100BestWIT discussion

Hi, I’m Michael from Australia. I’m very excited for the 100BestWIT list, I think it would be cool to read the entire list. I’m a huge fan of translated literature and women in translation. I read mostly translations.

Hi, I'm Sanne from the Netherlands and I love love love translated lit. August is my favorite month of the year because finally I find a lot of buzz and discussions on the books I'm interested in reading... So it's great that this group provides an opportunity to extent that to the rest of the year!
I think I'd be cool to tackle this list with other readers. It contains a lot of books and authors I'm interested in or heard of, but I keep getting distracted by other (great) books....

Sanne wrote: "Hi, I'm Sanne from the Netherlands and I love love love translated lit. August is my favorite month of the year because finally I find a lot of buzz and discussions on the books I'm interested in r..."

I have the same feeling. I want WITMonth to be every month so we are hoping this group might feel the void of non-WITmonths

I like reading books by women from other parts of the world and translations are ideal for that. There are many titles in this list i would be interested in reading

Hi, I’m Agnese from Latvia and I mainly focus on reading works in translation, especially by women writers. I also blog about books and occasionally film over at https://beyondepilogue.wordpress.com

Many of the titles from this list are already on my TBR shelf and I've also discovered some new books through this wonderful project, so I look forward to reading and discussing these books with you all!

Hi, I'm Becky, from the USA. I have been trying to read more translations and I'd love to read more from this list, which has so many I want to read and so many I haven't heard of yet!

Hello all. Aubrey from the USA here. I've been involved in various reading projects focused on literature from demographics that could use a lot more attention/love than they get, and women in translation combines two of those focuses. In terms of the 100WIT, I'm at 31 read and one currently reading. I have a few others on the TBR and could be convinced to read the rest should they serendipitously cross my path, especially the older works.

Hiya! Meytal, from Israel. I got bored one Saturday afternoon and started thinking about how many women writers in translation I'd read and 5.5 years later here we are... :P Needless to say, WIT has become a huge part of my life and I'm really hoping I can get through the books on the top 100 that I haven't yet read... and a lot more from the still-secret full list of nominations!

Hi, Melanie from Canada. I love reading women's work, and I have fallen in love with translations over the past few years, largely thanks to Meytal's work. I really want to highlight some of the great French Canadian translated books that don't get much attention at all, so will be reading more of those all the time.

I would love to read more from this list and continue the excitement of WIT Month all year long.

Hi, I'm Ella - also from the US. Thanks, Aubrey for letting me know about this group. I see lots of names I know already. ::waves::

I spent most of my life before age 50 reading the typical cannon and far too many espionage novels, which made my reading almost all male and almost all British and American (some Canadian, by accident.)

I just counted the new list, and I've read 54, but that's rather sad given I'm 51, so that's just about one book by a woman in translation per year of my life (and most were in the last 3-5 years.) Sad. I hope to change that soon!

I'm also looking forward to this group - looks good!

PS: I made a spreadsheet - feel free to make yourself a copy (it's on Google Drive.) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Just go to File > Make a copy & you'll have your own - then you can remove my x-marks for the ones I've read and you can do whatever you like to spruce it up.

Hello, I'm June from the US. For the past year or two, I've been reading mostly works in translation, mostly by women. I have a particular interest in work from Latin America, the Nordic countries and Japan. Looking forward to participating in this group!

Hi, Charlotte from the UK here. Love this list so much and am looking forward to reading more if not all. I have read 7 of the top 10 so I am off to a good start already. Really looking forward to the whole list and joining in with some readalongs perhaps.

Hi, I’m Jill, also in the US. I’m just beginning my journey into reading WIT and this list seems like a great starting point. I just glanced at the list briefly and I think I’ve read a whopping... one of them. This cannot stand! Looking forward to expanding my horizons with you all.

Ella wrote: "PS: I made a spreadsheet - feel free to make yourself a copy (it's on Google Drive.) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Just go to File > Make a copy & you'll have your own - then you can remove my x-marks for the ones I've read and you can do whatever you like to spruce it up.

PPS - I removed my check marks from the shared copy, so now it's just the full list of 100 top WIT books with a column to the left for you to check off and a couple extras on the Right for Library or owned.

Of course, once you do the File>make a copy and have your own, change it however yóu'd like!

Ella wrote: "Ella wrote: "PS: I made a spreadsheet - feel free to make yourself a copy (it's on Google Drive.) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Just go to File > Make a copy & you'll have your own - th..."

Thanks for this resource, Ella. I knew inviting you was a good idea ;)

In any case, I'll simply have to add this to the rest of my spreadsheets when I have the time. I do like semi good old fashioned ways of tracking things.

Hi, I'm Paul from the US. I caught the translated lit bug a couple of years ago and now it's most of what I read. I only started paying attention to the imbalance in my reading last August, and I've found some of my favorite books of all time since.

"Ella wrote: "Ella wrote: "PS: I made a spreadsheet - feel free to make yourself a copy (it's on Google Drive.) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

ooooh I love spreadsheets! Thanks for sharing!

Hi everyone, I'm Natalie and I'm from Sweden. So excited to see this group already created! I was hoping to make my way through this list as I like translated fiction (particularly by women) but don't read enough of it so I'm looking forward to discovering some new writers through this list.

Hi all! I'm Rachel from Vermont in the US. I read across all genres while primarily reading female authors, and in the past couple of years I've been making a concerted effort to read more works in translation. I love following along with Women in Translation month and I am so excited by this list! I've only read 11 and am halfway through 2 others, but I see so many titles that are already on my TBR. Also I blog over here, in case anyone else has a Wordpress blog: https://paceamorelibri.wordpress.com/

Thank you so much Ella for that link - I LOVE spreadsheets :)

Hi I'm Alan from Toronto, Canada. I am of Estonian heritage and read approx. 200+ books a year in all genres and in various media, mostly in English, a few dozen a year in Estonian, I have been reading more in international translation every year and look forward to exploring the list of #Best100WIT and the full list of +800.

Hi all. I'm Nell from the USA. Thanks for the invite, Aubrey!

I've been expanding my reads these past few years after finishing an English degree with a very Anglocentric curriculum. My recent interests are largely in critical nonfiction, pre-1800s world literature/nonfiction, art, science, philosophy, folklore, and 20th century through modern experimental/global literary fiction. While the 100BestWIT list leans more toward modern fiction than my standard reads, there are several works on it I've been meaning to get to.

I look forward to great discussions!

Alan wrote: "Hi I'm Alan from Toronto, Canada..."

Alan, I'm surprised you have time to sleep!

Nell wrote: "Alan wrote: "Hi I'm Alan from Toronto, Canada..."

Alan, I'm surprised you have time to sleep!"

The secret is retirement :) Also audiobooks on long car journeys!
Welcome to the group Nell!

Alan wrote: "The secret is retirement ..."

Ah! Seems to be the weapon of choice for some of the most avid bibliophiles here on Goodreads.

Thanks.

Hi all. I’m Mary from the USA. Thanks for the invite, Aubrey!!

I have spent a great part of my life reading from the typical best seller list. Yes, I am sorry to admit I followed the wrong yellow brick road. Since the discovery of
the 500 Great Books By Women group and the Reading Women podcasts, I have made a concerted effort to read more than 50% of my yearly reading goal with great works by women. I am looking forward to including WIT books as part of my journey.

Hello, I'm Lauren from the US. It's great to see this group, and connect with other who enjoy translated literature as much as I do. Also good to see many familiar faces from the other outlets (namely Instagram) that I frequent. I've read 18 of the titles on this list, more of the authors than single works, and dozens of other worthy titles that didn't make the 100. I hope to read more, as some on the list live on my bookshelves.

Translations have been an interest for me for several years, and over the last two years, I've narrowed my focus even more. I tend to take regional approaches, digging deeper into certain locales and their literature. This WITMonth, I did a "literary roadtrip" around South America - just finished a Chilean title today. This is a continuation of a larger South American project I started this year, and will likely continue for many more. I regularly "visit" other regions too, as the mood strikes.

Thanks!

I just clicked join and I'm excited to participate. I have Faces in the Crowd on my real life TBR shelf, so I gave it a vote in the new poll.
I’ve been retired and reading like crazy for about 5 years now. Before that, I was a high school librarian and I taught elementary school music before getting my library credentials. I read almost anything when it comes to genre and audience as long as the writing is solid and I love women in translation. I have two grown children and my husband and I live in the US. I’m planning to join in here as much as I can and I have already enjoyed reading through the group posts. I always appreciate the wonderful discussions on Goodreads!

Hello everyone I'm Jen, from (and living in) Eastern Canada. It's great to see some familiar GR friends here and to meet other avid readers.

I followed WiT month with particular interest this year - thank you Meytal for starting this wonderful project - and have been reading more translated writing (fiction in particular) for the past few.

I look forward to reading along with the monthly selections as often as possible. Availability in my library system can be an issue sometimes, but I've recently been relying more on interlibrary loans which has been wonderful for accessing translated fiction.

Kia ora everyone, I’m Lisa from New Zealand (currently living in Canada). I stumbled across this list idea on Twitter, and it appealed to me because I am actively trying to read more books by women, as well as reading books by any author from another country or culture. I also love books based on a true story, either actual non-fiction or fictionalised history.

I’ve read very few books on the list, and would love to improve that!

— As a curious aside, I’ve noticed that I’m less likely to enjoy these translated books, and I am putting it down to being exposed to a different kind of storytelling that may take getting used to. At least I’m somewhat conscious of my western bias, and hoping for that to change. I’ve also read some that are absolute gems though.

Hi. I am Cordelia. I live in Wellington, New Zealand. I really like the look of this new group. I read a lot of works in translation and I subscribe to a lot of the small Indie presses.

I probably wont join you for the Sept read - it would take a while yto get hold of the book. But I will definitely join in the October read. This new group looks so exciting.

Hi from the west coast of Canada. So excited to see this new group. I enjoyed reading several novellas for #WiT last month and am keen up keep up the momentum.

Hi I’m Tracey from Yorkshire England but living in Alberta Canada since 2000. I love the Classics but have found myself the past few years reading more contemporary and thanks to a group I have been on the last few years, Classics in translation. I get a lot from these works and have increased my knowledge of other countries and cultures. To read women in translation will fit right in with my schedule. Looking forward to it. I will invite a few friends.

Hi I'm Jean from the United States and I am eager to read more books by WiT. Looking forward to the group.

Hi I'm Mary from the US, so happy I found this on the translated lit newsletter. I enjoy WIT, from a quick look at the list I've read 21 of the 100 and there are many others on my TBR, some I've not heard of and I confess a few I bailed on.

I found the list via the newsletter but am I missing a link somewhere on the group page?
edited I see there are all the the group bookshelf

Welcome to the group! :)

In addition to the group's bookshelf section, all the books have been added to this Goodreads list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Hello, I’m Wendy from Ohio, I know some of you from other groups. I recently discovered the world of indie presses, which led to my reading more translated fiction, including WIT.

June, have you heard of Charco Press? They are a Scottish press that publishes contemporary Latin American translations, not all women of course, but they brought us Die, My Love. You might fall in love with Charco! https://charcopress.com/bookstore

I’m happy to have stumbled across this group and am looking forward to discussions. It’s lovely to see men in this group.

Good to see you here, Wendy!

Thank, Ella. I was happy to see you and Jen here and have some other familiar names. I’m excited to talk about Disoriental.

Frank from Australia,

Interested in good translation from writers I don't know, so this is a great list to dip into.

Shanti from the USA-- Ohio right now, but I grew up further south in Kentucky and Tennessee. I've been on a quest to read more women since 2017 and more translated works since noting that most of my favorite books in the past few years have been translations! Happy to see many of my want-to-reads already on this list! I was already planning to read The Door this month.