Read Women discussion

This is the thread for our July group read selections. In July, we will be reading a novel (fiction) that has feminism has a key theme, and we have an open choice month for our Read Around the World selection, i.e., it can be either fiction or nonfiction and take place in any country other than the US or UK. In your nomination post, identify the country which is the setting or focus of your book.

Please post your nominations below.
One nomination per category per member.

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 will remain open until 7 May around 6 pm EDT.

Feminist Fiction

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill - Gail

Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi - Liesl

The Women's Room by Marilyn French - lyn (?)

The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta - Carol

RatW

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (Finland; translated from Swedish) - Gail

The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Korea) - Liesl

Nothing Is Lost by Cloé Mehdi (France) - Carol

For feminist fiction, I nominate The Joys of Motherhood by pioneering Nigerian novelist, Buchi Emecheta. First published in 1979.



For our RatW selection, I nominate Nothing Is Lost by French author, Cloé Mehdi. I can lead. The Europa Edition, the English translation, was released in the US on 28 Feb 2023, for purposes of voters assessing availability.



I can lead if either is selected.

I wish to nominate the following:

Feminist fiction: When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill. Published in 2022, the book is available in all formats.

RatW: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. Originally written in 1972, the author felt this was her best book written for adults. It is the story of an older grandmother and her six year old granddaughter spending the summer on a little island in Finland.

I can lead.

I love all of these nominations so far. I'm throwing in a couple of nominations but will be thrilled with any of these works.

Feminist fiction: Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi. Published in 2022, available in all formats. 224 pages.

RatW: The Vegetarian by Han Kang. Published in 2007, available in all formats. 188 pages.

Both works are translated (only adding this in case people are looking for WiT ideas). I can lead if either is selected.

I'm not sure if this qualifies as "feminist" fiction, but I'll recommend "Dark Star" by Lorna Moon. If that doesn't fit the "feminist" genre or the book is too obscure (most recent ed. appears to be '80), then I'll recommend "The Women's Room" by Marilyn French.

I second the joys of motherhood as feminist fiction read

We've got some really interesting noms here, I agree. Nominations are now closed.

@Lyn, I can't find any shelving or other indicators that Dark Star fits our theme, but my greater concern is around accessibility; it might not be available to enough readers to lead to a good discussion. In the US, it's not available on Kindle or audio and the print version is > $40. I haven't checked the UK, but if it was available anywhere on Kindle or audio, it would be available in both markets, notwithstanding the nuances of licensing rights. If it's okay with you, I'll add The Women's Room to our nomination list. Will you lead the discussion if it's selected?

We've got our two July picks. Thanks, Gail, for your superb nominations.

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill (feminism theme),

and The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (RAtW - Finland).

Get your copies and plan to join us in 6 weeks or so.

I'm going to work my way through the noms we didn't pick, as well. This is just a wonderful slate to explore.

Carol wrote: "We've got our two July picks. ..."

Carol, I just realized I have both of them to lead. Can I PM you to ask some questions?

Gail W wrote: "Carol wrote: "We've got our two July picks. ..."

Carol, I just realized I have both of them to lead. Can I PM you to ask some questions?"

Of course! Any time.