Read Women discussion

Inspired by one of the comments in the 'Monthly Themes/Suggestions' thread, I've decided to create a new challenge - reading our way through female authors of the 20th century.

There are two variations, depending on how ambitious you want to be:

Reading by Decade
Read a book written in each decade of the 20th century - 10 books total, would work well as a yearly challenge if you want to set yourself a time limit

Reading the 20th Century
Read a book published in each year of the 20th Century - 100 books total. If you want to challenge yourself even further, don't repeat authors.


I set no timescale for this challenge, but if you want to give yourself one, feel free. The only strict rule there is is that all books must be written by women.


Group Reading the 20th Century Reads:
1900s - Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (Jan 2018)
1910s - Night and Day by Virginia Woolf (Jan 2019)
1920s - (Jan 2020)
1930s - (Jan 2021)
1940s - (Jan 2022)
1950s - The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (Aug 2018)
1960s - (Aug 2019)
1970s - (Aug 2020)
1980s - (Aug 2021)
1990s - (Aug 2022)

Setting myself 'Reading the 20th Century' as an ongoing challenge and. Will be counting the first book I read in each year/decade for the challenge (this will probably not always translate to the best book).


Reading the 20th Century (2017-?)
9/100
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1963: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
1969: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
1970s
1979: So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ
1980s
1981: Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism (NF) by bell hooks
1987: Beloved by Toni Morrison
1988: Who Cooked the Last Supper? (NF) by Rosalind Miles
1989: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
1990s
1991: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (NF) by Jung Chang
1997: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

I'm in for the Century.

Reading the 20th Century (2017-?)

12/100

1990s:
1999 - Affinity
1998 - Tipping the Velvet
1994 - In the Time of the Butterflies

1980s:
1984 - The Lover
1983 - The Violin of Auschwitz
1982 - Union Street

1970s:
1974 - Lives of Girls and Women
1971 - Strange Meeting

1960s:
1966 - A Jest of God

1950s:
1959 - The Little Disturbances of Man
1958 - The Blackmailer

1940s:
1945 - The Tin Flute

1930s:

1920s:

1910s:

1900s:

There is always the question: does the 20th Century run from 1900-1999, or 1901-2000? Officially it's the latter, I believe.

Officially it's the latter, yeah. Though if people would rather use the former, I'll leave it up to reader preference.

I'll use 1900-1999 because 2000 is a gimme.

Great idea! But since I have other challenges going on for the year I'm gonna go with Reading by Decade. I'm new in the group and this is my first post...How does it work? Can I edit the post adding the books as I read them?
Reading by Decade (2017)
0/10
1900s:
1910s:
1920s:
1930s:
1940s:
1950s:
1960s:
1970s:
1980s:
1990s: The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald

I think that's the easiest way to keep a record here, yes. That's what I'm going to be doing to log mine. 'Edit' button is between the 'reply' and 'delete' buttons for your own posts.

And welcome to the group! Look forward to seeing what books you end up reading for this.

This is a GREAT idea! I'm in for 100 (101, actually).

7/101

The Aughts:
1900 - The Touchstone, Edith Wharton
1903 - Rebecca of Sunnybrooke Farm, Kate Douglas Wiggin

1910-1919:

1920-1929:
1927 - Emily's Quest, L.M. Montgomery

1930-1939:

1940-1949:

1950-1959:

1960-1969:
1962 - The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman
1969 - The House on the Strand, Daphne de Maurier

1970-1979:

1980-1989:
1985 - The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
1987 - Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe, Fannie Flagg

1990-2000:

Thanks for the fast reply! I have an idea on what I will read for half of the decades, but for the rest, I'm going to have to do some research prior to choosing...Is it restricted to fiction? (Not that it would be a problem whatsoever, just to know).

I'm in the same boat as Irene, I have other challenges on the go, so will do the decade challenge. I've picked out my books, which is half the fun.

0/10
1900s:
1910s:
1920s: The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey
1930s:
1940s: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
1950s:
1960s:
1970s: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
1980s: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
1990s:

Irene wrote: "Thanks for the fast reply! I have an idea on what I will read for half of the decades, but for the rest, I'm going to have to do some research prior to choosing...Is it restricted to fiction? (Not ..."


I'm happy to let people decide whether they want to restrict themselves to fiction or not. All for giving people as much freedom as possible within challenges and I haven't yet decided for myself!

I like the idea of letting people choose whether or not to restrict themselves - I'd rather not restrict it to fiction only but I also understand why others may want to do so.

Since this is a fairly broad challenge, I don't see any problem with leaving what to read open to personal choice.

Again, I love all these challenges. I'm in by decade.

Reading By Decade
10/10
1900s: Anne of Green Gables, 1908 by L.M. Montgomery
1910s: Letters of a Woman Homesteader, 1914 by Elinore Pruitt Stewart
1920s: Kristin Lavransdatter, 1920 by Sigrid Undset
1930s: Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1937 Zora Neale Hurston
1940s: The Second Sex, 1949 by Simone de Beauvoir
1950s: My Cousin Rachel, 1951 by Daphne du Maurier
1960s: The Bell Jar, 1963 by Sylvia Plath
1970s: The Women's Room, 1977 by Marilyn French
1980s: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, 1987 by Fannie Flagg
1990s: The Black Gryphon, 1994 by Mercedes Lackey

Louise wrote: "Inspired by one of the comments in the 'Monthly Themes/Suggestions' thread, I've decided to create a new challenge - reading our way through female authors of the 20th century.

There are two varia..."

I am doing a variation of this for a challenge of reading a book written in each year of my life. Thankfully, this is less than 100! But it does cover a lot of the 20th century. GR is big help in finding books published in a certain year. I think the early part of the century would be challenging since only the books of famous authors are probably still available. (Children's books might be one place to look if you think that's not cheating.)

The timeline for my challenge varied depending on your age, so I had up to 3 years to finish. I was on track but partway through last year I rebelled against all challenges. I'll probably return to it at some point.

Robin wrote: "I think the early part of the century would be challenging since only the books of famous authors are probably still available."

This doesn't require 100 different authors, so even if only well known authors are available it doesn't matter. And I think only "well-known" authors to be available might be an exaggeration. I just looked at my early 20th Century shelf and saw such authors as Anna Katharine Green, Mary Roberts Rinehart, and Grazia Deledda which are not especially commonly known authors, as well as Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, and Rebecca West, who are.

If you're looking specifically for lesser-known early 20th century authors, keep an eye out in thrift stores, yard sales, used bookstores, etc. There's usually something there and they're usually pretty affordable.

I've got around 12 titles on my list now, and adding more all the time!

Should finish book #1 today.

I am doing one book from each decade.

✔︎1900: Five Children and It by E. Nesbit ✭✭✭
✔︎1910: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett ✭✭✭✭
1920: Passing by Nella Larsen
1930: The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
1940: The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen
✔︎1950: Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith ✭✭✭
✔︎1960: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson ✭✭✭✭
✔︎1970: The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty ✭✭✭
1980: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
✔︎1990: The Shipping News by Annie Proulx ✭✭✭

Marilyn wrote: "I am doing one book from each decade.

1900: Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
1910: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
1920: Kristin Lavransdatter b..."

Strangers on a Train is an intense read that I enjoyed. If you've read Talented Mr. Riply, some of the motivations/inner dialogues of main characters will be familiar.

Irene wrote: "Marilyn wrote: "I am doing one book from each decade.

1900: Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
1910: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
1920: [book:Kristin Lavra..."

This is my first Highsmith book and I am looking forward to it!

I'm gonna give the decades a go, and maybe expand to each year later!

Progress - 7/10

1900s
1910s My Own Story by Emmeline Pankhurst, 21st Feb 18
1920s
1930s Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, 1935
1940s By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart, 1945
1950s
1960s The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, 1963
1970s The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, 1972
1980s Ain't I A Woman by bell hooks, 1981
1990s The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, 1997

I've only just stumbled upon this challenge but I love the idea! I will save this for 2018 though...