Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

This thread is for dropping ideas, questions, resources, comments, and discussion about Task 19: Read a Nonfiction Book About Feminism or Dealing With Feminist Themes.

A few resources to get you started. Some of these include fiction titles, so double check to make sure they fit the task:

http://bookriot.com/2015/11/22/read-s...

http://bookriot.com/2015/10/20/of-you...

http://bookriot.com/2015/02/25/forget...

http://bookriot.com/2014/11/18/5-favo...

http://bookriot.com/2014/04/16/modern...

http://bookriot.com/2015/07/08/books-...

I've had Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood on my wishlist for a while. Would it count? Sixty-nine people shelved it as "feminism".

Gonna try Women Running With Wolves.

I am going with We Should All Be Feminists

I am going to read.

I didn't realize it had to be non-fiction until I saw someone's comment on another book below today (1/21/16)...darn. Now I have to find another.
I am going to read .

I've got Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir on my list for a book club I missed awhile back. Thrilled to use it for this task!

I've been wanting to read Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay ever since it came out, and this seems like a good opportunity!

Bea wrote: "I've had Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood on my wishlist for a while. Would it count? Sixty-nine people shelved it as "feminism"."

I'd say absolutely. It deals with a lot of different themes, but women's roles and feminism is for sure one of them.

If you need ideas, here's the feminist section of my book blog's review index. It's divided by category: Anthology, Biography, Feminism, Fiction, Letters & Memoir, Women's History, and Women's Studies.

Allie wrote: "Bea wrote: "I've had Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood on my wishlist for a while. Would it count? Sixty-nine people shelved it as "feminism"."

I'd say absolutely. It deals with a l..."

Thanks, Allie. I appreciate the response.

I saw The Secret History of Wonder Woman on a list so I picked that.

I will try Headscarves and Hymens, which is one of the books recommended by this article: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisf...

I was recommended Gender Trouble and, while it seems pretty dense, it strikes me as a valuable read.

I was planning on reading A Room of One's Own for this one.

Kathryn wrote: "I saw The Secret History of Wonder Woman on a list so I picked that."

I'm reading this RIGHT NOW and it's ace.

Cheri wrote: "I've been wanting to read Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay ever since it came out, and this seems like a good opportunity!"

I've also got Bad Feminist pegged for this one.

Would "The Princessa, Machiavelli for Women" by Harriet Rubin, count?

I'm gonna read How To Be a Woman by Caitlyn Moran.

I was considering Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own but then made a last minute change to Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution. It's possibly that may change again, but I'll stick with this for now.

I am planning on reading this one anyway, and I think it will be interesting for this challenge: Chick Lit and Postfeminism

I'll be reading Dress Gray: A Woman at West Point by Donna Peterson. I found it in the gift shop of a small museum (Daughters of the Republic of Texas Museum) for $3.

Unspeakable things is good, the author isn't for everyone as she can come across as quite caustic but she does bring up some really interesting points and really got me thinking. I loved bad feminist too. I'm thinking men explain things to me and heard mixed things about spinsters but really want to read anyway.

How to be a woman is a fun read too

I have Bad Feminist filling my essay category so I'm going with The Wife Drought for this one.

I think I'll read a book dealing with the suffragette movement in America.

Yuska wrote: "I'm gonna read How To Be a Woman by Caitlyn Moran."

I've chosen this book too mainly because I've heard so much about it, but it doesn't appeal to me at all . I figure that's what this challenge is (partly) about!!

Will probably read How to Be a Woman. I'd wanted to get to it this year, and hadn't had a chance. So, I'll slip it in to this challenge!

I am planning to read A Room of One's Own, which has been on my list for awhile.

I am going to read Woman at Point Zero. Or A Room of One's Own

Gail wrote: "I am going to read Woman at Point Zero. Or A Room of One's Own"

Excellent choices! I've read both, but Woman at Point Zero is fiction.

I received My Life on the Road for Christmas but also haveFeminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women's Movements.

I'm reading one of Bad Feminist, Cunt: A Declaration of Independence, or We Should All Be Feminists. Maybe all 3? ha

I'm planning to read Bad Feminist, but also considered Feminism is For Everybody by bell hooks. just discovered it's online! https://excoradfeminisms.files.wordpr...

Everyone keeps tempting me with A Room of One's Own! As an affirmed fan of Virginia Woolf, it's hard to tell myself to expand my horizons, but I'll try anyhow. If I fail, I'll always have her to turn to.

I'm planning to go with A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft.

P.S. I just discovered this book in my library and think I may go with it instead: Not Hamlet: Meditations on the Frail Position of Women in Drama by Janet Suzman.

Nicole thank you for sharing that link to the bell hooks. I'll be reading that for this category.

I'm going to read a classic - Angela Davis's Women, Race, and Class, which I've been meaning to read for actual years.

I'm going to read Women and the Vote: A World History as the suffrage movement has always interested me but I only know about what happened in America and a little about the U.K., not much about other countries.

Rainey wrote: "I am going with We Should All Be Feminists"

I'm going with this too. Considered Bad Feminist, but simply can't afford it.

Can The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution? I think it can work because it launched part of the female revolution, but want to confirm...

Holly wrote: "Rainey wrote: "I am going with We Should All Be Feminists"

I'm going with this too. Considered Bad Feminist, but simply can't afford it."

Do you have a good library service near you at all? I know not everyone does and I'm sorry if I'm being insensitive. I got bad feminist outta the library and I've been fulfilling most of my book choices by either what's on my shelf or by what's available for me to reserve at the library . It's really kept my costs down. Also bookmooch can be good but the best way to use that is to set up a epic wish list and they'll tell you when a book you want is available. As a poor reader I understand your pain and am so thankful to have such a great library service near me.

My local library is not the greatest so I purchase most of my books. I use ereaderiq.com. i import all the books i am interested in purchasing from my amazon.com wish list and set a price i would be willing to pay for it. When the price drops i get an email notification. I tend to fund my purchases by using amazon gift cards.

Shirley wrote: "Holly wrote: "Rainey wrote: "I am going with We Should All Be Feminists"

I'm going with this too. Considered Bad Feminist, but simply can't afford it."

Do you have a good library ..."

Unfortunately my local library got hit by budget cuts, and as far as I remember didn't have a hugely liberal selection. I worked there a couple times as a relief librarian before it was closed, but yeah, freebies and cut price/pre-owned-TBR stuff makes up a lot of my list.

Going to read The Secret History of Wonder Woman.

Rainey wrote: "My local library is not the greatest so I purchase most of my books. I use ereaderiq.com. i import all the books i am interested in purchasing from my amazon.com wish list and set a price i would b..."

I use that site aswel, it's great but need to remember to update it constantly for the books I want to read

Holly wrote: "Shirley wrote: "Holly wrote: "Rainey wrote: "I am going with We Should All Be Feminists"

I'm going with this too. Considered Bad Feminist, but simply can't afford it."

Do you have..."
I'm really sorry to hear that, I know a lot of places have had their library budgets cut badly and it really makes me sad. It's really hard to read what u want if you don't have a lot of spare money and a good library service. Such a valuable resource to us all.

I wasn't too impressed by my local library, but it belongs to a regional system as well as is willing to research a book for other libraries outside of the region. I have found that I can get most books that I want through their intralibrary loan or interlibrary request systems. I even once got a book all the way from Ketchikan Alaska!

The other resource is maybe a library in another state. I am close to GA and found that the Augusta GA library will allow an out of state card for $25 a year. I figure that is the price of a hardback book. And, for that, I will have access to their online system.

I've read quite a bit of feminist non-fiction, so I thought I would add my two-cents.

If you want a quick read, We Should All Be Feminists is good and it hits all of the big issues.

But if you have more time, I would highly recommend one of the following:

Communion: The Female Search for Love
Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture
Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture

Bea wrote: "I wasn't too impressed by my local library, but it belongs to a regional system as well as is willing to research a book for other libraries outside of the region. I have found that I can get most ..."

Does your library have ebooks via Overdrive? You can read ebooks on any kind of tablet or computer and it is a cheaper way for library systems to enlarge their holdings.

I'm choosing Bad Feminist for this one.