Read Women discussion

This is our 2024 brainstorming thread. Over the next couple of weeks, let us know your inputs and feedback on any relevant topic as we develop and share a 2024 plan for group reads, challenges and approaches that meet the book discussion and engagement preferences of our members.

Respond to any of these questions or share your thoughts on topics not raised below:
- What do you enjoy or appreciate most about this group?
- What themes or challenges are likely to interest you over the next 12 months?
- Is there a thread or approach you like in another group and would like to see introduced here?
- If you don't participate in group reads, is there a change that would inspire you to participate?
- If you participate in group reads from time to time, is there a change that might inspire you to participate more often?

Whether you joined this group years ago or yesterday, your inputs are equally valuable.

Speaking as a member, not a mod, I'm most interested (for 2024) in the following themes and challenges.

Year-long challenge themes: nonfiction, Black authors

Quarterly challenges: feminism, African authors, Scandinavian authors, social justice, read around the world (any country other than US or UK) , LGBTQ+

Themes for group reads: Women in translation, feminism, Black authors, social justice/civil rights, world history, authors of Asian descent

I haven't really thought about it Carol, but something that I would like to do in 2024, is read non-fiction, science/environmental related books written by women.
Feminism and women in translation are always high on my list as well.

Thanks Carol those all sound great, I like the idea of reading work about the environment but would extend that to include nature writing in general and work related to climate change. Be interested to find more books like Alys Fowler's Hidden Nature: A Voyage of Discovery which also cut across themes being LGBTQ+ and about nature and climate change/environmental change. There's also a growing body of work on environment and nature written by women of colour challenging the overwhelming whiteness of this area of writing/publishing.

Carol, I like most all the ideas you mentioned. I also have interest in nature writing, latin american literature, memoir/biography, and classics.

I'm new here but I love how this group is managed and organized. I wish other groups were more like this one. I can't think of anything I would change/add/subtract.
I plan to join group reads, and I would consider those that I skip as an opportunity to read other things on my TBR list, which could potentially fit quarterly/annual challenges or reads for other groups. This is actually valuable to me as a slow reader...

What do you enjoy or appreciate most about this group?
I truly appreciate the amazing variety of authors and themes that people suggest in this group. I have read some wonderful novels since joining this group that I may never have come across if it were not for the Group reads or challenges.

What themes or challenges are likely to interest you over the next 12 months?
Carol, I liked the idea of non-fiction being a year long challenge. Due to my own personal issues, I was uable to complete the BINGO challenge this year. Maybe we could try making it a non-fiction Bingo this year?

I would be very interested in some authors from the Middle East, whether by way of a Group read or a quarterly challenge.

Someone suggested last year having a challenge for a particular author. I quite like that idea. It is quite interesting to compare works written by the same author and so much easier to remember things when read close together.

I'd also love to see another group read on female artists. I really enjoyed our art read recently but I'd love to read more about the work of a female artist.

Perhaps due to the current issues taking place in the world, we could have a group read on the history of the dispute for the West Bank and Gaza strip.

Liesl wrote: " What do you enjoy or appreciate most about this group?
I truly appreciate the amazing variety of authors and themes that people suggest in this group. I have read some wonderful novels since join..."

Oh, as a visual artist I would really enjoy art-centric topics, although I might be very picky about the read. I joined the group just after that theme happened... A drawback is that art books can be expensive. But there must be nomination possibilities that are interesting, accessible (price-wise), and woman-centered and -authored. Perhaps library loans could be helpful in this case for many. For me, library is not an option because I'm American living in small-town Germany... but I assume many have the option...

As for the Palestine-Israel topic, I think Alwynne is bringing up a good point about sensitivity. I wonder if we could look at the topic sort of indirectly, perhaps by looking at books that are more generally on feminist politics.

Alwynne wrote: " nov..."

I have been researching nonfiction books written about Palestine/Isreal and am having a terrible time finding one that doesn't have reviews saying that the author got it wrong, he/she has no right to write about the topic, and at the same time getting 4-5 stars (probably by people like me). The only book I ever read was The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew-- Three Women Search for Understanding, a wonderful book, but definitely "biased" (correct term?) in all directions by the three women who wrote the book but which also gave me a much better understanding of the various facets (related to 9/11). IS there a good book to read?

I'm excited to see a few folks interested in Middle Eastern lit and nonfiction, as a theme. I'm very much onboard with that (personally, as a reader).

Access our thread and share your recommended books on Palestine/Israel here:

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

Not to discourage the conversation here, just to give it another home to continue and for members to find it.

Thanks for all comments to-date and keep them coming.

Alwynne wrote: "Liesl wrote: " What do you enjoy or appreciate most about this group?
I truly appreciate the amazing variety of authors and themes that people suggest in this group. I have read some wonderful nov..."

I apologise for my wording. My intention was really to suggest a look at the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict overall. It was not to lump any areas together. To only look at one area would not do justice to the long and rich history.

I've only just seen this thread. My interests for next year include continuing the black authors annual challenge and perhaps a nonfiction/science/environment challenge. For the quarterly challenges I like to switch geographical areas such as Africa then perhaps MENA or anywhere really other than USA/UK like Carol suggested. I like the monthly themes as we have them. I think they are really well rounded. I haven't participated in group reads this year as I've been having a particularly bad year but hope to become involved again next year. Often I'm put off nominating books because the idea of leading makes me nervous and I don't want to force a mod to lead with a book they might not even like!

Aggregating ideas and themes raised through message 11:

nonfiction
Black authors
science-science/environmental related
nature
climate change
Black authors on nature, environment, climate change
feminism
artists (female)
latin american literature
memoir/biography
classics
African authors
MENA authors
West Bank/Gaza history
feminist politics
Scandinavian authors
social justice / civil rights
read around the world (any country other than US or UK) LGBTQ+
Women in translation
world history
authors of Asian descent

Liesl raised the possibility of an author-specific challenge, and I was thinking about how to make it work. One possibility is to come up with a calendar of 12 authors, each month starts a new one, but each thread and activity lasts for 90 days. I think this could be really fun, and the discussion would last long enough to read 2 - 3 books by an author, without it feeling like a race. OTOH, if we pick only 4 authors and do consecutive 3-month challenges, we run the risk of low participation in 1 or more. What's your interest level, understanding that, in part, it depends on the authors selected?

Hannah wrote: "I've only just seen this thread. My interests for next year include continuing the black authors annual challenge and perhaps a nonfiction/science/environment challenge. For the quarterly challenge..."

Hannah, I'm sorry this year has been a bad one for you. I understand how leading can be intimidating when you haven't done it before, like hosting a party and you don't know if anyone will come; but if you're willing to participate in the thread, and you just want Anita or me to lead, send us a PM and ask. I can't speak for Anita, but I suspect we would approach similarly. If I'm interested and not over-committed to first-of-the-month book reads, I'd be glad to lead or tag team with you - particularly if you are open to commenting in the first half of the month. We really appreciate you thinking about us and how it works out when a nom wins and there's no leader : )

Just saw this...

I think the group is great, though I had a reading slump this month. I like the diversity of the themes, the great preparations by our mods (thanks for all your work!) and those leading, the liberty for us to suggest themes and the friendly interaction.

When I had a look on our page, I found that I had wanted to read the short stories but didn´t remember, so perhaps a reminder in a general thread about nominating, voting and what we´re reading? It doesn´t have to be a PM.

Generally I´m always glad when I can read books that are available here in Austria, so either translated or at least old and famous enough to be in our library system. A cheap Kindle edition is also okay with me, as I just reduced my physical books and don´t want to buy many more.

I liked the bingo or a similar challenge, as we can choose more freely what we´re reading.

Otherwise my interests are Indigenous, Classics, Nonfiction, Disability, Nature and Environment; perhaps Children´s Books/Middle Grade? Not sure about the Palestine/Israel conflict, as it´s a sensitive theme. Perhaps something about Peace in general, looking at the World today?

Carol wrote: "Liesl raised the possibility of an author-specific challenge, and I was thinking about how to make it work."

This could be interesting and fun or it could totally flop! Maybe we could brainstorm authors and then have a poll and to see how many people would take part. Based on the results we could see if there's enough interest before we decide whether to try 12 or 4?

My two cents: I really like the diversity of topics listed in Carols message #12 and I've come around on the author-specific challenge. I doubt I would do 12 of them (I'm trying to wean my personal library) but this does sound promising!

Author specific challenge: maybe choose 4 authors and read three books each?

ETA: Carol mentioned this but I think it could work if the books were mixed up instead of read consecutively.

Is anyone else interested in genre categories? I would love a women in science fiction or horror topic.

Maybe a quarterly challenge could be an author challenge where each member picks their own author and reads as many as they can/want for that quarter? Or we could do a poll and read the same author.

Or we could do an author bingo card which we fill with prominent female authors of different genres and members can try to get an author bingo.

Ozsaur wrote: "Is anyone else interested in genre categories? I would love a women in science fiction or horror topic."

I’m a fan of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror, so I would love these. I try to remind members on open choice months to take advantage and nominate these types of genres as well.

Ooh, I like the bingo option!

I might suggest a few genre books as buddy reads, Remnant Population went over well. A book I have in mind is Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre. I plan on reading it next year.

ETA: Anita, I read horror all during October, so getting a few prompts, or suggestions would work for me.

I like the suggestion of the author challenge being a quarterly challenge but I prefer the idea of us choosing an author vía a poll. I think if everyone is reading a different author, there won't be much overlap to have any discussion.

I also liked the suggestion of the Bingo. That could work very well.

I will agree, the bingo idea was fun!

Jen wrote: "Liesl wrote: " What do you enjoy or appreciate most about this group?
I truly appreciate the amazing variety of authors and themes that people suggest in this group. I have read some wonderful nov..."

Jen, I would love some art-related suggestions when and if you have the time to do that!

Ozsaur wrote: "Is anyone else interested in genre categories? I would love a women in science fiction or horror topic."

I'd be interested in sci fi or fantasy as a topic

Crazytourists_books wrote: "Jen, I would love some art-related suggestions when and if you have the time to do that!"

Oh hmm. That's a conversation I could really get into. But I imagine it depends on what kind of art/artists interest you, and that's so individual.
For the sake of giving some examples anyway, here are two recent publications that I personally really want to check out:

The Slip: The New York City Street That Changed American Art Forever by Prudence Peiffer which is actually longlisted for the National Book Award. It's about a group of artists who worked closely together 1956-1967, and the standout names in the group would be Ellsworth Kelly and the beloved Agnes Martin.

And as I work in textiles, in recent years primarily quilting, I'm very interested in Ferren Gipson's Women's Work: From Feminine Arts to Feminist Art.

Happy to discuss ideas further ...

Ozsaur wrote: "I might suggest a few genre books as buddy reads, Remnant Population went over well. A book I have in mind is Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre. I plan on re..."

Same! October is my horror month. Dreamsnake has been on my tbr forever. If you do a buddy read next year I would love to join.

I've opened up this thread for those of us interested in the single-author-exploration idea to weigh in and figure out what we want to do with that concept.

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

On a different topic, we've had less engagement this year in the year-long women in translation challenge. Are you more interested in focusing on #WiT as a quarterly challenge or group read theme?

Carol wrote: "Are you more interested in focusing on #WiT as a quarterly challenge or group read theme?"

I was a bit confused about why WIT was both a yearly and quarterly challenge this year and would personally be more likely to engage with it as a shorter challenge

Hannah wrote: "Carol wrote: "Are you more interested in focusing on #WiT as a quarterly challenge or group read theme?"

I was a bit confused about why WIT was both a yearly and quarterly challenge this year and ..."

One of the challenges in a group this large, but where the active readership is really fewer than 40 members, and that 40 is different every year and the things that excite them also change over time, is that 14 months ago, I'd have said that #WiT was a theme many folks had a lot of energy around so it made sense then. We tried for 2023 to make the monthly and quarterly themes more in synch with one another, which can either feel appropriate (hey - this theme helps me with that challenge over there) or boring (this again?) or just not relevant.

Anyhoo.. : )

Ozsaur wrote: "Is anyone else interested in genre categories? I would love a women in science fiction or horror topic."

Yes, Ozsaur! We sometimes struggle with discussions on genre themes, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep teeing them up. There are so many different random reasons why sometimes a theme works and other times it doesn't. Yes, we'll try science fiction and horror. Would you like to see them as quarterly challenge themes or as a monthly read or Bingo option?

A bingo option would be great. And October seems to be the month of horror for a lot of us, so maybe do a special challenge for the month?

Also, I'll be doing a few buddy reads next year starting with Dreamsnake. I have a couple of other books in mind, and I might post a list or ask others if they want to suggest a book or two.

Michaela wrote: "Otherwise my interests are Indigenous, Classics, Nonfiction, Disability, Nature and Environment; perhaps Children´s Books/Middle Grade?"

I second Michaela's interest in disability and indigenous authors

Aggregated theme list to here:

nonfiction
indigenous authors
disability
Black authors
science/environmental related
nature
climate change
Black authors on nature, environment, climate change
feminism
artists (female)
latin american literature
children's/middle grade lit
memoir/biography
classics
African authors
MENA authors
Peace
feminist politics
scifi / fantasy (or separate them)
horror
social justice / civil rights
read around the world (any country other than US or UK) LGBTQ+
Women in translation
world history
authors of Asian descent
Scandinavian authors

If anyone wants to weigh in on themes they're interested in, this is the moment and please do. We'll be opening up nominations for January group reads soon and finalizing a road map would be ideal before we take that step.

@michaela - your comment about a general thread reminder of what's going on and where is a great one, and easily implemented. thank you!

I haven't joined in with much in this group, and don't want my comments to influence any decisions, but I wondered what other events/readathons group members joined in with and whether they influence when they read specific books.

I usually participate in:
March Dewithon (reading books by Welsh authors)
March Irish Readathon
August WIT (Earlier in the year I will also read books by women from the International Booker longlist)
September Shorty September
October Victober
October Black History month (UK) (I will read these books throughout the year, but will keep something for October)

Sonia - this is a great point, and I wasn't aware of the March or September events you mention (so cool). To the extent there's already interest in a theme, I'm a fan of trying to align our calendar to fit events members already participate in, because its just more fun and makes it easier for them - and there's downside for members.

ya'll help us out - do you participate / celebrate one or several of the events Sonia named?

As I’m new to all this, I’m only just learning of such things but I like stuff like this.
I’ve read something for UK Black History Month. I’m gonna pick up one or two nonfiction for Nonfiction November. I also hope to fit in something on theme for Native American Heritage Month… I like the sound of a few mentioned there… Sept Shorty, Irish/Welsh March…

Carol wrote: "...ya'll help us out - do you participate / celebrate one or several of the events Sonia named?..."

I hate to say that I don't usually participate in the monthly themes, mainly because I am in way too many annual challenges. So some of these themes: Black authors, Women in translation, etc are already ones that I do, even if they are only personal challenges. I made myself get more involved with monthly reads this year, which I rarely did in the past. I'm reluctant to add anymore "monthly" on for me - I'm too much of a mood reader. But please discount my opinion by about 98.5%!

I don't think that readathons should determine the group reading. The group seems to be working really well. Maybe a compromise could be that if a book is suggested that could fit a future readathon I could ask if it could be deferred. I obviously would have no expectation that it would be, but I hope you would not be offended if I asked.

I'm like Gail W. I'm too much of a mood reader to try and fit my reading to a monthly theme with the exception for October when I focus on horror. I try hard to read broadly with a focus on women authors, so I eventually get around to all kinds of writers.

The thing I love about this group is that I find so many new authors, and genres I rarely look at. I've been pushed out of my comfort zone several times, and it's been a good experience for me, even if the book/author didn't work out. Mostly they do!

Sonia wrote: Maybe a compromise could be that if a book is suggested that could fit a future readathon I could ask if it could be deferred.

This makes sense. If a book is suggested, and it fits a monthly theme, I'd be happy to read it then.

I think it makes sense that if one of our current monthly themes eg WIT fits into one of these events then the calendar already fits with it. So wit would be in August. And then nothing would need deferring. I like having just a thread, like we have for nonfiction November, to share recommendations for those who are interested. Although if we're having an annual nonfiction challenge then this would already be covered. Perhaps then we could have a native American heritage thread in November to share any new finds we have made in the last year. Do I make sense?

Hannah wrote: "I think it makes sense that if one of our current monthly themes eg WIT fits into one of these events then the calendar already fits with it. So wit would be in August. And then nothing would need ..."

Absolutely. We'll align where it makes sense and add theme threads as people are interested and events come up or are mentioned by members.

(I'm quite excited to learn about Dewithon and the Irish Readathon and looking forward to setting up threads next March.)

Regarding genres, I like how this year there is one quarterly challenge- current one- that is genre themed. It being three genres together makes it accessible. I personally am excited to have some upcoming reads lined up for this.

So .. tell us what you think of this 2024 plan. We're balancing :

Proposed Annual, Quarterly and Monthly Themes, plus Questions

Year-Long Challenges
Women Authors
NonFiction
Black authors
Question: Do you want to add 2024 (year-long) opportunity to read indigenous authors?

2024 Quarterly Challenges (all include F or NF)
Q1 - Science /Climate Change / Environment
Q1 - Africa or Latin America – authors, takes place in
Q3 - Women in Translation
Q4 - Fantasy and Horror

Monthly Group Read Themes (OC = Open Choice; F = Fiction; NF = NonFiction; RatW = Read around the World)

Jan F: Science Fiction; NF: Nature / Science / Climate Change / Environment
Feb F:OC; NF: LGBTQ+ author or theme
March: F: Feminism; RatW: Wales or Ireland (supporting Dewithon and the Irish Readathon)
April: F: Childrens/Middle Grade; RatW: Africa
May F: Black women authors NF: OC
June F: Womens Prize Longlist Pick; RatW: Middle East+ North Africa (MENA)
July F: Disability; NF: Memoir / Biography
Aug F: #WiT; NF: feminism
Sept F: OC (under 200 pages for Shorty Sept); NF: Art & Artists
Oct F: Horror or Fantasy; NF: Black Britain
Nov F: Indigenous Authors/People/MCs; NF: OC
Dec F: Latin America (author, takes place in); NF: Social Justice/ Activism

(BINGO and other topics in message 46)

If there are big gaps or concerns, feel free to flag them. Otherwise, I think we've got a fun plan that addresses the themes we're most comfortable with, includes themes that stretch us into the less familiar in a good way, and brings together alot of our personal goals into threads where we'll engage with each other, learn, grow and enjoy our readings. Feedback?

Thanks again for all of your feedback and suggestions. This update goes with comment 45 above as a preliminary group plan/road map for 2024.

Womens Prize Plan
In August, we'll start a Buddy Read thread on the subject ot he Womens Prize winner, which will have been announced in June.

Author-specific discussion We'll be reading Elif Shafak and Zadie Smith, if not more authors together, in 2024. Join us and express your preferences on timing in the "author" thread. (Nothing's stopping us from focusing on additional authors next year as time and interest coalesce around additional choices.)

BINGO

We're thinking about offering a January to June BINGO card with varied prompts, and a July - December BINGO card that has authors in each square. BINGO can be completed as many times as a member likes, or all spaces can be completed, at your option.

Are you down for author Bingo?

Here's the Jan - June proposed BINGO card. (I apologize for how difficult it is to imagine a BINGO card without the ability to present a table with rows and columns.) Any theme can be satisfied by either non-fiction or fiction books.

A1 Witches
B1 Science/Nature/ the Environment / climate change
C1 Booker, Stella or Booker International Prize Nom or Winner
D1 Author of Middle Eastern descent
E1 Graphic Novel

A2 Author of African descent
B2 Memoir or Biography (Woman subject)
C2 Classic (first published on or pre-1973)
D2 Short Story Collection
E2 Wales

A3 Author or MC identifies as LGBTQ+
B3 Fantasy
C3 FREE
D3 Indigenous Author
E3 Book in a Series

A4 YA or NA
B4 Essays
C4 Health, Fitness or Healthcare (includes Mental Health)
D4 Feminist Politics
E4 Author of Asian Descent

A5 Disability (author or theme)
B5 Africa
C5 Book by Zora Neale Hurston
D5 SciFi
E5 Retelling of a folktale or myth

Let us know what you think.

I am happy to give suggestions for Welsh books - books set in Wales or written by authors of Welsh heritage. I may also be able to find some ideas for books that could cover more than one bingo prompt, which is always useful to have as a backup. For example Sarah Waters is Welsh and identifies as LGBTQA+, Tishani Doshi has a Welsh mother and South Asian father and has also written folk retellings.

Sonia wrote: "I am happy to give suggestions for Welsh books - books set in Wales or written by authors of Welsh heritage. I may also be able to find some ideas for books that could cover more than one bingo pro..."

I had no idea Waters is Welsh! I’m reading Affinity for my IRL mystery/true crime book club later this month. I’m excited to take you up on your offer, Sonia, as we get into next year. Thank you.

Carol wrote: "Thanks again for all of your feedback and suggestions. This update goes with comment 45 above as a ..."

Carol, excellent job for the plan. I think everything looks great. To answer your question about indigenous authors, yes, I'd love to see a full year challenge. Although I read 1 or 2 a year, I'd love to do more.

Question on Bingo A4: What does NA stand for?

Thanks!

Carol, you did an excellent job with the line-up for next year. And I'm so happy you included Fantasy & Horror for the fourth quarter.

I'm also excited for the first quarter - I've really been into climate change and solarpunk science fiction for the past couple of years, so this will be a great opportunity to fill up my TBR.

The Bingo card also looks exciting!

Sonia, I'm looking forward to your Welsh recommendations.