Women's Classic Literature Enthusiasts discussion

It's time for August's nominations!

This month's theme will be books published on or before 1900. They must have been written by a woman.

Please let me know if you can lead.

Nominations ends June 15th

I’ll nominate two books from the 1890s. I could lead.

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. We could either read all the stories or just the longest one, “The Yellow Wallpaper.” 1892

Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim (the author of Enchanted April). 1898

I'll nominate Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time by Fanny Fern. I can lead.

Abigail wrote: "I’ll nominate two books from the 1890s. I could lead.

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. We could either read all the stories or just the longest one,..."

I would love to reread Elizabeth and Her German Garden! <3

I nominate The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Published 1899. Pages 195.

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim
Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time by Fanny Fern
The Awakening by Kate Chopin

The book choices are:
1. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
2. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim
3. Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time by Fanny Fern
4. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

The people eligible for voting are:

Emily
Ginny
Carol She’s So Novel
Anastasia Kinderman
Charlene
Carolien
Marilyn
Carol
Kathleen
Nidhi
Janice
Abigail
Elizabeth
CindySR
Dianne
Lori
Natalie
Laura
Jan
Sara
Marinka
MaryE
Teri K
Jenn
Cynda
Crystal
Nikkie
Inkspill
Laurie

There is a good chance that I missed someone. I didn't go back and check the threads for new comments as I had lost my pet on June 8. That is why this is late. If I missed anyone, please contact me directly or leave a comment in this thread. Please note that you are eligible to vote if you have made a comment in the monthly book discussion over the past year.

Voting ends on June 26, 2023! You can leave your choice in this thread or contact me directly.

I’ll vote for Elizabeth and Her German Garden.

I am so sorry to hear about your pet! That is always a difficult time.

I also vote for Elizabeth and Her German Garden. Know the pain of losing a beloved pet, Charlene, so heartfelt sympathy.

Elizabeth and Her German Garden

Sorry to hear about your fur baby, Charlene.

I'll vote for Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time.

My sympathies for losing your pet, Charlene. I was there 7 months ago and I am still grieving.

I'm in a fortunate position this month - I own three of these books & can get hold of the fourth.

I'll vote for The Yellow Wallpaper (fairly sure my edition doesn't have the other stories) but I will read whatever is chosen.

& sorry about your pet Charlene (was it a rabbit?) They worm their ways into your heart, don't they?

Sorry about your buddy Charlene. I also vote for Yellow Wallpaper

Charlene, so sorry for the loss of your loved pet (family member is what I think of pets). <3

I vote for Elizabeth and Her German Garden

Charlene wrote: "The book choices are:
1. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
2. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim
3. [book:Ruth Hall:..."

So sorry to hear about your loss, Charlene. Take care.

I vote for Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories.

Sorry to hear of your loss! Always a difficult time.

I would like to vote for The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories.

August's book is The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Thank you for all your condolences. My rabbit Lala would have been 12 in September. He had cancer so we knew it was coming but I don't think one can ever prepare for a loss. He was family and did so much with me. We would have tea time and Lala would get so excited for his treat.

Rabbits are so soft and sweet.

Charlene wrote: "August's book is The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Thank you for all your condolences. My rabbit Lala would have been 12 in September. He had cancer ..."

Tea time with Lala sounds incredibly special, Charlene! Hope you find these happy memories consoling right now.

Losing a beloved pet is losing a family member. Hold on to the memories.

Abigail wrote: "I’ll nominate two books from the 1890s. I could lead.

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. We could either read all the stories or just the longest one,..."

Please let me know what discussion threads you would like.

Sneaking up on us! Since these mostly aren’t long stories, perhaps we should have a single thread for “The Yellow Wallpaper,” with a warning to use spoiler tags, and then a second thread for any other stories in their collection people want to discuss. I have not been able to determine whether all available editions have the same stories, and some participants may read “The Yellow Wallpaper” online and choose not to read any other stories. What do you think?

A thread for each story sounds like a good idea.

There are, I think, too many stories to read them all (39), and some were just churned out to fill her periodical, some rather repetitive. If you like, I could suggest a selection of stories to focus on.

My preliminary list would be the following (though as I read my way through them all over the course of the coming week, I might tweak the list):
The Yellow Wall-Paper (1890)
The Unexpected (1890)
The Giant Wistaria (1891)
An Extinct Angel (1891)
Through This (1893)
An Unnatural Mother (1895)
The Widow’s Might (1911)
Bee Wise (1913)
A Council of War (1913)
Dr. Clair’s Place (1915)

If people tag their posts with the name of the story they’re commenting on, we wouldn’t necessarily need separate threads for each. What’s your view, Charlene?

I tried this morning to make the one for Yellow Wallpaper but Goodreads is being finicky. It is making me assign it to a folder. But it isn't showing the folder I want in the drop down list. I will try again tomorrow.

Thanks, Charlene, it must be very frustrating to have to work with Goodreads systems at the level you do. No rush!

Charlene wrote: "I tried this morning to make the one for Yellow Wallpaper but Goodreads is being finicky. It is making me assign it to a folder. But it isn't showing the folder I want in the drop down list. I will..."

Do you have to create a folder?

When I look there is a folder in the main menu but it doesn’t show up in the drop down menu when I make a discussion thread. It is at the bottom of the list when I pick edit folders.