500 Great Books By Women discussion

Here is my 2019 Womens Challenge List: Trying to keep focused. Will update and capitalize what was completed as I go on.
Thank you for this group and challenge!!


1 .mystery/thriller woman of color: MY SISTER, THE SERIEL KILLER *
2 woman with mental illness: BRAIN ON FIRE: MY MONTH OF MADNESS* , complete
3 .author from Nigeria or NZ: FRESHWATER* also will add Faces in the Water by Janet Frame
4 .about or set in Appalachia : LONG MAN *
5. children book : THE NIGHT DIARY
6. multigenerational family saga: Pachinko (own)
7. featuring a woman in science: Labgirl * or Rosalind Franklin: the Dark Lady of DNA
8. myth retelling: THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS *
9. a novella; Our Nig or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black
10. Woman athlete: Butterfly: from the refugee to Olympian My story of rescue, hope and triumph
11. young adult book by woman of color: COFFEE WILL MAKE YOU BLACK *
12. Lamda literary award: Here Comes the Sun *, or Under the Udala Trees (own)
13. pre 1945 translated Book: THE LOVER by Margeuerite Duras *
14. a play: A RAISIN IN THE SUN *
15. South Asian author: Trespassing by Uzma Aslam Khan
16. Indigenous author: HalfBreed by Maria Campbell
17. from 2018 Reading Women award shortlist: Fruit of the Drunken Tree *
18. romance/love story: HOTEL DU LAC *
19. about Nature: THE LAND OF LITTLE RAIN, by Mary Austin *
20. historical fiction: The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb
21. Bought/borrowed in 2019: BECOMING MICHELLE OBAMA
22. read because of cover : need to review my TBR shelves
23. any book from a series: MY BRILLIANT FRIEND * (book 1) *
24. religion other than mine: Home Fire by Kamila Shamise *
25. Bonus: by Jesamyn Ward: MEN WE REPEADED
26. Bonus: by Lahiri: Interpreter of Maladies (own)

I'm glad to see you join the challenge, Mary. I hope you enjoy your choices.

Thanks!

Hi, If you do end up reading Freshwater and want to discuss, drop me a line. I just finished it, but I don't know anyone else who has read it so far. I'll message the other person doing this challenge who I see also has it on her list. Very intense book.

Samy wrote: "Hi, If you do end up reading Freshwater and want to discuss, drop me a line. I just finished it, but I don't know anyone else who has read it so far. I'll message the other person d..."

Samy wrote: "Hi, If you do end up reading Freshwater and want to discuss, drop me a line. I just finished it, but I don't know anyone else who has read it so far. I'll message the other person d..."

"Hi, I have finished the book two days ago. It was a pretty intense book. I have been thinking about how to rate this one the past two days, and I am not sure if I have rated it quite right yet. If you are still interested in wanting to discuss this one,drop me a line.

Yeah, this book was intense, and I would imagine a trigger for some folks. I couldn't tell if the personalities/gods/spirits(?) possessing/controlling(?) the main character were supposed to be real, were in reaction to her traumatic experiences, or an embodiment/hallucination of the violence around or within her? I found it fascinating especially the different viewpoints as narrated by the different "characters"/spirits/personalities, but in a "can't look away" from some very bad and otherwise intense stuff going down in the plot. I never know how to rate things, like how do you rate a graphic novel v. a 700-page tome? haha. I ended up rating it 4 stars, though I can't say it was a fun read, but very challenging and made me think a lot, and at the same time I was reading a book about the health impact of childhood trauma, so maybe that helped me see connections. I also read some interviews with the author who is/has? transitioned to a non-binary person from female, so that adds to the background on this book, since the different gendered spirits affect/reflect/manipulate the main character in various ways. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this one.