Read Women discussion

This is the thread for our April 2023 nominations! Nominations will be open until February 8. Nonfiction or fiction nominations are welcome for either theme.

One selection will be a book of that reflects the theme of disability or neurodivergence. Please indicate at a high-level how your nomination fits the theme.

For our Read Around the World selection, we are looking for a book from or related to Spain or Portugal. Please indicate which country your nomination reflects.

Criteria:
1. Book must be by a female author (transwomen and women using male pseudonyms are women).
2. No books that have already been group reads within the past 3 years/36 months (check the group's bookshelf).
3. Do not nominate a book you have written or for which you are the publicist or lead marketer.
4. Consider availability. If a book is available in the US and UK (at minimum), and in paperback and ebook formats, more members can participate than if not.

To Nominate:
1. Give both the title of the book and the author's name when nominating to avoid confusion. Please use the 'add book/author' button when nominating.
2. Indicate whether you are willing or not to lead discussion if your nomination is chosen.
3. Maximum - one nomination per member, per category.

Nominations

Neurodiversity or Disability - NF or F

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi (neurodiversity) - Liesl

The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum (neurodiversity) by Temple Grandin - Mj

True Biz by Sara Nović (disability) - [Peri]

Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig (disability) - Kate

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century by Alice Wong (disability) - MIchaela

Spain or Portugal - F or NF

The Dinner Guest by Gabriela Ybarra (Spain) - Liesl

Stories of the Sahara by Sanmao (Spain) - Claire

Empty Wardrobes by Maria Judite de Carvalho (Portugal) - Carol

For the fiction category, I would like to nominate Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi. The author is non-binary so I am not sure whether this falls within our women author's requirement. The story centres on a Nigerian woman as she struggles to reconcile the proliferation of multiple selves within her.

For the RaTW category, I nominate The Dinner Guest by Gabriela Ybarra. Spain.

I can lead.

Liesl wrote: "For the fiction category, I would like to nominate Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi. The author is non-binary so I am not sure whether this falls within our women autho..."

Thank you, Liesl. I don't have a problem with nominating Emezi's work. Voters can factor their non-binary status into their voting decision, imo.

Great noms.

For RAtW, I nominate Empty Wardrobes by Maria Judite de Carvalho, translated by Margaret Jull Costa. It takes place in Portugal during the Salazar regime. The Amazon synopsis is delightfully full of shade: "a tale of women who are trapped within the quiet devastation of a patriarchal society and preyed upon by the ambient savageries that perch in its every crevice." I can lead.

For Spain, I nominate Stories of the Sahara by Sanmao.

Set in the 280,000 square metres of the Sahara that was at the time (1973) designated Spanish territory, these are the stories of a young Taiwanese woman, who became obsessed with the region and wanted not just to visit it, but to live there. She did so with her Spanish lover and these are her insightful tales of their encounters.

For disability & neurodivergence, I nominateSitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig. I can lead!

For disability / neurodivergence category I’d like to nominate True Biz: A Novel by Sara Novic.

I apologize if this one has been read/nominated previously, I can’t seem to find the bookshelf 😅

Peri wrote: "For disability / neurodivergence category I’d like to nominate True Biz: A Novel by Sara Novic.

I apologize if this one has been read/nominated previously, I can’t seem to find the bookshelf 😅"

Peri - thanks for the nom and we've not read it as a group. Would you be willing to lead the discussion if it's selected?

(If you're on a laptop or using the desktop version on your mobile, the "Bookshelf" link is at the top right of any page; I am unsure whether it's that easy to identify and find using the mobile app, or if you need to go to the group landing page. Once you find the Bookshelf, there's a search field at the top left of the page, and if the book title you search for has been a group read, it's a little greyed out, for lack of a better description, in the results list.)

For members, here's an excerpt from the Goodreads description: This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy.

Pity that most of the disability/neurodivergence books are memoirs. I haven´t found anything fictional yet that sounded interesting to me.

True Biz by Sara Nović sounds interesting though, and I liked her Girl at War.

Carol wrote: "Kate wrote: "For disability & neurodivergence, I nominateSitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig. I can lead!"

Kate, ..."

OK, maybe we can do this as a buddy read in April.

Michaela wrote: "Pity that most of the disability/neurodivergence books are memoirs. I haven´t found anything fictional yet that sounded interesting to me.

True Biz by Sara Nović s..."

I'm having the same issue. I've found several non-fiction options.

You probably know I am a person with a disability that has some similarities to the author of Sitting Pretty. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of novels about people with disabilities and never have been...
I nominate The Witch Elm byTana French. This is a mystery featuring a character with a traumatic brain injury.

Kate wrote: "You probably know I am a person with a disability that has some similarities to the author of Sitting Pretty. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of novels about people with disabilities and never h..."

Kate - if you end up doing a buddy read, I'd join in. It does seem there just aren't a lot of options out there (or I simply don't know where to find them).

I’m making the call to open the neurodivergence/disability read to be either F or NF; I’ll change it up above in the next 24 hours. Your memoirs and other ND noms are welcome. @kate, I’ll add your original nom unless you prefer to nominate the French novel.

If we can nominate NF for disability/neurodivergence too, I nominate Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century by Alice Wong. I can lead.

Lindsey wrote: "Kate wrote: "You probably know I am a person with a disability that has some similarities to the author of Sitting Pretty. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of novels about people with disabilitie..."

It would be great to have you, Lindsey :)

Carol wrote: "I’m making the call to open the neurodivergence/disability read to be either F or NF; I’ll change it up above in the next 24 hours. Your memoirs and other ND noms are welcome. @kate, I’ll add your ..."

No, I'll go with the original nom (Sitting Pretty). Thanks, Carol!

Kate wrote: "Carol wrote: "I’m making the call to open the neurodivergence/disability read to be either F or NF; I’ll change it up above in the next 24 hours. Your memoirs and other ND noms are welcome. @kate, ..."

you're very welcome. I'm glad you all raised the issue in this thread and we could re-align quickly.

This is a great line-up of choices on both themes, and I'm looking forward to seeing any additional noms people want to offer, as well.

In the neurodivergence/disability category, I'd like to nominate a work of non-fiction - The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum by Temple Grandin and would be happy to lead if the book is chosen. The author is well-respected in the field, having both scientific and personal experience. The book's availability should be good and reviews suggest the 240 pages are insightful, easy to read and understand.

Just in time, Mj - and a great nomination. I've been wanting to read this for eons.

The polls are up and open through 16 February.

Spain and Portugal is here https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

Disability and Neurodiversity is here https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

The book I nominated for Disability/Neurodiversity isn´t the YA version as in the poll but the usual: Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century.

Michaela wrote: "The book I nominated for Disability/Neurodiversity isn´t the YA version as in the poll but the usual: [..."

I am so sorry, Michaela. Fixed it. I’ll fix it asap. Thanks for letting me know.

Voting is closed.

Our neurodiversity /disability read will be Freshwater, with our discussion led by Liesl.
Our Portugal read will be Empty Wardrobes by Maria Judite de Carvalho, translated from Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa. I’ll lead.

Get your copies!

We had so many great books nominated this month. I encourage any one interested in teeing up a buddy read of a title that didn’t win to head to the buddy read folder and propose one.