Read Women discussion

Nominations for our August group reads are now open.

FICTION: Women In Translation #WiT
NON-FICTION: Open Choice

You may nominate one book for each category.

* No books that have been read in the previous three years
* Please use the ‘add book/author’ tab to avoid confusion.
* Written by an author who identifies as a woman.

Please indicate whether you will be leading the discussion.

Nominations will close in about one week

Noms so far -
Fiction:
Autobiography of Cotton - Carol
Good and Evil and Other Stories - Hannah
The Gray House - Lamilla
Kitchen - Lyn

Nonfiction:
My Life with Sea Turtles: A Marine Biologist’s Quest to Protect One of the Most Ancient Animals on Earth - Carol
Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses - Hannah
A Stone is Most Precious Where it Belongs - Gail
The Greek Way - Lyn
A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution - Lamilla

For #WiT, I nominate Autobiography of Cotton by Cristina Rivera Garza. Translated from the Spanish by Christina McSweeney Wilder. Released in 2020, and available in ebook and audio, a rare treat for translated fiction.

Focused on the Mexico-US borderlands: "An intimate fictionalization, Autobiography of Cotton reveals a rich social history of agricultural colonization, labor activism, environmental degradation, and cross-border migration."

I can lead.

For nonfiction, I nominate My Life with Sea Turtles: A Marine Biologist’s Quest to Protect One of the Most Ancient Animals on Earth by marine biologist Christine Figgener. Translated from the German by Jane Billinghurst. Discussed by Hannah in the Q2 thread.

I can lead.

Carol - bravo on your selections! Double #WiT and triple Q2 hits!

Hannah wrote: "Carol - bravo on your selections! Double #WiT and triple Q2 hits!"

I admit I was excited when I figured that out ; )

For fiction I nominate: Good and Evil and Other Stories by Samanta Schweblin

"Guilt, grief, and relationships severed permeate this collection—but so do unspeakable bonds of family, love, and longing, each sinister and beautiful"

For anyone interested the ebook is currently on sale for 99p and it meets our Q2 challenge. I really liked both of Schweblin's novels but haven't yet tried her short story collections.

I can lead

For nonfiction I nominate Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer

"Robin Wall Kimmerer's book is not an identification guide, nor is it a scientific treatise. Rather, it is a series of linked personal essays that will lead general readers and scientists alike to an understanding of how mosses live and how their lives are intertwined with the lives of countless other beings, from salmon and hummingbirds to redwoods and rednecks."

I can lead

Loved Gathering Moss 💚 I would def re-read! The Audio version is great btw.

Carol wrote: "For #WiT, I nominate Autobiography of Cotton by Cristina Rivera Garza. Translated from the Spanish by Christina McSweeney Wilder. Released in 202..."

OOOOH. Picked this one up last year after nominating another of her books. Excited to see this.

Lin wrote: "Loved Gathering Moss 💚 I would def re-read! The Audio version is great btw."

Your endorsement makes me excited!

Keep the noms coming guys, polls will go up on Monday :)

For nonfiction I nominate A Stone Is Most Precious Where it Belongs: A Memoir of Uyghur Exile, Hope, and Survival by Gulchehra Hoja.

The author won the 2019 Magnitsky Award for Outstanding Human Rights Activist In November 2019, for her reporting on the ongoing human rights crisis in Xinjiang and in 2020 she received the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation and was listed among The 500 Most Influential Muslims.

GailW wrote: "For nonfiction I nominate A Stone Is Most Precious Where it Belongs: A Memoir of Uyghur Exile, Hope, and Survival by Gulchehra Hoja.

The author won the 2019 Ma..."

Excellent nom Gail. For anyone in the UK - the ebook is currently on sale on Kobo, ebooks.com, hive and kindle

I nominate The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan for fiction. Translated from Russian.

For WiT I nominate "Kitchen" by Banana Yoshimoto
For open-choice non- fiction "The Greek Way" by Edith Hamilton

I'm loving the diversity of both groups of noms :)

Last call for nominations

I nominate A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution by Jennifer A. Doudna for nonfiction

Nominations are now closed and the polls are open until the 6th. Thanks to everyone who nominated :)

Just a reminder that the August polls will be open for a few more days :)

The polls are now closed and the winners of our August reads are:

#WiT: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto and

Nonfiction: Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Thanks for voting!

Lyn - do you want to lead the discussion of Kitchen or do you want a moderator to take the lead?

If anyone wants to buddy read My Life with Sea Turtles: A Marine Biologist’s Quest to Protect One of the Most Ancient Animals on Earth later in the year, I'm game

Hannah wrote: "If anyone wants to buddy read My Life with Sea Turtles: A Marine Biologist’s Quest to Protect One of the Most Ancient Animals on Earth later in the year, I'm game"

count me in, hannah

I’d join in too, Hannah!

Hannah wrote: "The polls are now closed and the winners of our August reads are:

#WiT: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto and

Nonfiction: [book:Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural Histor..."

I've read Kitchen before and I remember nothing of it, I'll follow the discussion with interest.

I might join in for the moss!

I won't join in for the turtles, while surely interesting, because of my lack of German knowledge.

Both August books appeal to me too. I also read Kitchen a long time ago and don't remember it so much but I do remember liking it, so it's tempting to read again with you all. I have read an essay by Kimmerer and have wanted to read more. Hopefully I can fit one or both in next month!

Yay for all of the above! August looks like it's going to be a great book month :)