first break since Christmas coming up April 21 - 27 and badly needed.
Question of the week: What's your favorite woman-authored book that is under-read in your opinion or that no one's ever heard of?
Carol wrote: "How is everyone? Check in if you have a moment. I finally planned a short vacation at the end of the month to a beach 3 or so hours away, and we know we waited too long. We should have planned an..."
Good for you, Carol! My under-read favorite is Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter. And anything else written by Angela Carter, for that matter. I feel like that book got buried even further when Erin Morganstern's blockbuster, The Night Circus was published. I was trying to buy a copy of the Carter book when the Morganstern book came out, and just digging out from under it on the internet was a challenge ;)
Nadine, you've reminded me that I get really annoyed when publishers/authors choose titles that either make it difficult to find the newer book or another worthy older one. I know there are only so many words, but .... In terms of Carter, great call out. Mine is Maria Dermoût's The Ten Thousand Things. It's in translation from the Dutch, first published in 1955 and Penguin's promo copy says it best: "Dermout writes exquisitely and hauntingly of murder and loss, tolerance, and fear of “the other.”
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...
Carol wrote: "What's your favorite woman-authored book that is under-read in your opinion or that no one's ever heard of?"I mentioned it before, but Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant is one of my favourite books. It was published in 2009, but went out of print pretty quickly. I believe it can only be bought used now.
lethe wrote: "Carol wrote: "What's your favorite woman-authored book that is under-read in your opinion or that no one's ever heard of?"I mentioned it before, but Come, Thou Tortoise by [author:..."
Canada +
Carol wrote: "Canada + spec fiction."It is not speculative fiction, though! Maybe someone put it on that shelf because Winifred the tortoise gets some chapters to herself.
lethe wrote: "Carol wrote: "Canada + spec fiction."It is not speculative fiction, though! Maybe someone put it on that shelf because Winifred the tortoise gets some chapters to herself."
Oops - that's what I get for buying in to some friends' shelving. I am thinking that some readers put all fantasy in the specfic category, but that's not a helpful amalgamation for me. Thanks for your response.
Carol wrote: "How is everyone? Check in if you have a moment. I finally planned a short vacation at the end of the month to a beach 3 or so hours away, and we know we waited too long. We should have planned an..."
Sending a quick "hi" to everyone. Sounds like a wonderful idea to take a break around this time of year Carol, especially if you are close to a warm beach.
I've been a little quiet recently so I apologise for not joining in any monthly chats that I had voted for, plus any others that I have missed, but we moved house in January so I had that chaos in my life first (after almost 20 years living in our previous home) and then on 1 March I went back to work after a seriously long child-rearing leave of absence from the workplace. I am thoroughly enjoying the experience but at the moment I am just overwhelmed with the work of setting everything up. I do hope to be able to join back into chats before the summer (and sooner if I am really lucky).
In answer to last week's question, I am going to pick a classic that won the Pulitzer prize but few people have ever heard of. So Big by Edna Ferber won the prize in 1925. I have recommended this book to several people in one of my GR groups and everyone has really liked it so far. We don't tend to read prize winning books from so long ago and the Pulitzer has many big name books that are chosen ahead of this one if it is a prompt in bingo or other challenge. It is really worth giving a try.
Laurie wrote: "In answer to last week's question, I am going to pick a classic that won the Pulitzer prize but few people have ever heard of. So Big by Edna Ferber won the prize in 19..."I quite enjoyed that, although the ending wasn't what I expected.
My favorite woman-authored book that is under-read in my opinion or that no one's ever heard of is Maryam Diener's Beyond Black There Is No Colour: The Story of Forough Farrokhzad. Not just an excellent, well written novella, but an introduction to another interesting women poet and filmmaker, the poet Forough Farrokhzad. This book lead me to so many other sources and resources, in wanting to know more. It was my favourite and One Outstanding read of 2021.
Laurie wrote: "In answer to last week's question, I am going to pick a classic that won the Pulitzer prize but few people have ever heard of. So Big by Edna Ferber won the prize in 19..."I second everything you said, Laurie. So Big is one of my favorite novels ever, and my experience is like yours in that Ferber is not in favor with the classics-list-reading folk and I get few takers. Sadly.
Liesl wrote: "Carol wrote: "How is everyone? Check in if you have a moment. I finally planned a short vacation at the end of the month to a beach 3 or so hours away, and we know we waited too long. We should h..."
I've missed your comments, Liesl and am glad everything's good. Wow, though, taking on a move and return to work in the same handful of weeks is so much. Congratulations on having pulled it off. Best news is that you're enjoying the new gig.
Claire wrote: "My favorite woman-authored book that is under-read in my opinion or that no one's ever heard of is Maryam Diener's Beyond Black There Is No Colour: The Story of Forough Farrokhzad. ..."I'm unfamiliar with this, but your endorsement is big and it sounds like a book I'd enjoy greatly. Seeking out a copy now...
Let's discuss book cover art. Have you determined to read a book or rejected it based on cover art? If, yes, do share the book and the art. Cover art more often (although rarely) influences me not to engage with a book, rather than influencing me to engage with it. However, I recently checked out and immediately read
because of its cover.I love this:
. What are a couple of your favorite covers?
I don´t like most of today´s shrill covers, but I love those of the British Library Crime Classics - examples:
Michaela wrote: "I don´t like most of today´s shrill covers, but I love those of the British Library Crime Classics - examples:I adore every one of the BLCC covers. I’m also a fan of Pushkin’s covers.
I just love a beautiful cover, but generally the only time this makes a difference on my choice to read or not read a book is when I'm blindly perusing shelves for anything of interest - not looking for a specific book. Then, a beautiful cover will definitely grab my attention and I'll look at that book's blurb. I'm not one of those people who has bought a book based on the cover, or has a shelf dedicated to cover art.
Re the BLCCs - I also read those books, as I love Golden Age mysteries.
Happy middle-of-May (notwithstanding all of the serious, concerning things going on in the world and in many members' live).What's a non-fiction book you read that you're still thinking about > 6 months later?
Feel free to identify more than one.
My 3 are The Poisoned City: Flint's Water and the American Urban Tragedy by Anna Clark (with implications far beyond Flint, and a strong social justice theme to go with the politics and tragedy), Big Black: Stand at Attica, a graphic book by Frank "Big Black" Smith (about the 1971 Attica uprising stemming from chronic overcrowding, racial bias) The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest for Independence by Anita Anand (bio of Udham Singh, killer of the then-Lieutenant Gov'r of Punjab, including the impact on him of the 1919 Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre). In each case, my intense interest was paired with almost zero knowledge of the facts I learned, so I put them down with a passion to learn more and to pass on what I'd learned, which makes me a lot of fun at parties.
You?
I'm not a big non fiction reader but the one book that immediately popped into my head when I read this post was Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay. I listened to this 3.5 years ago and am still thinking about it now
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert is one I read more than a year ago that still pops up every now and then. It's a very readable scientific look at how we keep trying to fix things that we messed up by trying to "fix" nature to suit us.
Hannah wrote: "I'm not a big non fiction reader but the one book that immediately popped into my head when I read this post was Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay. I list..."Hunger has been on my TBR for so long, and I really don't know squat about it. Moving it way up, based on your experience.
In real-life news, I learned via another group that Jenny Colvin, of ReadingEnvy, died last week at 43. I engaged with her via her food blog and first met her as a co-mod of the Newest Literary Fiction group. She was connected to so many friends, though, across my GoodReads and book Twitter life, that I wanted to share the news here in case other members would want to know.https://insideeko.com/jenny-colvin-de...
I am very sad for Jenny's family, and holding them in the light.
Carol wrote: "In real-life news, I learned via another group that Jenny Colvin, of ReadingEnvy, died last week at 43. I engaged with her via her food blog and first met her as a co-mod of the Newest Literary Fic..."Carol, this is really shocking. She was only 43 years old. I just can't believe it. I used to read her reviews. My heart goes out to her family.
Thank you for letting us know.
Tamara wrote: "Carol wrote: "In real-life news, I learned via another group that Jenny Colvin, of ReadingEnvy, died last week at 43. I engaged with her via her food blog and first met her as a co-mod of the Newes..."Tamara - I feel the same. If I recall correctly, they'd adopted a child maybe 6 - 12 months ago, too, not that there's ever a good time to pass.
Tamara wrote: "Carol wrote: "In real-life news, I learned via another group that Jenny Colvin, of ReadingEnvy, died last week at 43. I engaged with her via her food blog and first met her as a co-mod of the Newes..."I am stunned! I just recorded an episode of the Reading Envy podcast with her a couple of weeks ago. It was so lovely talking with her.
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Anyw..."
Best known perhaps for Thorin in the Hobbit films, but also got some series on Netflix atm as well as British series: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0035514/?... :)