Read Women discussion

In less than 2 weeks, we start a new quarterly challenge which begins April 1 and ends June 30. We’ll use this thread to capture our plans, thoughts and conversations this quarter, in which our challenge offers two themes, Immigrants, Expats, Exile, Displacement or the performing arts. Combine themes or focus on one to the exclusion of the other as you are inspired. Fiction, nonfiction, including poetry are in scope. The rules and boundaries are self-determined. Here are some prompts that might create a path to reading choices that inspire.

Immigrants, Expats, Exile, Displacement

The refugee experience. Representations of home from the setting of exile. The impact of colonization and Western foreign policy and wars in creating displacement. Undocumented workers. Asylum. Deportation. Separation. Loss. Opportunity. Feeling “foreign.” Language and communication. Choice. Assimilation. People who willingly or unwillingly return, altered, to where they began. Safety, or lack of safety. The Western gaze. Third-country nationals in the EU. Discrimination in housing and jobs. Unaccompanied children seeking asylum. Sea crossings. Border crossings. The rise of right-wing populist parties in Europe and the consequent resurgence of nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment. Anti-Asian sentiment in the US….

Performing Arts

This theme offers the opportunity to select fiction or non-fiction books focused on any creative activity where an artists uses her face, body, presence to create art in front of an audience. Major categories are drama, music, dance, spoken word. Subcategories and modes of expression are almost endless. Pantomime, acting, sung verse, physical theatre, music theatre, sound design, digital video. Opera, jazz, chamber music. Rap, trap, EDM. Kabuki, Noh, Bunraku. Performance art photography.

Feel free to set up your own threads to capture your progress, or comment here.

Do you plan to participate? Let us know what you're thinking about reading for these themes. If you find enticing lists, have recommendations or the occasional, "recommend avoidations", share those as well.

This is a good list for the immigration side of this challenge. Contains male authors. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

Some of the female authored I've read and enjoyed from this list are Americanah, We Need New Names Pachinko Lost Children Archiveand The Inheritance of Loss

Books from my tbr that fit the immigration/displacement theme:
Transcendent Kingdom
Patsy
Breath, Eyes, Memory
Lucy
Farewell, My Orange
Free Food for Millionaires
How Much of These Hills Is Gold
Minor Detail
The Woman from Tantoura
Slash and Burn
Home - a woman returns to her ancestral land from which her aboriginal grandmother was abducted
Tropic of Violence
Stone Sky Gold Mountain

Thanks, Hannah. These are great and I am glad to be reminded both of Danticat and The Woman from Tantoura, which I wouldn't have immediately thought about.

I saw this Twitter thread a moment ago and thought it might be a timely source of challenge reads: Looking for books on anti-Asian prejudice, violence, and immigration policy? Start with these classic and recent ones. (Apologies in advance about my 19th-century inclinations!)

It includes male authors. Women authors and their works identified in-thread are:

Passage From India: Asian Indian Immigrants In North America by Joan M. Jensen

Laws Harsh As Tigers: Chinese Immigrants and the Shaping of Modern Immigration Law by Lucy E. Salyer

Asian/Pacific Islander American Women: A Historical Anthology by Shirley Hune and Gail Nomura

At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration During the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943 by Erika Lee

Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans by Jean Pfaelzer

The Color of Success: Asian Americans and the Origins of the Model Minority by Ellen D. Wu

The Chinese Must Go: Violence, Exclusion, and the Making of the Alien in America by Beth Lew-Williams

Opening the Gates to Asia: A Transpacific History of How America Repealed Asian Exclusion by Jane H. Hong

[Not yet published] From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement by Paula Yoo

The Chinese in America: A Narrative History by Iris Chang

Not necessarily on point, but ... on a theory of Asiatic feminism (and with a gorgeous cover): Ornamentalism by Anne Anlin Cheng

https://twitter.com/hidehirota/status...

On the topic of immigrants, refugees, displacement, I recommend both In the Language of Miracles by Rajia Hassib and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I also recommend The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri, even though I didn't finish it. I thought she could have used a more aggressive editor, but what she taught me about the essential nature of choice and supporting human dignity in the service delivery model -- in the first 100 pages -- was priceless.

Thanks Hannah, thinking about doing this one so good to have some inspiration.

Performing Arts

I get a lot of inspiration from Five Books interviews, and thought to share the top-level and swoon-worthy results page from my "music and drama" and sub-category "theater" searches. From there, the muse directs.

https://fivebooks.com/category/music-...

and theater:

https://fivebooks.com/category/music-...

For the Performing Arts theme, I'm considering:

Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry by Imani Perry (library)
An unfinished song: The life of Victor Jara by Joan Jara
Galina: A Russian Story by Галина Вишневская
The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts
Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien (tying together both themes) (library)
How It Feels to Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement by Ruth Feldstein
I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone by Nina Simone

For Immigrants, Expats, Exile and Displacement, I’m considering:

A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo (takes place in London)
Ghost Forest by Pik-Shuen Fung(Canada - Chinese immigrants with father remaining in Hong Kong)
Immigrant Japan: Mobility and Belonging in an Ethno-nationalist Society by Gracia Liu-Farrer
Voices of the Lost by Hoda Barakat
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong (library)
The Road Home by Rose Tremain
Paper Son by S.J. Rozan (library)
Us & Them by Bahíyyih Nakhjavání (owned)
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
White Ivy by Susie Yang (owned)

Ufff! Somehow I must have used an older Quarterly Challenges plan when I was doing my planning for the year. I had this quarter as Immigrants, Expats, Exile, Displacement OR Love..... I just spent my morning completely reorganising my reading plans for the year so that I can manage to fit both my 2nd quarter (Exile/Displacement) and 4th quarter (Music) reads into one quarter.

Anyway, my plan for the Spring Quarterly Challenge is to read:

Immigrants, Expats, Exile, Displacement:

1. Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 14/04/21
2. Book of Clouds - Chloe Aridjis 14/05/21
3. Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri 01/06/21

Music:
1. Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel 27/04/21
2. Jazz - Toni Morrison /05/21
3. Bel Canto - Ann Patchett 27/06/21

Oh, that’s a shame but yay! I need to check out Clouds and Earth. I have yet to read a Lahiri novel and maybe it’s time.

Immigrants, Expats, Exile, Displacement

The UK's Pluto Press ("Independent Radical Publishing") displays an Immigration and Refugee Reading List of its own publications. Includes male authors. Looking to London: Stories of War, Escape and Asylum, Voices from the "Jungle": Stories from the Calais Refugee Camp, A Suitable Enemy: Racism, Migration and Islamophobia in Europe, Borderline Justice: The Fight for Refugee and Migrant Rights, Border Watch: Cultures of Immigration, Detention and Control and more.

https://www.plutobooks.com/blog/immig...

GoodReads lists on point:

Immigrant Experience Lit https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Immigrant Voices https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
China Expat Books https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4... (Books written about expatriates traveling, living and/or working in China)
Novels about Undocumented Immigrants https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5...
Soviet Immigration Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Vietnamese American Novels, Memoirs https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
Refugee / Immigrant / Asylee Non-Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

I guess female composers don´t count, as it´s only performing art?

Thanks for all the lists and recommendations, will put up a list soon!

Michaela wrote: "I guess female composers don´t count, as it´s only performing art?

Thanks for all the lists and recommendations, will put up a list soon!"

When we were discussing the themes, I thought it was Music that we were opting for and leaving Performing Arts for another time? I have Music themed reads. If it is Performing Arts, I will have to change my plans.

I think Carol's original description would be inclusive of both of these. It explicitly includes music:

This theme offers the opportunity to select fiction or non-fiction books focused on any creative activity where an artists uses her face, body, presence to create art in front of an audience. Major categories are drama, music, dance, spoken word. Subcategories and modes of expression are almost endless. Pantomime, acting, sung verse, physical theatre, music theatre, sound design, digital video. Opera, jazz, chamber music. Rap, trap, EDM. Kabuki, Noh, Bunraku. Performance art photography.

I definitely agree that Carol's first comment is pretty inclusive of the many aspects of music, and female composers would fit. Also, as always, these challenges are mostly self directed. If you think it fits, it fits.

I'm going to start off the quarter with The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee under the Immigrants et al prompt.

Look forward to hearing about the Lee, Anita, have a copy but a bit daunted by the size at the moment. But it looks really good.

Michaela wrote: "I guess female composers don´t count, as it´s only performing art?

Thanks for all the lists and recommendations, will put up a list soon!"

I see female composers as in scope. Their work is performed so is essential to performing arts, as an ecosystem of contributors. Any and all things music are in, from my perspective.

Liesl wrote: "Michaela wrote: "I guess female composers don´t count, as it´s only performing art?

Thanks for all the lists and recommendations, will put up a list soon!"

When we were discussing the themes, I t..."

no! no! don't change plans. We went for a bigger bucket, so all more narrow themes fit within it. Bring on the music-themed reads.

Anita wrote: "I definitely agree that Carol's first comment is pretty inclusive of the many aspects of music, and female composers would fit. Also, as always, these challenges are mostly self directed. If you th..."

Oh, man. All you do is bring me wonderful tomes that expand my TBR. Since you're starting with it, let us know what you think of it; then I can move it forward or down the TBR with some facts behind my actions.

I want to read at least three of those:

Immigrants, Expats, Exile, Displacement:

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi
My Place by Sally Morgan
Home by Larissa Behrendt
Looking to London: Stories of War, Escape and Asylum by Cynthia Cockburn
Voices from the "Jungle": Stories from the Calais Refugee Camp by Calais Writers

Performing Arts (Music):

How It Feels to Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement by Ruth Feldstein
I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone by Nina Simone
Sounds and Sweet Airs: The Forgotten Women of Classical Music by Anna Beer

Currently reading When We Were Young and Brave for my church group that deals with British citizens living in Japan when Japan decides to go to war with the US and the UK leaving them stranded in Japan with no way home and how they survive.

For the theme of performing arts I have really wanted to read Simon and the Home Sapiens Agenda for a long time so I think I might try that one out or Maskerade by Terry Pratchett as my husband and I want to read all of Pratchett’s works.

A couple of you were interested so I wanted to share that I finished The Making of Asian America: A History, and I really think it will be a great follow up for our next month non- fiction read of Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning.

It was really informative without being too dry, although it is still a history book. Anyone interested in Asian American history should definitely read it. The parallels in sentiment over time is pretty frustrating, but it's also really interesting to read how they've shifted over time and why, or in reaction to what global issue, specifically. Lee also posits an eye-opening theory to the model minority label and how it's been used politically and socially. A good amount of government and politics as well as social coverage in this book.

There was a little time in the beginning that I didn't enjoy the way the author seemed to jump back and forth in time, but when she covered different topics - such as immigration reform or wars that led to immigration influxes - she tried to give time within each topic to at least a couple different nationalities. It worked in the end, but until I adapted to her layout, I thought it needed better editing.

I'd call it a great introductory book, and honestly I would pay money to take a college course teaching from it. I don't know if that's good or bad for you (anyone reading this) specifically, but I'd say that if the book sounds interesting to you, then you will probably really like it and it's worth reading. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the variety of Asian Americans and their experiences here in America, especially considering our current social climate surrounding anti-Asian sentiment. It will be a relevant read right now.

Thanks Anita I've been meaning to read this for a while and your review has definitely made me keen to get to it. I also read Malinda Lo's YA novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club which is a great attempt to reclaim the lost histories of Chinese American lesbians but also sets that alongside the experiences of Chinese American communities in American pre and post-WW2 through the story of the central character's family. It's very well-researched and Lo details her background material in her afterword and on her blog - I've added a link to part of that to my review. If anyone's looking for more books for the 'Immigrants...' challenge this one fits well and offers a fresh perspective.

Anita wrote: "A couple of you were interested so I wanted to share that I finished The Making of Asian America: A History, and I really think it will be a great follow up for our next month non- ..."

I’m really glad to read your endorsement, Anita. Thanks for sharing your helpful feedback.

I'm listening to my first read for this challenge on audiobook. Silence Is a Sense by Layla AlAmmar. It is a perfect (fiction) book for this challenge. It is purely made up of
reflections and observations by a young woman, a refugee from Syria. She is now living alone in a flat in the UK and we initially know nothing of what has previously happened to her or her family, although we know her trauma has left her mute. As she sits and watches the lives of her neighbours and ponders life, snippets of memories from her life in Syria and her traumatic journey are slowly being revealed. It is a highly reflective and intelligent narrative and I'm really enjoying it. The audio narration is fantastic as well.

Hannah wrote: "I'm listening to my first read for this challenge on audiobook. Silence Is a Sense by Layla AlAmmar. It is a perfect (fiction) book for this challenge. It is purel..."

Adding to my TBR. This sounds wonderful.

I finished Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie yesterday for an Immigrant themed read. This was a 5 star read for me. If you haven't read this then I highly recommend it. I can't say enough about the works I read by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She is a go-to author for gifts because I think her work is incredible. I have to be honest and say that this particular work was not high on my TBR list but I am so glad that I read it. The story doesn't just cover the experience of emigrating but also covers the issue of race in such a nuanced way, as well as discussing love and the issues associated with returning home.

Liesl wrote: "I finished Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie yesterday for an Immigrant themed read. This was a 5 star read for me. If you haven't read this then I highly rec..."

I agree! Great book and author

Liesl wrote: "I finished Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie yesterday for an Immigrant themed read. This was a 5 star read for me. If you haven't read this then I highly rec..."

Me too! She is a fantastic author, I have read all of her work but this one is great for this challenge

Liesl wrote: "I finished Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie yesterday for an Immigrant themed read. This was a 5 star read for me. If you haven't read this then I highly rec..."

I think she's great too, Half of a Yellow Sun is probably my favourite, but this one's really good too.

I finished The Beekeeper of Aleppo a few days ago. Powerful and sad story with a rather happy ending - unlikely, but her own experience moved the author to write a book full of hope for refugees.

I so loved that novel, Michaela, and appreciated its hopeful ending.

Anita wrote: "A couple of you were interested so I wanted to share that I finished The Making of Asian America: A History, and I really think it will be a great follow up for our next month non- ..."

I am reading this right now! And you are right, it is not super dry or boring, and like you, would love to take a college course based on it, which I'm pretty sure probably exists… I find myself trying to face many emotions as I read it, from bewilderment on why we don't teach all of this in high school to anger of how our culture has developed stereotypes and disparity between races. While the book is really not that complex, the reactions I am having certainly are!

Liesl wrote: "I finished Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie yesterday for an Immigrant themed read. This was a 5 star read for me. If you haven't read this then I highly rec..."

I have this on my list! I've been trying to find a good "in between" book to read as I readThe Making of Asian America: A History - some might give this one a try now.

Brenda wrote: "Anita wrote: "A couple of you were interested so I wanted to share that I finished The Making of Asian America: A History, and I really think it will be a great follow up for our ne..."

The beginning of the book was the hardest to get through. It was just pouring salt in the wound and I was very frustrated with being inundated every day by more reports of attacks on Asians. However, whether I finally became numbed to the words or as it fanned out into other topics aside from anti-Asian immigration and sentiment, I learned a lot of new things about the diaspora of Asian Americans.

I also just finished Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner. Her memoir covers her identity as an Asian American born in Seoul and raised in America, but I thought it was a touching reflection on her Korean mother and their relationship, as well as on her own identity (as a mixed race Korean American) in America as well as in Korea or as her self vs as how she presents to/is perceived by Americans or Koreans.

I honestly feel like these two books along with Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong make a perfectly balanced non-fiction trinity on the Asian American experience and history, and would recommend all 3 to anyone wanting to read about it.

I finished my second read for this challenge last night with Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I chose this as a Performing Arts read but it had everything: Shakespeare, actors, musicians, a graphic artist, an eerily familar, yet much more devastating, pandemic, a post-apocalyptic world. It was so well written that I was hooked from the start and was fascinated to see where it would go. Another 5 star read for me.

Liesl wrote: "I finished my second read for this challenge last night with Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I chose this as a Performing Arts read but it had everything: ..."

I loved it too and still think about certain scenes from time to time.

I started Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry by Imani Perry and it's excellent. It's also just over 200 pages, rather than the 250+ something in its profile, because endnotes/biblographical data, in case anyone wants a spectacular short read. (I'm rationalizing from performing arts to playwright and quite comfortable with claiming it as challenge-worthy.)

What a great challenge with so many intriguing new books to explore, thanks, Carol! I can't believe that I didn't notice this thread until today.

For some context, this is a nonfiction I had read about global immigration although about half focused on the US. It wasn't, however, written by a woman, but don't let that stop you. I highly recommend it, which was one of my rare 5 starred nonfictions in 2020 -
A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves: One Family and Migration in the 21st Century by Jason DeParle

Woman Reading wrote: "What a great challenge with so many intriguing new books to explore, thanks, Carol! I can't believe that I didn't notice this thread until today.

For some context, this is a nonfiction I had read..."

Thanks for the recommendation! Adding this to my TBR ASAP.

I finished Book of Clouds by Chloe Aridjis several days ago. It is a great work for the Immigrants, Expats part of this challenge. I thought it was quite a nuanced portrayal of the struggles to integrate into a new culture, and the isolation and solitude that many immigrants can experience.

The work also contemplates society in Berlin after the unification. I found this part of the novel even more fascinating.

I wasn't planning to take part in this challenge, but I read The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After for my Women around the world challenge, and it fits like a glove here!

It is an amazing book and I would totally recommend it!

Crazytourists_books wrote: "I wasn't planning to take part in this challenge, but I read The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After for my Women around the world challenge, and it fits like..."

Thanks for your thoughts! It´s on my list, though I don´t know if I´ll manage this quarter.

I'm currently reading Voices of the Lost by Hoda Barakat which I think was recommended by Carol early on in this thread. It is perfect for this challenge and the format is unlike anything I've ever read. It's a series of letters written by those who've been displaced by war. Deep confessions and innermost thoughts are shared. Each letter is intended for a loved one who will never have the opportunity to read it. The letter is instead found by an unnamed stranger who, in turn, reflects upon what they have read and writes to a loved one of their own. I'm finding the construct and writing to be very reflective and meaningful

Hannah wrote: "I'm currently reading Voices of the Lost by Hoda Barakat which I think was recommended by Carol early on in this thread. It is perfect for this challenge and the form..."

This sounds even better than the official description. Thanks for the good reason to go buy and read this.

I finished Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry by Imani Perry. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in either Lorraine or 1950s-1960s US radical politics. I learned a great deal and Perry’s discipline and organization make the most of her detailed research.

I finished Jazz by Toni Morrison about 10 days ago (& forgot to write about it). I had chosen it for the Music part of this challenge. This was a heartbreaking story but I don't think it was a success for the challenge. It had indicated that the story was influenced by Jazz but I didn't feel that influence was very strong.

Last night I finished Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri for the Immigration, Exile, Displacement part of the challenge. This is a collection of short stories, although some of them are intertwined, that cover various iterations of immigration and displacement while also dealing with family and death. As always with Lahiri, this is a beautifully written work.

Finished I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone by Nina Simone today, and it was a very interesting story of the famous pianist and singer, from a difficult childhood, discovering racism, her hope to become a classical pianist, her work in bars which led to her jazz/blues/folk career to her men and their violence and the hard life in show business. Though she had a co-writer, the text sounds like a chain of interviews.

As we wrap up our themed challenge for this quarter -- with a little less than 2 weeks to go -- what were your favorite reads ?

I adored Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry. it hit all of my sweet spots for a variety of reasons. You?

I still have to read one book, so hope to judge then. :)

Voices of the Lost is my favourite so far but may be overtaken by my current read which is Stone Sky Gold Mountain by Mirandi Riwoe. It is the story of 2 young Chinese immigrants to the 19th century Australian gold rush who are desperately trying to scrape together a living in a predjudiced and hostile land. Very poignant

I should finish the last of my books for this challenge before Wednesday. I feel very fortunate to have thoroughly enjoyed all the books that I've read and they've all ended up with 4 or 5 star ratings.

For the immigration/expatriate side of the challenge I would definitely say that my favourites were Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. Both painted very nuanced portraits of the impact that immigration or exile have on the lives of the people that take that decision (as well as those upon whom it is forced).

With the Performing Arts side of the challenge, I thoroughly enjoyed Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel which opened with a literally tragic performance of King Lear, and then followed a travelling company of actors and musicians as they journey across the dystopian remnants of a pandemic destroyed America. I'm also enjoying Bel Canto by Ann Patchett which looks at a hostage situation following the performance of an internationally famous Opera singer at a birthday party thrown for a Japanese businessman by the Government of an unspecified South American country.

I finally finished my challenge with The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After, a really sad story about a child refugee which isn´t easy to review. It was hard to read all her aggression against herself and everyone else, but no wonder after experiencing war and refuge with her sister over several years.