Read Women discussion

Hi all,

For our January 2019 reads, we will not be taking nominations but will instead be voting on our favourite runner up from 2018.


For the Non-Fiction reads this is a simple choice from five books:
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft (Jan)
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadaversby Mary Roach (Mar)
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (May)
The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson (Sep)
Virginia Woolf: An Inner Life by Julia Briggs (Nov)
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff (Nov)


For the Group read the list is a lot longer so to avoid splitting votes too far I will be capping the books entered into the poll to those that received the most votes.

17 Nov update: Voting will be between:
1. Old Indian Legends by Zitkala-Ša (12 votes)
2. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (12 votes)
3. Umami by Laia Jufresa (12 votes)
4. The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (11 votes)
5. A Book of American Martyrs by Joyce Carol Oates (11 votes)

Full list of 2018 Runners up in Spoiler:
(view spoiler)[
My Cousin Rachelby Daphne du Maurier (Jan)
Old Indian Legends by Zitkala-Ša(Feb)
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (Feb RAtW)
Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson (Mar)
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (Apr)
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (Apr RAtW)
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh (May - joint runner up)
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin (May - Joint runner up)
A Book of American Martyrs by Joyce Carol Oates(Jun)
Umami by Laia Jufresa (Jun RAtW)
A Legacy by Sybille Bedford (Aug)
The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha (Aug RAtW)
Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter (Sep)
Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman (Oct RAtW & Dec)
The Golem and the Jinniby Helene Wecker (Oct)
Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko (Nov)
In the Month of the Midnight Sun by Cecilia Ekbäck (Dec RAtW - joint runner up)
Nada by Carmen Laforet (Dec RAtW - joint runner up)
(hide spoiler)]


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Our February Read Around the World read will also be book nominated last year that we didn't get to read. The theme is 'Missed Countries' so the highest scoring book for each of the countries that got nominated but didn't win. Like the group read January poll, there are so many books in this category that I will be capping those entered into the poll to those that received the most votes.

Highest scorers for countries we didn't visit:
Afghanistan: A Cup of Friendship by Deborah Rodriguez 
Cuba: The Island of Eternal Love by Daína Chaviano
Haiti:Moonbath by Yanick Lahens
Italy: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Jamaica: Pao by Kerry Young
Japan:Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Myanmar: The Road to Wanting by Wendy Law-Yone
The Philippines: When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe
Sierra Leone: The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna
Spain: Nada by Carmen Laforet
South Africa: Hum If You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais
Sweden: In the Month of the Midnight Sun by Cecilia Ekbäck
Thailand: Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon
Uganda: Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

I'll update with the shortlist after January polls are concluded.

Hi Louise,

I left a message on the poll for this month's Non-fiction read but I don't know if you saw it. I had nominated the biography Virginia Woolf: An Inner Life but I noticed that it might be out of print, or at least very difficult to get hold of. Just thought I would mention it here in case you didn't see that update.

Oh, I hadn't!

I'll have a look into that. If it's not available do you mind me scrubbing it from the poll and going for the next runner up?

Liesl wrote: "Hi Louise,

I left a message on the poll for this month's Non-fiction read but I don't know if you saw it. I had nominated the biography Virginia Woolf: An Inner Life but I noticed that..."

Oh wow! I just had a look and while it's readily available in UK (ebook only) for £6.99, to get hold of it at all in the US is $30.95 for a paperback!

That's ridiculous.

Louise wrote: "Oh, I hadn't!

I'll have a look into that. If it's not available do you mind me scrubbing it from the poll and going for the next runner up?"

I wouldn't mind at all. This is why I thought I should share the availability. I'm in Spain and my options for obtaining a copy were expensive.

Question: For the group and RAtW polls, would people rather have the polls capped at the top 10 scoring entries or the top 5-6?

I'm currently leaning towards 5-6 as big polls split votes so much the winner might only have a few people who actually wanted to read it. Also 5-6 (depending on how votes break down) would match the non-fic runners-up poll format.

I think fewer choices in polls work better so you don't split the votes as much, as you mentioned. So 5-6 sounds best to me.

I also think 5-6 sounds better.

I vote for My Cousin Rachel.

Hi Melissa,

The poll for voting for our Jan read will open on the 16th. Because the consensus is to keep the list short, reduced to the top-voted 5-6 runners up, My Cousin Rachel will unfortunately not be on the final poll. But there is nothing to stop it being nominated again in 2019 during Open Choice months or for an appropriate theme.


At the moment (barring a last minute surge in the December poll) the books we'll be voting between will be:

1. Old Indian Legends by Zitkala-Ša (12 votes)
2. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (12 votes)
3. Umami by Laia Jufresa (12 votes)
4. The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (11 votes)
5. A Book of American Martyrs by Joyce Carol Oates (11 votes)

That's a great and varied list, Louise! I am torn between three for my own vote.

So am I!

January polls now up.

January polls now closed. We will be reading Unami as the main group read with Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea for our non-fiction read.

This means the list of high scorers for the February read around the world poll is:

1. Sierra Leone: The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna [11 votes]
2. Haiti: Moonbath by Yanick Lahens [11 votes]
3. Sweden: In the Month of the Midnight Sun by Cecilia Ekbäck [9 votes]
4. Spain: Nada by Carmen Laforet [9 votes]
5. Japan: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee [8 votes]
6. Italy: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante [8 votes]

Poll will go up next month alongside the poll for the other Feb read nominations.

Excellent!

I think this listing for Umami will provide the description and more reviews. I also think I was the original nominator, but am not sure. Let me know if I was and you want me to lead. Either way, I’ll start looking for my copy in my large pile of owned and TBR now.

I've had a look back and I don't think it was you, but if you are happy to lead, that would be great.

Louise wrote: "I've had a look back and I don't think it was you, but if you are happy to lead, that would be great."

If the nominator is up for leading, great. If not, I’m your back-up then.