Read Women discussion

Hello members,

April nominations are now open!
For Fiction, we are looking for an Elementary/middle Grade read
For Read Around the World, we are focusing on Africa. Please indicate your country with your nomination, whether it’s where the author is from or where the book is set. This one can be either fiction or non-fiction.

Criteria:
1. Book must be by a female author ( trans women 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 for one week

Nominations so far:
Fiction:
-Stargazing by Jen Wang, Gail
-Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono, Carol
-Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin, Lindsey
-The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, MJ

RATW Africa:
-The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A Memoir by Wayétu Moore, Liberia, Gail
-The Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter, Algeria, Carol
-Things They Lost by Okwiri Oduor, Kenya, Hannah
-The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam by Fatema Mernissi, Morocco, MJ

I wish to nominate the following:

1. Middle grade read: Stargazing by Jen Wang. A graphic novel that won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Children's Literature (2020). "Moon is everything Christine isn’t. She’s confident, impulsive, artistic . . . and though they both grew up in the same Chinese-American suburb, Moon is somehow unlike anyone Christine has ever known."

2. Africa: Liberia: The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A Memoir by Wayétu Moore. "An engrossing memoir of escaping the First Liberian Civil War and building a life in the United States." Has a rating of 4.24 and was nominated for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Reading Women Award in 2020.

I can lead either of them.

I had nomination ideas but I like both of yours better haha... nice finds 👍

I nominate:

for middle grade lit, Kiki's Delivery Service by Japanese author, Eiko Kadono. Translated into English by Emily Balistrieri, but also widely available and translated into many other languages. Kiki is a 13-year old witch with a trusty black cat, Jiji.

for Africa (Algeria), The Art of Losing by French author, Alice Zeniter. Excerpt from Amazon summary: Naïma has always known that her family came from Algeria – but up until now, that meant very little to her. Born and raised in France, her knowledge of that foreign country is limited to what she’s learned from her grandparents’ tiny flat in a crumbling French sink estate: the food cooked for her, the few precious things they brought with them when they fled. On the past, her family is silent. Why was her grandfather Ali forced to leave? Was he a harki – an Algerian who worked for and supported the French during the Algerian War of Independence? Once a wealthy landowner, how did he become an immigrant scratching a living in France? Spanning three generations across seventy years, Alice Zeniter’s The Art of Losing tells the story of how people carry on in the face of loss: the loss of a country, an identity, a way to speak to your children. It’s a story of colonization and immigration, and how in some ways, we are a product of the things we’ve left behind." Prix Goncourt des Lycéens (2017), Prix Landerneau for Prix Landerneau des lecteurs (2017). Nominated for Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. Winner of the Int'l Dublin Literary Award.

I can lead.

For ratw I nominate Things They Lost by Okwiri Oduor. The author is from Kenya where the novel is also set. I can lead

Hannah wrote: "For ratw I nominate Things They Lost by Okwiri Oduor. The author is from Kenya where the novel is also set. I can lead"

I absolutely loved this book. It was My One Outstanding read of 2023.

For Fiction Elementary/Middle Grade, I nominate:
Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin

It's a fantasy/mythology novel based in Chinese Folklore.

Oh that sounds cool too. I’ve been interested in her nonfiction children’s book on Maya Lin but didn’t know of any of her other work. Glad to learn of it.

Last call for nominations

For Fiction, I am nominating for The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. S.E. stands for Susan Eloise. It is her debut novel written when she was only 19. It is recommended for the 8-12 year old age group i.e. middle grade, currently has 1.4 million ratings on Goodreads and was published in 1967. It qualifies as a Classic not just for 2024 Bingo but as a story that has stood the test of time. It is about insiders and outsiders and experiencing the angst of living in the less privileged and popular group. I think it should be a good read for adults as well due to the haves and the have nots, and that members will find this as relevant and heart-warning today as it was more than 50 years ago. I am happy to lead if the book is chosen.

For Read Around the World (RATW) Africa, I'd like to nominate The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam by Fatema Mernissi. The author was born, works and writes about Morocco which is part of North Africa. She is is a recognized feminist Islamic scholar. The book is non-fiction and has a sub-title of A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam. (The sub-title suggests that the veil is used as a means of patriarchal control). The author's French is translated into English by Mary Jo Lakeland and there are other language translations as well. I would be happy to lead should this book be chosen.

Lots of fascinating suggestions, MJ I think the Mernissi came out some time ago, and it sounds as if it's very much promoting one position on the 'veil'. I wonder if you might consider instead a more recent book that covers a more diverse range of experiences/choices? It's Not About the Burqa

Having worked with a number of Muslim women, some wearing a hijab, some not, from time to time some who have chosen more "conservative" options, the reasons behind what is/isn't worn varies and many women have fought to make those choices. In addition, context matters so whether or not women are in a position to freely choose how they do or do not express themselves is highly significant. Also focusing solely on the 'veil' can be quite reductionist in terms of thinking about Muslim women's experiences, as Khan and others have made clear.

Alwynne wrote: "Lots of fascinating suggestions, MJ I think the Mernissi came out some time ago, and it sounds as if it's very much promoting one position on the 'veil'. I wonder if you might consider instead a mo..."

[Adding to my TBR]

Great Carol, I've dipped in and out of it, and some really interesting articles. This is obviously my personal position but as someone outside of the Muslim community, singling out the 'veil' for debate makes me uncomfortable, in that I don't feel it's my argument to have. Reading about the different positions of Muslim women in France fighting to be able to wear outward expressions of their faith and women in Iran fighting to make a choice, it's clear that it's a complex area. I also know that in some contexts wearing anything that marks you out as Muslim is a bold, brave choice, here after 9/11 Muslim women who wore headscarves or veils were frequently singled out for verbal and/or physical abuse - and in many instances still are.

Alwynne wrote: "Great Carol, I've dipped in and out of it, and some really interesting articles. This is obviously my personal position but as someone outside of the Muslim community, singling out the 'veil' for d..."

Many great points, Alwynne.
The Mernissi book doesn't have much description here in general but I liked the idea of investigating the origin of the practice, but I did overlook that it comes off like it's also expressing an outdated and/or narrow POV...

So many amazing books and most of them are on my TBR list! :)

Have I misunderstood something here? Ironically I had been looking at the Mernissi book earlier today for a second world challenge that I'm doing. The explanation of the book cites "Moroccan feminist Fatima Mernissi aims to investigate the origins of the practice in the first Islamic community. (italicized and bold are mine). I took this to mean it was historical research, not a point of argument.

I have read "It's Not About the Burqa" and agree it is an excellent counterpoint, but definitely not a comparison.

Jen wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "Great Carol, I've dipped in and out of it, and some really interesting articles. This is obviously my personal position but as someone outside of the Muslim community, singling out ..."

In that case, I haven't read these but I've had recommendations for them, they look at "veiling" from different perspectives, and critique some perspectives that are seen as the imposition of 'white feminist' viewpoints - I don't know what it's like where you are but here general criticism of the 'veil' - as opposed to more specific debates within Islamic communities which is where the Mernissi seems to be located - often operates as a thinly-disguised form of discriminating against Muslim women, often racist too as frequently rests on the assumption that all Muslim women are also women of colour.

The last title also puts "veiling" in a broader context including historical, as a practice that occurs across a range of religions from Catholicism to areas of Judaism, not something solely restricted to particular interpretations of Islam.


All three books are also aimed at audiences that are both Muslim and non-Muslim:

https://lithub.com/wearing-the-veil-w...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Nominations are now closed and the polls have been opened through Feb 14.

Please vote here
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...

Gail W wrote: "Have I misunderstood something here? Ironically I had been looking at the Mernissi book earlier today for a second world challenge that I'm doing. The explanation of the book cites "Moroccan femini..."

From the reviews and extracts I've read, it's a comparatively scholarly book originally published in a French-language edition in 1987, and from what was, even then, a very specific ideological stance on Islam and Islamic practices. With all due respect to MJ, for a general read in a general reading group, I just think there might be more appropriate i.e. more accessible, up-to-date choices that reflect the thoughts and practices of different groupings of Muslim women today, as well as their contemporary feminist perspectives, not to mention the diversity of current views on "veiling" and what it may or may not signify. Feminist thought/practice and scholarly/historical/theoretical work has moved on in the West since 1987, do we really think it will have stood still in Morocco or other parts of the world? Women's rights will also have changed since 1987 in Morocco and other parts of the world - although not necessarily for the better.

In addition, and I may be alone in this, I'm not sufficiently familiar with the Hadith which a number of her arguments relate to - at least from what I've seen.

Although Mernissi sounds as if she was a fascinating thinker and figure in general, and I'll definitely add Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood to my list.

As is often the case, I learn so much from threads like this. Thank you all.

Carol wrote: "As is often the case, I learn so much from threads like this. Thank you all."

Was thinking that myself. I’ve seen a bit of shelf activity from this discussion.

Also, please go vote on the polls everyone.

Final days to vote and we have a tie on one of our polls. Remember there are 2 polls to vote in!

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...

We will be reading Stargazing for our elementary/middle school read.

We have a tie for RATW Africa, the tie-breaker will be open through the 20th. Please go vote if you’d like to participate, on your choice

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A Memoir wins our RATW tie-breaker poll

Jen wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "Great Carol, I've dipped in and out of it, and some really interesting articles. This is obviously my personal position but as someone outside of the Muslim community, singling out ..."


Thanks Jen, although reading through my comments, I think they're a little heavy-handed, which wasn't what I intended. It's an issue - at least for me - with being ND, striking the right tone can be a bit of a struggle at times.