Read Women discussion

I am reading In a German Pension: 13 Stories by Katherine Mansfield and am delighted.

Carol wrote: "I am reading In a German Pension: 13 Stories by Katherine Mansfield and am delighted."

I've been meaning to read Katherine Mansfield forever. Do you think this is a good one to start with?

Nadine wrote: "Carol wrote: "I am reading In a German Pension: 13 Stories by Katherine Mansfield and am delighted."

I've been meaning to read Katherine Mansfield forever. Do you thin..."

It’s the oddest thing, Nadine. An hour ago, I’d have said, yes, but the last four stories were not nearly as successful as the first nine. Mansfield so disliked German Pension that when it went out of print she was happy. I recommend finding a collection that includes The Garden Party and then reading several more stories — if not all — for a fuller experience.

Thanks for the advice, Carol. Mansfield is on my radar for 2020 and I'd planned to read German Pension.

Carol wrote: "Seriously impressive, story

Thanks Carol! I've completed 8 more since I last posted and hope to make it 110 in total by the 31st. I'm only working part-time this year so pesky work isn't interfering as much with my reading life as it used to.

Carol wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Carol wrote: "I am reading In a German Pension: 13 Stories by Katherine Mansfield and am delighted."

I've been meaning to read Katherine Mansfield forev..."

Thanks! The Garden Party and Other Stories is now on my TBR

I am reading The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden, and Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. Both are delightful and feeding my reading soul in complimentary ways.

I'm reading SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson (reading it with a group) and I'm going to start Zed today.

I’m reading “Paradise of the Blind” from Duong Thu Huong.
My first book by a Vietnamese author and she’s great ... I’m enjoying it very much.

Currently Reading The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbie Waxman

Been struggling to engage much with fiction recently so went on a bit of a book buying splurge on non-fiction instead.

Currently reading The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold, which I'm enjoying a lot. The author's a social historian with no interest in 'Ripperology', so it leaves the gross sensationalism of their murders aside and reclaims the lives of the Ripper's victims instead, emphasising the tenuous positions of lower class women in Victorian England. Only partway through but would definitely recommend.

Louise wrote: "Been struggling to engage much with fiction recently so went on a bit of a book buying splurge on non-fiction instead.

Currently reading [book:The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jac..."

I've been hearing about this one; good to know there's no gross sensationalism in it. I was avoiding it out of fears of that.

Basically apart from a very matter-of fact sentence or two in the introduction, it does not go into detail on the murders at all.

It documents, as much as possible, the life of each woman right up until the night they died, then moves straight onto the aftermath of their death. No speculation of who the Ripper is, just a biography of his victims.

I generally avoid true crime for the same reasons you seem to. This is honestly more of a social history of lower class women and homelessness in victorian London, told through five very different stories of individual women.

I am currently reading multiple books:
Symbolic Legislation Theory and Developments in Biolaw,
Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto,
Barefoot Gen, Volume One: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima and
Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit and Authoritarian Populism.

Louise wrote: "Basically apart from a very matter-of fact sentence or two in the introduction, it does not go into detail on the murders at all.

It documents, as much as possible, the life of each woman right up..."

Thanks for sharing. This book was long overdue. I cannot wait to read it. I also find depiction of "legends" of Jack the Ripper, problematic. The visual culture and the history has reduced his victims as an afterthought, and continue to "celebrate the complexity" of his psychopathy.

I’m reading A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym and delighted.

Carol wrote: "I’m reading A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym and delighted."

Thanks for reminding me that it's time for a Pym! She's never failed me :)

Nadine wrote: "Carol wrote: "I’m reading A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym and delighted."

Thanks for reminding me that it's time for a Pym! She's never failed me :)"

This one’s a sure thing, Nadine. Cheers.

Carol, I saw the quotation you shared from the Pym on women and rhubarb and it made me laugh.

I'm slowly reading through the mammoth The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett and listening to A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves: One Family and Migration in the 21st Century by Jason DeParle.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "A few days ago I started Music & Silence by Rose Tremain. It takes place in 17th Century Denmark."

I read The Gustav Sonata in May and enjoyed it, particularly the first two sections when Gustav was a young boy. I also really enjoyed The Colour set in New Zealand during the gold rush, I like this one particularly because it provides also the woman's perspective on leaving her home country (England) for the wilds.

Clare, I'm a Rose Tremain fan as well. Restoration and it's sequel Merivel: A Man of His Time are two of my favourites.

The NYT is offering "The Decameron Project" including short stories by many women such as Margaret Atwood, Tea Obrecht and Esi Edugyan.

" We asked 29 authors to write new short stories inspired by the moment. We were inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s “The Decameron,” written as the plague ravaged Florence in the 14th century."

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...

I am reading, Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It’s been on my TBR for easily three years and I am smacking myself for not having read it sooner.

Carol, HoaYS is my favorite novel of my favorite author. It is sad and heart-wrenching but the characters are amazing. I hope you love it as much as I do.

I agree! I thought it was a great book as well Carol. I've been finding some dusty gems on my tbr this year too.

Prayer for Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexevich and Maria Theresia by Gertrud Fussenegger
In Chernobyl, "...just wash your hands before meal, and you will be fine", does it sound familiar?

I am reading 10 Minutes 38 seconds in this strange world by Elif Shafak and I love it

Crazytourists_books wrote: "I am reading 10 Minutes 38 seconds in this strange world by Elif Shafak and I love it"

Oh I also loved 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World! Picked it up randomly last year from a library's 1-week-only shelf. Yay!

I'm currently reading Jade City for an IRL(Zoom) bookclub & Such a Fun Age for another GR bookclub.

I am currently reading two books, both by women authors,
1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings which if find great but it makes me feel uncomfortable while reading it so it progresses rather slow
2. Caravan of the Lost and Left Behind, which I just started, so far it is ok

I will be finishing Luster today - my feelings about this book have been a roller coaster ride!

I'm currently reading Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen aka Karen Blixen, and My Antonia / O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

I am reading, actually finishing, "The color purple" by Alice Walker. When I started reading I though it would be the most depressing book ever, but it actually made me more angry (towards patriarchy, I mean) than depressed

Oh, and I never finished the "craven of the lost and left behind" that I mentioned at a previous comment, I just found it boring

Crazytourists_books wrote: "I am reading, actually finishing, "The color purple" by Alice Walker. When I started reading I though it would be the most depressing book ever, but it actually made me more angry (towards patriarc..."

I found this book to be incredibly uplifting by the end -in a working through sadness and anger leaving you in a better place kind of way - if that makes sense!

I'm doing some reading for WIT month so just finishing a couple for that including a reprint/new translation of a novel from the 50s The Tree and the Vine by Dola de Jong, which centres on the awkward, near love-affair between two women in the years leading up to and during WW2, which I'm liking.

I'm dipping into Tove Jansson's letters, took me a while to get used to the names/people in her life but again working well.

I've just started a collection of fiction and non-fiction by Rose Macauley, it includes a WW1 novel and non-fiction pieces. Am dipping into the non-fiction. It's called Non-Combatants and Others: Writings Against War 1916 - 1945 It's from an indie publisher Handheld Press, who have a great list where vintage books by women writers concerned, tempted by a lot of their titles. Also like the design/feel of their books - bit trivial but true!

Thanks for mentioning Handheld Press, Alwynne. Sounds interesting!

I’m reading a short story collection, Orange World and Other Stories, by Karen Russell, and Night Dogs by Kent Anderson, about a beat cop in 1970s Portland. Both are feeding different parts of my brain.

I'm starting the Readers Imbibing Peril challenge, doing level one so only have to read four books in the category. I can't do hard-core horror but love vintage ghost stories so this is my first choice, comes with a really great introduction on women writers in this genre and how the women working in the late Victorian/Edwardian period brought in more domestic and everyday concerns into their stories:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

I'm reading The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling and it's already a strong contender for "personal favourite I read this year". (The current frontrunner is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.)

I'm about 35% into The Luminous Dead and it is very suspenseful and feels a bit like one of those story-focused videogames, in a good way.

I’ve just finished a history of Maoism and its global influences by Julia Lovell Maoism: A Global History and writing up notes for a review. Some interesting material but a bit disappointing - possibly because the broad scope makes it too compressed and overly-dense at the same time.

I’m still dipping into the collections I mentioned before. And I recently finished a novella by Osamu Dazai Schoolgirl which really impressed me - both the writing style and how he represents the ways his character internalises social pressures/negative ideas about women and the impact on her sense of self. I’m really keen to read more of his work, just ordered a relatively new translation of another of his novels!

If anyone's interested in honour of Black History Month, The Cambridge History of Black and Asian British Writing is free to download from the publisher's website, some great articles including on Women writers, different eras, theatre, children's lit etc...started dipping into various articles already.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/...#

Thank you Alwynne!

I've just started Iron Cast by Destiny Soria. I'm only forty pages in and I'm enjoying the book thus far. The magic system in this book seems really interesting (from what I've currently read/found out about it) and the characters are so hilarious and loveable. I really hope I end up liking the book!

Reacher 2.0! I finished The Sentinel #25 in which author Lee Child handed over the writing reins to his brother.

My review - www.Goodreads.com/review/show/3174455009

I'm currently reading AOC: The Fearless Rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and What It Means for America thanks to Anita's recommendation on What Did You Just Finish? As we discussed in that thread, this is an essay collection, not a bio.

Yet "Women Like Me Aren't Supposed to Run For Office" by Andrea Gonzalez-Ramirez is a brief bio and satisfied my need to know about AOC's life. I also appreciated Gonzalez-Ramirez's perspective.

I also really liked "No Uncertain Terms" by Natalia Sylvester which is about how AOC relieved Sylvester's self-consciousness about her Spanish as a first generation American who doesn't speak Spanish like the immigrant generation.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing.

This may be a century-old tale but it was mesmerizing and harrowing and, because of the location, timeless. Women did try to join but Shackleton turned them down.

My review - www.Goodreads.com/review/show/3489567133

I just finished Jean Toomer's Cane I've never read anything of his before but I'm interested in the Harlem Renaissance so I've been meaning to try this for a while. It's a challenging novel in many ways, stylistically for one, and it's quite an uneven one, but the strongest sections are incredibly powerful. Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Alwynne wrote: "I just finished Jean Toomer's Cane I've never read anything of his before but I'm interested in the Harlem Renaissance so I've been meaning to try this for a while. It's a challengi..."

I read it in undergrad and remember being very glad to have read it, and also that I had a professor available to explain what I was reading.

I’m reading The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson and, as of twenty minutes from now, How to Be Both, our group read.

I'm listening to She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore on audio and am struggling to follow it. I loved the opening scene but have been a little mystified since. I'm wondering if I'd be better reading it in print. I think you guys read this before I joined the group? Anyone any input?