The F-word discussion

Hello F-Word members, I'd like to go ahead and open nominations for July and August. I know we usually do six months in a row, but participation has been drastically reduced and I think that maybe having a more immediate nomination and voting process will bring some of us back to the discussion threads.

For now, please drop your feminist nominations for non-fiction to read in July, and a fiction to read in August.

Nominations will fit into our basic group guidelines:

1-Written by a feminist and/or a woman
2-Plot looks at how gender, race, class, sexuality, ability/disability, ethnicity, nationality, etc. shape us and our views of the world
3-Spark conversation about social justice and gender equality
4-Have strong female characters

*Please limit to one nomination (one book) per category. That means you can nominate 1 fiction and 1 non-fiction.
*Please use the "add book/author" link to avoid book mistakes, or at least include the author's name with the book title.

I will allow 1 week for nominations, and 1 week for voting so we will have 2 weeks to get July's book in hand.

While we're at it, please take this time to reflect on what types of books you'd like to read with the group. Are there specific genres you'd like to explore under a feminist lens? Specific authors or topics? Let's talk about where we want to go with our reading at The F-Word for the remainder of 2021 and forward.

Nominations so far:

Fiction:
-The Cape Doctor by E.J. Levy
-Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
-The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald
-The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
-Tess d'Uberville by Thomas Hardy
-Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Nonfiction:
-Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard
-Four Wings and a Prayer: Caught in the Mystery of the Monarch Butterfly by Sue Halpern
-Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington
-The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism by Jen Gunter
-Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
-They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life, and Growing Up by Eternity Martis

Nomination for August fiction. Received a starred review from Booklist, which said: "Remarkable….Absolutely superb….beautifully written….an unforgettable work of art that deserves raves."

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Hi all - I find myself not having so much time to read all the nominations 😪 Hopefully I will catch up soon! Here are some of the books I have on my list:

Women don’t owe you pretty - Florence Given
Why I am not longer talking to white people about race - Renu Eddo-Lodge
The help - Kathryn Stockett
The memory police - Yoko Ogawa

For nonfiction:

Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard

my nominations:
The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald
Four Wings and a Prayer: caught in the mystery of the Monarch Butterfly by Sue Halpern

Hi my nomination for fiction is: The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

For nonfiction: Medical Apartheid by Harriet Washington

I second the nomination for The Shadow King for fiction and nominate The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism by Dr. Jen Gunter for nonfiction.

Fiction:
The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald

Non-F:
Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A Washington

Non-Fiction
Mom and Me and Mom (by Maya Angelou)

Fiction
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (by Thomas Hardy)

fiction - Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
sex work, personal agency & queer themes, epic heroine and villain.

non-fiction - They Said This Would Be Fun by Eternity Marris
BPOC female perspective of the university experience in Canada. Highlights systemic racism, race dating, and self exploration/worth.

These are such great recommendations! I'm excited to find out what we will be reading!

Ok all, I'm going to close nominations today, so last call for nominations. I've seen a couple duplicates, but if it looks like I missed your nomination just say something and I'll be sure to get it in.

Polls will go up tomorrow.

The polls are up, but they will not open until tomorrow, June 8. (any nominations dropped before midnight can still be added to the polls)

here's the link, remember there are two polls to vote on, the July non-fiction and the August fiction.

Polls will remain open from June 8 - June 14

For July we will be reading Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington.

The August fiction poll is tied, so I've extended it for 1 week. Please vote here before the 21st.

Alright everyone, the August fiction winner has been declared Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

I have Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present being delivered to my local library this week. I'm sure that this will be very informative and heart-wrenching read.