The F-word discussion

It's time for nominations again! I know everyone is out enjoying summer, so let's make this a big round of nominations and the winner of the fiction/non-fiction polls will be the selections for August and the runners up will be the selections for September. Coolio?

I'd like to nominate Burger's Daughter in honour of Nadine Gordimer who just passed at the age of 90. "This is the moving story of the unforgettable Rosa Burger, a young woman from South Africa cast in the mold of a revolutionary tradition. Rosa tries to uphold her heritage handed on by martyred parents while still carving out a sense of self. Although it is wholly of today, Burger's Daughter can be compared to those 19th century Russian classics that make a certain time and place come alive, and yet stand as universal celebrations of the human spirit. Nadine Gordimer, winner of the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, was born and lives in South Africa."

I've also heard good things about She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders and Sister Mine

Brand new member (glad I found this group! Lots of books I'm looking forward to reading here)- here are some I either have read or am dying to read/discuss with other women-

Some of my most want-to-read books:
Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women
Who Fears Death
Redemption in Indigo
The Ghost Bride
My Education

How about The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson?

"The Stone Gods is a vivid, cautionary tale- or, more precisely, a keen lament for our irremediably incautious species." Ursula K. Le Guin, "The Guardian" (UK)
A glimpse into unlikely love braved in the face of the void. On the airwaves, all the talk is of the new blue planet-pristine and habitable, like our own 65 million years ago, before we took it to the edge of destruction. And off the air, Billie and Spike are falling in love. What will happen when their story combines with the world's story, as they whirl towards Planet Blue, into the future? Will they-and we-ever find a safe landing place?
Of immense imaginary and emotional scope, The Stone Gods is Jeanette Winterson at her prescient, playful, muscular best. An interplanetary love story, a traveller's tale, a hymn to the beauty of the world, this is a novel that will change forever the stories we tell about the earth, about love and about stories themselves.

I would like to nominate
Hard Choices
I Am That Girl: How to Speak Your Truth, Discover Your Purpose, and #bethatgirl

These are just the on the top of my to read list :)

There's already so many great suggestions but I'd like to add my nominations for Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive by Julia Serano and Hild by Nicola Griffith.

How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

(not sure everyone even agrees this is feminist, though??)

Natasha, I have been wanting to read How to Be a Woman, but that's an interesting point you made. I have heard mixed reviews about how feminist it is, but I think that means it could make for an interesting discussion. I also wonder whether I should nominate certain books because I'm not sure if they're feminist enough-- though mostly when it comes to fiction.

Nicole wrote: "Natasha, I have been wanting to read How to Be a Woman, but that's an interesting point you made. I have heard mixed reviews about how feminist it is, but I think that means it could make for an interesting discussion.

YES. And, I had a dip into a friend's copy a couple of years ago and it was an entertaining read, at least.

Thanks everyone for the nominations! I'll post the poll first thing tomorrow :)

I can see how How to be a Woman would be considered feminist by many. I thought it was funny at points, and we could definitely give it a try for the group! I'd be interested to see what others thought of it.

Wooooooo the next two months has some great books! The non-fiction runner up was like a 5 way tie, so I went with Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women because it was voted on in the previous poll as well. Thanks everyone who took the time to cast a vote!