Ep. 1 | Pilot

June 1, 2016 Reading Women

Bailey’s Prize Shortlist

Cynthia Bond: Ruby
Anne Enright: The Green Road
Lisa McInerney: The Glorious Heresies
Elizabeth McKenzie: The Portable Veblen
Hannah Rothschild: The Improbability of Love
Hanya Yanagihara: A Little Life

Books Mentioned in this Episode

Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O'Connor
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

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Music “Stickybee” by Josh Woodard

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Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend. ⠀ Did you have a chance to listen to our most recent episode? We talk more about the Nobel Prize for Literature and why Toni Morrison and Pearl S. Buck were chosen. ⠀ . ⠀ What did you all read this weekend?⠀ . ⠀ . ⠀ . ⠀ #thereadingwomen #readwomen #womenwriters #nobelprize #pearlsbuck #thegoodearth #classiclit #literature #books #bookstagram #bookworm #book #reading #booklover #read #bibliophile #booknerd #bookish #instabook #bookaddict #igreads

Thanks to @BloomsburyPub #partner for sending us these books! I first heard of Deborah Levy when her novel HOT MILK was released in 2016. What I didn’t know was that she’s working on what she calls “a working autobiography.” Together, these two books form a story about what it means to be a woman and a writer told through Levy’s own experiences. Both of these books are slim, so I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of her observations. Definitely recommend. - A⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #thereadingwomen #womenwriters #readwomen #deborahlevy #thecostofliving #thingsidontwanttoknow #nonfiction #books #bookstagram #reading #bookish

ICYMI, we have a Q&A on the blog with Roshani Chokshi, author of the Star-Touched Queen series. Here's a taste:⠀ Q: Your stories focus on women of different personalities and talents, illustrating a wide range of strong female characters. To you, what’s some of the most important things to consider when writing these women’s stories?⠀ A: I think, as with any character, creating something complex means playing with nuance. When I think about these women, I think about their individual wants and their griefs. Desire isn’t an active emotion, but more like a chasm, so I need to know what that darkness and absence feels like. If I’m writing about what makes them scared, I have to know what makes them feel safe. So, when I’m writing their stories, I’m actively writing to their weaknesses to show their strengths.⠀ .⠀ Read the full Q&A on our blog or follow the link in our bio!⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #thereadingwomen #readwomen #yalit #thecrownofwishes #startouchedstories #shortstories #bookstagram #reading #books #womenwriters #readmorebooks #friyay #weekendreading #recommendedreading

ICYMI, we have a Q&A on the blog with Roshani Chokshi, author of the Star-Touched Queen series. Here's a taste:⠀ Q: Your stories focus on women of different personalities and talents, illustrating a wide range of strong female characters. To you, what’s some of the most important things to consider when writing these women’s stories?⠀ A: I think, as with any character, creating something complex means playing with nuance. When I think about these women, I think about their individual wants and their griefs. Desire isn’t an active emotion, but more like a chasm, so I need to know what that darkness and absence feels like. If I’m writing about what makes them scared, I have to know what makes them feel safe. So, when I’m writing their stories, I’m actively writing to their weaknesses to show their strengths.⠀ .⠀ Read the full Q&A on our blog or follow the link in our bio!⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #thereadingwomen #readwomen #yalit #thecrownofwishes #startouchedstories #shortstories #bookstagram #weneeddiversebooks #womenwriters #readmorebooks #friyay #weekendreading

Winner of the Ockham New Zealand Award for Nonfiction, Ashleigh Young's CAN YOU TOLERATE THIS? is an insightful collection of essays featuring moments from everyday life. There never seems to be enough New Zealand #womenwriters here in the U.S., so this book is a rare treat. ⠀ .⠀ Check our review of this collection in the newsletter tomorrow. Make sure you're subscribed so you won't miss out!⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #womenwriters #essays #thereadingwomen #readwomen #literature #corgisofinstgram #readmorebooks #newzealand #bookworm #booklover #newsletter

💫NEW EPISODE💫 We've loved learning about some of the (few) women who have won the #NobelLiterature prize. In our latest episode, we talk more about Pearl S. Buck and Toni Morrision. We chat about the impact of their work and why they were chosen to win the Nobel Literature Prize. Available in our bio or wherever you get your podcasts. . . . . #thereadingwomen #readwomen #pearlsbuck #thegoodearth #tonimorrison #beloved #literature #bookreview #bookpodcast #bookstagram #nobelwinner #books #reading

We adore historical family sagas, so it’s no surprise that we loved Crystal Hana Kim’s IF YOU LEAVE ME. It left us both devastated in the best possible way. . Over the course of two decades, we follow Haemi and her family as they try to reconcile their desires with the harsh realities of a post-war South Korea. We don’t often see women in war narratives, but Crystal focuses on her female characters, revealing the trauma and complications of living through such a tragic event. . To hear more about IF YOU LEAVE ME, check out our interview with Crystal via the link in our bio or in your favorites podcatcher! . . . . . . . . #thereadingwomen #womenwriters #crystalhanakim #ifyouleaveme#koreanlit #literature #recommendedreading #newbooks #readwomen#oursharedshelf #bookstagram

Svetlana Alexievich won the Nobel Prize in Literature “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.” Her book ZINKY BOYS: SOVIET VOICES FORM THE AFGHANISTAN WAR is absolutely one of those books. It's a riveting account of the soldiers, nurses, and people who were involved in this battle that lasted for a decade. ⠀ .⠀ Jennifer Helinek, a #booktuber from NYC, chose for this month's episode. This would be another great read for #WITmonth. Hear the full review on Ep. 49, available wherever you get your podcasts. ⠀ . ⠀ . ⠀ . ⠀ #thereadingwomen #readwomen #SvetlanaAlexievich #ZinkyBoys #WomeninTranslationMonth #womenwriters #literature #nonfiction #mondayreads #recommendedreading #bookstagram #nobelprizeforliterature #bookish #reading #bookrec

When we were prepping for this episode about Nobel Laureates, Gabriela Mistral was one of the names that I did not recognize at all. Once I started digging into her writing and reading about her as a person, I was smitten. She’s such an amazing woman-a teacher and a writer and a diplomat. It’s a tragedy that more Americans are not familiar with her work. . We review one of her poetry collections on the podcast this month. It’s not this edition, but I had to share this one with you all since it’s translated by the unmatchable Ursula Le Guin. It’s perfect for #WITMonth. . We’ve already heard from some of you who are already fans of Mistral. Any other fans out there? 🤚- A . . #thereadingwomen #womenwriters #gabrielamistral #poetry #ursulaleguin #nobellaureates #books #recommendedreading #nobelliteratureprize #reclaimhalfthebookshelf

Sometimes I think I can feel my backlist TBR watching me, all waiting for their turn. 👀 - K . . . . . . . #shelfie #toberead #tbr #readmorebooks #allthebooks #bookstagram #library #booksarelife #books📚 #bookshelf

One of our favorite YA fantasy worlds that we've discovered in the past few years is Roshani Chokshi's STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN series. The first two novels give us a look at two very different sisters and their own discovery that the world around may be more magical than it seems. Now Roshani is back with STAR-TOUCHED STORIES, a short story collection set in the same fictional universe. She tells us a little bit about why she wanted to return to this world and give us few more glimpses into these characters' lives. . Read the full Q&A on our blog or follow the link in our bio! . . . . . . . #thereadingwomen #readwomen #yalit #startouchedqueen #startouchedstories #shortstories #bookstagram #weneeddiversebooks #womenwriters #readmorebooks

Did you see our Q&A with Rebecca Makkai about her novel THE GREAT BELIEVERS? Here's a snippet. Find the full Q&A by following the link in our bio. ⠀ . ⠀ . ⠀ Q: Why did you choose the title The Great Believers for your novel?⠀ A: It’s from an F. Scott Fitzgerald essay called “My Generation.” I first encountered just the line “We were the great believers,” and was intrigued by the contrast between that and what Gertrude Stein had said to Hemingway (“You are all a lost generation.”) When I saw the full quote, which I use as an epigraph to the novel, I was even more struck by the question of what happens to the survivors of a decimated generation. My book is mostly about the AIDS generation in Chicago, and only a little about the Paris arts scene before and after WWI, but I like that the title helps tie them together. ⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #thereadingwomen #womenwriters #readwomen #rebeccamakkai #thegreatbelievers #authorinterview #newbooks #bookreview #bookloversday

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