Read Women discussion

Many of us are energized by, and spend a great deal of energy on, challenges. With all of the specialized criteria for our group's other challenges, the PopSugar Challenge, the Book Riot Challenge, and, of course, the Reading Women Challenge, it's easy to forget that some of us simply want to read women authors, and more of them and tracking our successes by calendar year is helpful as a component of achieving that goal.

This is a challenge to read women authors in 2020. There are no other rules or limits. Read multiple books by a single author. Read around the world. Read from your county or state or province.

If you like, set and share your goal here. Definitely keep us updated on your progress, your recommendations, link to your reviews if you writ them and want to, either by updating a comment in this thread or by setting up a separate thread if that's easier for you.

Ready, set, go!

I hope to read at least 30 books by women authors this year.

1. Betty Boo by Claudia Piñeiro. Finished January 14.
2. The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda. Finished January 22.
3. The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest for Independence by Anita Anand. Finished January 27.
4.Big Blonde by Dorothy Parker. Finished February 9.
5. Fell Murder by E.C.R. Lorac. Finished Feb 10.
6. S. S. Proleterka by Fleur Jaeggy. Finished February 11.
7. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. Finished February 22.
8. The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden. Finished February 24.
9. The Law of Lines by Hye-Young Pyun. Finished March 19.
10. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. Finished April 14.
11. A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym. Finished May 2.
12. The Living is Easy by Dorothy West. Finished May 10.
13. Death in Fancy Dress by Anthony Gilbert. Finished June 10.
14. The Friend by Sigrid Nunez. Finished July 2.
15. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Finished July 18.
16. Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King. Finished July 25.
17. Sugar by Bernice L. McFadden. Finished July 28.
18. The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong. Finished August 8.
19. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. Finished August 17.
20. Orange World and Other Stories by Karen Russell. Finished August 27.
21. Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim. Finished August 29.
22. Dread Journey by Dorothy B. Hughes. Finished August 31.
23. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. September 16.
24. Rope’s End, Rogue’s End by E.C.R. Lorac. September 21,2020.
25. I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown. September 27.
26. Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson. October 21.
27. To Tell You the Truth by Gilly Macmillan. November 15.
28. How to Be Both by Ali Smith. November 19.
29. Death Came Softly by E.C.R. Lorac. November 26.
30. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. December 17.
31. Murder in Vienna by E.C.R. Lorac. December 18.
32. The White Devil's Daughters: The Fight Against Slavery in San Francisco's Chinatown by Julia Flynn Siler. December 24.

I'm planning to read 45 books by women authors this year.
So far, I've read the following:

1/45. Nineveh by Henrietta Rose-Innes.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

2/45. Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Allison Markin Powell.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

3/45. Will and Testament by Vigdis Hjorth; translated by Charlotte Barslund.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

4/45. The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Carol, should I post my progress on this thread? I don't know if I should set up a separate thread because I hesitate to clutter this area with the books I've read. Or is it ok to do that?

Tamara wrote: "I'm planning to read 45 books by women authors this year.
So far, I've read the following:

1/45. Nineveh by Henrietta Rose-Innes.
My review: https://www.goodreads..."

You're off to a great start! It's fine to post here and I don't view any of your posts as clutter. if it makes you uncomfortable or less likely to post, then by all means feel free to set up a separate thread. honestly, I'm certain that many members look forward to your posts and the books to which you introduce us.

Carol wrote: "Tamara wrote: "I'm planning to read 45 books by women authors this year.
So far, I've read the following:

1/45. Nineveh by Henrietta Rose-Innes.
My review: https:..."

Ok. Thanks, Carol. I'll keep posting here.

carissa wrote: "ooh...well, now. Yes.
I'm aiming for whatever I read!

I've already read some that are not Wit, so, combined that's a good start for January...yay!

cck's 2020 Women Author Challenge"

As fast as you read, carissa, I’ll treat visit this link as weekly homework this year.

I don't have a goal so I will see how many I can read.

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
2. The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya. (My review)
3. My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. (My review)
4. Efuru by Flora Nwapa
5. Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
6. Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami
7. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
8. Dear Life by Alice Munro
9. Sula by Toni Morrison
10. Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
11. After the Spring: A Story of Tunisian Youth by Hélène Aldeguer
12. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
13. Summer by Edith Wharton
14. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
15. A Bitter Feast by Deborah Crombie
16. The Semi-Detached House by Emily Eden
17. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
18. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
19. The Semi-Attached Couple by Emily Eden
20. Pride & Prejudice (graphic novel) by Nancy Butler
21. Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
22. Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
23. Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi
24. Weather by Jenny Offill
25. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
26. Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob
27. The Door by Magda Szabó
28. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
29. I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached
30. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
31. So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
32. Villette by Charlotte Brontë
33. Beka Lamb by Zee Edgell
34. A Burning by Megha Majumdar
35. The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
36. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
37. Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
38. The Wedding by Dorothy West
39. Love in a Fallen City by Eileen Chang
40. Comedy: American Style by Jessie Redmon Fauset
41. The Waiting Years by Fumiko Enchi
42. The Diary of Lady Murasaki by Murasaki Shikibu
43. Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening by Manal Al-Sharif
44. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
45. I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé
46. Tomboyland by Melissa Faliveno
47. The Bridge of Beyond by Simone Schwarz-Bart
48. Monstress Book One by Marjorie M. Liu (My review)
49. Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves edited by Glory Edim
50. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
51. Obasan by Joy Kogawa
52. We Served the People: My Mother's Stories by Emei Burell
53. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
54. Monstress, Vol. 4: The Chosen by Marjorie M. Liu
55. Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
56. A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint
57. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
58. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
59. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
60. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff
61. Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild by Marjorie M. Liu
62. The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny
63. Small Island by Andrea Levy
64. Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan
65. A Very Great Profession by Nicola Beauman

I'm aiming for 30 books by women this year. So far, I've managed 3.

1. Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy
2. Doppelgänger by Daša Drndić
3. Our Dead World by Liliana Colanzi

I'm aiming for 100 books by women this year. So far, I've read:

1. Birdie by Tracey Lindberg
2. Frankissstein: A Love Storyby Jeanette Winterson
3. Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane
4. In This Together: Fifteen Stories of Truth and Reconciliation edited by Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail
5. In This Together: Fifteen Stories of Truth and Reconciliation
6.Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
7. Supper Club by Lara Williams

Tamara wrote: "I'm planning to read 45 books by women authors this year.
So far, I've read the following:

1/45. Nineveh by Henrietta Rose-Innes.
My review: https://www.goodreads..."

So glad you enjoyed Nineveh, Tamara. She's an interesting author.

Laurie wrote: "I don't have a goal so I will see how many I can read.
3. My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. (My review)

Such a great story, isn't it, Laurie! Have you watched the old film version with Judy Davis?

Story❤ wrote: "So glad you enjoyed Nineveh, Tamara. She's an interesting author.

I enjoyed it. I'm on the lookout for more of her novels.

What did you think of Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir?

I have read her Hotel Silence, which I absolutely loved, and The Greenhouse, which was good but not as good as Hotel Silence. I've got Butterflies in November on my TBR. I love the way she writes and am wondering about Miss Iceland.

I liked it a lot, Tamara. It was (for me) as good as Hotel Silence and better than Butterflies (which I liked but found a bit slight as a story.)

I'm hoping to track down a copy of Henrietta Rose-Innes's Green Lion. I'm trying not to buy any more books but it looks like I'll have to break and buy than one as I can't even get it through interlibrary loan. It can be tricky to borrow South African fiction sometimes.

Story❤ wrote: "I liked it a lot, Tamara. It was (for me) as good as Hotel Silence and better than Butterflies (which I liked but found a bit slight as a story.)

I'm hoping to track down a copy of Henrietta Rose-..."

That is so weird! I'm also having a hard time getting hold of Green Lion. My library doesn't have it. It doesn't have Miss Iceland, either. But it has Butterflies.
Like you, I hesitate to buy any more books, but I might have to do just that. My boys usually buy me books for my birthday, but that's not until October. I don't think I can wait that long :)

I have a couple personal challenges this year: to read more non fiction books about women and written by women, and to drastically read down my tbr shelf. Along with the WIT challenge I think I can read at least 50 books by women this year. I hesitate to set a goal because I'm really trying to read as much as possible and don'twant to get caught up worrying about too many different quotas. Funnily, I will probably read more male authors this year than I have in the past few. Consciously trying to maintain more Asian women in my reading from my personal challenge last year as well.

1. A Room of One's Own, by Virginia Woolf (nf wxw)
2. The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson
3. The Fair Fight, by Anna Freeman *historical fiction, very fun to read
4. Monstrous, by MarcyKate Connolly
5. As We Are Now, by May Sarton
6. Tentacle, by Rita Indiana (wit)
7. In an Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire
8. Compulsory by Martha Wells
9. The Hole, by Hye-Young Pyun (wit)
10. Becoming by Michelle Obama (nf wxw) *this woman, role model, class, wish we were friends
11. Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (nf wxw)
12. Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann *classic, scandalous drama, like watching a soap
13. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
14. Big Mushy Happy Lump by Sarah Andersen (nf wxw)
15 The Factory, by Hiroko Oyamada (wit). Currently reading

Tamara wrote: " It doesn't have Miss Iceland, either"

Miss Iceland isn't out yet, Tamara. I got an e-ARC from either edelweiss or netgalley but when I went back in to post my review, it had mysteriously disappeared. So I don't know what's going on there. I just looked at it said the expected pub date is June 16th 2020. So looks like you'll have a bit of a wait. Are you on netgalley or edelweiss? If i see it pop up there again, I'll let you know.

I loved The Fair Fight, Anita. It was so refreshing, kind of like Sarah Water's early neo-Victorian novels.

Story❤ wrote: "I loved The Fair Fight, Anita. It was so refreshing, kind of like Sarah Water's early neo-Victorian novels."

It was such a fun read! Will look up Sarah Waters! Thanks!

Story❤ wrote: "Tamara wrote: " It doesn't have Miss Iceland, either"

Miss Iceland isn't out yet, Tamara. I got an e-ARC from either edelweiss or netgalley but when I went back in to post my review, it had myster..."

No wonder I couldn't find Miss Iceland.
I'm not on negalley or edelweiss.
I've got interlibrary loan trying to hunt down a copy of Green Lion. I was told there are lots of copies in South Africa. (You don't say!) Anyway, there are supposed to be a few copies floating around in the U.S. so I might still be able to get a copy. If not, I'll have to buy it.

Story❤ wrote: "Laurie wrote: "I don't have a goal so I will see how many I can read.
3. My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. (My review)

Such a great story, isn't it, Laurie! Have you watched the old film ver..."

No, I have not seen the film. I didn't even know there was one so I will have to see if I can find it to stream.

carissa wrote: "This thread already feels overwhelming to me.
Can we widget, Carol?"

Oh wow, a huge oversight that we haven't yet put up our yearly Read Women challenge widget. Will set that up right away. Thank you Carissa

Ok the read women 2020 challenge widget is up. Sorry if you saw one a minute ago and then it was gone, I was having technical difficulties setting it up. Hopefully this one is good to go.

Anita wrote: "carissa wrote: "This thread already feels overwhelming to me.
Can we widget, Carol?"

Oh wow, a huge oversight that we haven't yet put up our yearly Read Women challenge widget. Will set that up r..."

Thanks, Anita! Carissa, thanks for mentioning, too. Really helps when you call out a need like this.

In it for 30 again this year.


12/30
* Robert Galbraith(J.K Rowling) - Lethal White
Rachel Burge - The Twisted Tree
Wayétu Moore - She Would Be King
Nella Larsen - Passing , Quicksand
Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father (NF)
Lucy Foley, The Hunting Party
Hallie Rubenhold, The Five (NF)
Isabella Tree, Wilding (NF)
Caroline Criado-Pérez, Invisible Women NF
Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend
Hannelore Cayre, The Godmother
Lara Maiklem, Mudlarking NF


* Authors I've read before

5/45. The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad, translated by Ingrid Christopherson.
She is a Norwegian journalist who spent 4 months in the home of a Kabul bookseller. It was strong in some areas, but I wish she had let the Afghan women speak for themselves instead of interpreting and mediating for them.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm hoping to read books by 30 women authors.
Women Authors: 0/30
Books Read:

1.

6/45. Lab Girl by the award-winning scientist, Hope Jahren. I thought it was wonderful. I especially loved her chapters on the natural environment. Full of fascinating information.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I really enjoyed Lab Girl too, Tamara. Do you read a lot of nature-related books? If so, any to recommend?

Story❤ wrote: "I really enjoyed Lab Girl too, Tamara. Do you read a lot of nature-related books? If so, any to recommend?"

I haven't read any in a long time. Years ago I read The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher by Lewis Thomas, and I really enjoyed it. A Country Year: Living the Questions by Sue Hubbell was also good. And I love the writing of Annie Dillard, especially Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. I'm afraid I don't have anything more recent to recommend.

Lab Girl reminded me how very much I enjoy nature-related books. I'm going to be on the lookout because I need to read more them.

Tamara, one I loved last year was Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm by Isabella Tree. It was such a hope-filled book. I also enjoyed The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

I have a few more on my eco shelf if you're interested

I'm pretty sure I read Lives of a Cell a long time ago too. I'll take a look at the other ones.

I've heard of it. I think I saw something about it on TV. I've put it on my TBR. It looks like my cup of tea :)
Thanks for the recommendation.

I want to read 20 books by women writers this year.
I've started with 2 of Commissario Brunetti series by Donna Leon set in Venice, and am planning to read more of them. Here is the list of the books that I've already read:
1/20 - A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon (translation)
2/20 - The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark (translation)
3/20 - Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy (translation)
4/20 - Death at La Fenice by Donna Lean (translation)

7/45. I finished The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Hazel Gaynor. I thought it was a good historical novel although the ending was a bit mushy for me.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

8/45. Finished The Library Book by Susan Orlean. I enjoyed the information about the library fire and libraries, in general, but I think she lost some focus about half-way through.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Tamara wrote: "8/45. Finished The Library Book by Susan Orlean. I enjoyed the information about the library fire and libraries, in general, but I think she lost some focus about hal..."

I couldn’t get past page 25 of this, and I was shocked I was so utterly bored. I should try again, maybe.

Carol wrote: "I couldn’t get past page 25 of this, and I was shocked I was so utterly bored. I should try again, maybe.."

I had the opposite reaction. I enjoyed the first part but then got frustrated when she went meandering off in all sorts of different and, in my opinion, irrelevant directions.

Tamara wrote: "Carol wrote: "I couldn’t get past page 25 of this, and I was shocked I was so utterly bored. I should try again, maybe.."

I had the opposite reaction. I enjoyed the first part but then got frustra..."

Hmmmm. Maybe it just isn’t very good :)

*I’m waiting for the book gods to smite me after typing that.

Carol wrote: "*I’m waiting for the book gods to smite me after typing that.."

You better duck just in case :)

9/45 My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1 by Emil Ferris.

I don't usually read graphic novels but this was recommended to me. Told in the voice of a 10-year old girl, set in 1960s Chicago, has a murder mystery, a holocaust survivor, and a whole host of other interesting characters. The story was good. The illustrations breathtaking.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

10/45. Green Lion by Henrietta Rose-Innes.
I thought it was very good, but I preferred her Nineveh. Her books embody a message about the relationship between humans and insects/animals.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

11/45. The Medusa Reader edited by Marjorie Garber and Nancy J. Vickers.
It's a comprehensive anthology of excerpts referring to the figure of Medusa and her myth. It begins with Homer and goes all the way to Gianni Versace's adoption of her face for his logo. It shows how feminists have transformed Medusa from a figure of horror to a representation of female empowerment coupled with rage at patriarchal strictures. I recommend the book if you're interested in Medusa.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

12/45. Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami, a charming, subtle novella, translated from the Japanese, about a young boy's first infatuation.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

13/45. Elsewhere, Home by Leila Aboulela, a collection of short stories with variations on the theme of the challenges and rewards faced by immigrants in their adopted country. It's a good collection but the focus was a bit repetitive.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My reads by women from the end of January through February:
16. Bad Friends by Ancco (wit) Drawn and Quarterly
17. Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi (wit, nf wxw)
18. Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (wit, nf wxw) Drawn and Quarterly
19. Record of a Night Too Brief by Hiromi Kawakami (wit)
20. Boundless, Baba Yaga, and SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki
21. Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel - eagerly awaiting book 3
22. Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug (nf wxw)
23. Herding Cats by Sarah Andersen
24. Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
25. She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar (nf wxw)
26. The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Man, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito: a Graphic Memoir by Shing Yin Khor (nf wxw), Zest Books
27. Passing by Nella Larsen
28. An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
29. Bright and Arid Dreams by Duanwad Pimwana (wit) Two Lines Press and Feminist Press
30. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
31. The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal, short story
32. I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara (nf wxw)
33. Skim by Mariko Tamaki, Groundwood Books
34. A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom (nf wxw)
35. A Natural History of Dragons, AND The Tropic of Serpents, AND The Voyage of the Basilisk, by Marie Brennan* I've become obsessed and am waiting for the fourth book in this series.
36. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (nf wxw)
37. Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
38. The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish (nf wxw)
39. Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami (wit), Pushkin Press
40. Pillow Thoughts by Courtney Peppernell
41. Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden
42. Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
43. Sadie by Courtney Summers
I tried to condense books by the same author, so I've read more books than numbered. Also, I'll try to keep up with my updates because that was a lot to do all at once. I read eleven graphic novels by women last month.

Anita wrote: "My reads by women from the end of January through February:
16. Bad Friends by Ancco (wit) Drswn and Quarterly
17. Embroideries by [author:Marjane Satr..."

This is amazing, Anita! You've been happily busy.

You're like a reading super-heroine, Anita!

I enjoyed A Natural History of Dragons too and should look for the next volumes. And I'm happy to share that I'm number 1 in line at the library for the new Mantel. (Squeee!!) In the meantime, I'm re-reading some of her older books and considering getting an " I ❤ Mantel" tattoo.

Haha thank you both. I'm really dedicated to reading down my tbr. Even though I've added too many this year already... Let me just say I switch between text and audiobook a lot. It helps me read a lot more than I normally could. Also I don't sleep.

@Storyheart, yes I'm jealous! :) it's a great series. If you continue A Natural History of Dragons I suggest trying them on audiobook, the narration is really great. There's also a short story on tor.com of some back and forth between Isabella and another scientist in a scholarly review circular - it's hilarious! No spoilers for the series in it.

Thanks for the tor.com tip and the idea to get it on audio, Anita!

14/45. Tale of a Boon's Wife by Fartumo Kusow. A haunting tale of a young woman's life in the turmoil of Somalia leading up to the civil war.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Going to be reading a lot more non fiction this month about women for Women's History Month.

44. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls 5 stars, loved it
45. The Poet X and With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo love this author 5 and 4 stars
46. Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments by Sappho* although this is a compilation of Sappho's poems or works, there is a lot of historic and cultural content added in by the translator, who is male. It's a wonderful book and I would def recommend for anyone wanting to read with understanding the work of "the tenth muse."
47. Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott very good, surprisingly in depth look at specific women in the Civil War, which is new to me.