Latest Update: March 2022 to April 2022, we are reading Hood Feminism

 

Latest Update: March 2022 to April 2022

These weren't formally announced but we are reading them and will have a discussion in the near future!

March/April '22 Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Buy from the: US or UK

Jan/Feb. '22 Girl, Woman, Other: by Bernardine Evaristo

Buy from the: US or UK

And make sure to join us on facebook

Nov. / Dec. '21: Eco-Activism

Thank you all for your patience.

Our new topic comes from Emma Watson from her work in Glasgow at the United Nation's Climate Change Conference; COP 26. The UN filled the event with topics on Adaptation and Resiliency, Capacity Building, Education and Youth, as well as Gender. Gender has long been intertwined with these issues – from women gathering firewood to the Chipko Andolan Tree Huggers protest – so women must be part of any climate change solutions. Input from women, however, has either been excluded or greatly minimized in the decision making process.

To further explore this topic of ecofeminism and eco-activism Emma suggests a few books through the COPBookFairies. 

OSS will be reading the following two books in November – December 2021:

How Women Can Save The Planet by Anne Karpf (US | UK)

How Women Can Save The Planet, which explores how women are suffering the most from the climate crisis and yet who have done the least to cause it. Karpf argues we need gender equality. The highest-profile climate activists today are women and girls (see our second book) but it’s a very different story at the top table where the future of the planet is being decided primarily by men. 

A Bigger Picture My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis by Vanessa Nakate (US | UK)

A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis. This is Nakate’s manifesto and memoir about climate justice and how we can—and must—build a livable, inclusive future for all. Nakate has been a vocal advocate about the inequalities within the climate justice movement for a long time. Most notably when in January 2020 her image was cropped out of a photo by the Associated Press leaving only white activists. We cannot move forward by excluding people from the discussion. 

We hope these books help motivate and inspire you and your eco-activism efforts.

Happy reading!

- OSS Mods

Emma posted on IG of her recommended quarantine books. She listed these as her completely unmissable essentials.

 

Hello lovelies!

Emma posted on IG of her recommended quarantine books. She listed these as her completely unmissable essentials.

We won't be reading these as a book club, but you're welcome to pick them up and let us know in the comments below what you think and how these have helped you during quarantine.

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

US - UK

This Is Going to Hurt Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay

US - UK

Braiding Sweetgrass Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer Braiding

US - UK

Black on Both Sides A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley

US - UK

What books would you add to your personal quarantine list and why?

Bill gates announced his top 5 summer books

 

Bill gates announced his top 5 summer books:

And our colleague has put up a useful website to help you get the books quickly:

https://avipars.github.io/BookClub/billgates2021.html

We hope you find this new template useful and we will work on improving it for mobile and desktop in the future!

New posts

 For the latest posts, please join us here: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/oursharedshelf

July/August book! The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf

Dear Our Shared Shelf,

A myth this month, by Naomi Wolf.

Hope you enjoy,
E xx 

May/June book! The Handmaid's Tale

Dear Our Shared Shelf,

Our next book – Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale – is a gripping read, but it won’t make you feel comfortable. It is set in a dystopian future where a society (which was once clearly the USA) is ruled by a fundamentalist religion that controls women’s bodies. Because fertility rates are low, certain women – who have proved they are fertile – are given to the Commanders of the ‘Republic of Gilead’ as ‘handmaids’ in order to bear children for them when their wives cannot. The novel purports to be the first-person account of a handmaid, Ofred, who describes her life under this totalitarian regime. Flashbacks to her past, when she took it for completely for granted that she could be a working mother and have an equal relationship with her husband, show how easy it was for women’s rights to be revoked once a period of social chaos arose. As tension builds, the reader desperately hopes that the underground resistance will come to Ofred’s aid and rescue her.

Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale over thirty years ago now, but it is a book that has never stopped fascinating readers because it articulates so vividly what it feels like for a woman to lose power over her own body. Like George Orwell's 1984 (a novel that Atwood was inspired by) its title alone summons up a whole set of ideas, even for those who haven't read it. As Atwood has said in an interview: 'It has become a sort of tag for those writing about shifts towards policies aimed at controlling women, and especially women's bodies and reproductive functions: "Like something out of The Handmaid's Tale".'

Well, here's our chance to read beyond the ‘tag’, and share our thoughts about how we think its dystopian vision relates to the world of 2017. Atwood has called it ‘speculative fiction’, but also says that all the practises described in the novel are ‘drawn from the historical record’ – i.e. are things that have actually taken place in the past. Could any of Atwood’s speculations take place again, or are some of them taking place already? Are the women in the book powerless in their oppression or could they be doing more to fight it? I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

Emma x
http://amzn.to/2oTQ13m

Mar/Apr book! Women Who Run With the Wolves

Dear Our Shared Shelf,

When WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES was first published in 1993, it created a furore about the idea of the Wild Woman archetype and how women had lost our connection to our natural, instinctual selves. Jungian psychoanalyst, poet, and keeper of old stories Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ book went to sell over 2 million copies, but today her fascinating book is rarely discussed. Estes’ ideas are both ancient and completely new. She points to storytelling, our ancient narratives, as a way for women to reconnect to the Wild Woman all women have within themselves, but have lost. 

As a young girl growing up in northern Michigan, Estes felt most at home in the woods where she often heard wolves howling. Instead of scaring her, the animals’ cries comforted her in a way she was later able to express in this book. Wolves and women share many qualities: playfulness, strength, curiosity, bravery, they are adaptive, and each care deeply for their young. But both wolves and women have suffered a similar fate of being hounded, harassed, exhausted, marginalized, accused of being devious and of little value. How does one reconnect with our deepest, most true selves when today’s world demands us to conform to ridiculous expectations? Estes retells ancient myths and fairy tales from around the world and in doing so shines a light on a path which leads us back to our natural state --- and help us restore the power we carry within us.

Emma x 
US: http://amzn.to/2lC02h2

100,000 Members!

I didn't know what to expect when I started this Book Club. To have 100k members in less than a month is amazing and for this I am so grateful but even more amazing is the level at which I see these topics being engaged with and discussed and how generous people are being with their responses and insights into the material. This is what is meaningful to me. Then more recently to look on Instagram and literally see people from all over the world coming together to discuss these issues in groups, over Skype, in person, mothers and daughters, friends, selfies, pictures of cats and dogs curled up next to their owners alongside #MyLifeOnTheRoad, peoples' favourite reading snacks.... For this I cannot thank each of you enough because frankly it's just so heart warming. It's so much more than I had allowed myself to imagine it could be. Gloria emphasises in all of her work the need for solidarity and community; we are 'linked not ranked'. If this book club can be that, a link between people, then I've done a good thing and I'm very proud. I'll keep going out there and trying to make this the best it can be, harassing whoever I need to harass to get questions answered or figure out the next best thing to read. 

To celebrate 100k members I've started an Instagram account because I wanted to put all of the amazing images, quotes, pieces of artwork, selfies etc that people have been sending in one place. Take a look: www.instagram.com/oursharedshelf and Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ossbookclub/ 

Thank you again for investing so much and making this what it now is. Love to you all. 

Jan/Feb book! The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

Dear Our Shared Shelf,

This book isn't strictly just a book - it's a play that became a political movement that became a world-wide phenomenon. Just say the title The Vagina Monologues and, even now, twenty years after Eve Ensler first performed her ground-breaking show, the words feel radical. I'm very excited about spending the months of January and February reading and discussing a book/play that has literally changed lives.

The first person's life it changed was the feminist playwright Eve Ensler's. She says she didn't so much 'write' her play as act as a conduit for other women's stories. She had become fascinated by how the word 'vagina' was never spoken, and how the vagina itself was kept in the dark as if it was something shameful to discuss. So she started interviewing women about their vaginas - getting them to open up to her. Once women started talking, the stories came thick and fast, and Eve put them together into a series of monologues to be performed on stage.

When the play was first performed in 1996, it was a small, off Broadway production. But soon it began to make huge and controversial waves. It was the time of the Bosnian war and terrible stories were emerging of the systematic rape of Bosnian women. One of the monologues was inspired by these stories, and out of those first performances of The Vagina Monologues grew the V-Day movement to stop violence against women. The first V-Day was on Valentine's Day 1998 when a group of well-known actresses got together to perform Eve's monologues. Since then the V-Day movement has become international, with The Vagina Monologues being performed in theatres and on college campuses worldwide. Even today there are people trying to ban those performances.

I'm so interested to see which monologues we all like best, and which ones still shock us. Has the world moved on in twenty years, or are there still aspects of women's sexuality we can't talk about, through our own fears or because others try to stop us? Do we think art can change the world?

Emma x
US: http://amzn.to/2ijTHVs
UK: http://amzn.to/2hdKosu

Nov/Dec book! Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou

Dear Our Shared Shelf, 

November and December’s book will be Mom & Me & Mom, Maya Angelou’s final work, published a year before her death, in 2013, when she was 85 years old. It was the first book to focus on her mother, Vivian Baxter, who abandoned Angelou when she was a child and it portrays their complicated relationship. The story is about the special connection between mother and child; both women found a way to move on and form a profound and enduring bond of love and support.

Many of you may be familiar with Angelou’s 1969 classic, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, but that was just the first of seven works of autobiography. And, despite the length of time between their publications, some have referred to Mom & Me & Mom as a spiritual sequel to this first book. Angelou revisits episodes and people in her life mentioned in her previous works in a different context and all focused around her relationship with her mother. 

Vivian Baxter cuts a fiercely unapologetic figure, imperfect but admirable, and we discover not just how she had a hand in Angelou’s evolution as a black woman but also in her feminist perspective, her independence and self-awareness, all of which contributed to her unique way of looking at the world and the way she expressed herself on the page. As a result, this is perhaps the greatest window into what shaped Angelou as a writer and poet and a fitting end to a lifetime of amazing works.

This book is one I have read before and is one of my favourites - I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

Emma x 
US: http://amzn.to/2ektR3p
UK: http://amzn.to/2e6Zwtb

Sept/Oct book! Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Dear Our Shared Shelf,

For September & October, I’ve chosen a book that tackles inequality and women’s rights head-on: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

Half the Sky depicts, in eye-opening detail, the various cultures and customs that suppress women and gives a voice to those individuals who need to be heard the most. Traversing through Africa and Asia, Kristof and WuDunn introduce us to some incredibly strong women and describe their stories of suffering and survival. Most importantly, the book spotlights how these women were able to stand up and transform their lives and, through their inspiring examples, we learn that the key to enabling change and economic growth is in unleashing women’s potential (the title of the book, after all, comes from the ancient Chinese proverb, “Women hold up half the sky”). Kristof and WuDunn dare us, as readers, to join the cause and Half the Sky shows us how, by doing even a very small amount, we each have the power to change other women’s lives. 

Since its publication in 2009 it has started a global movement (www.halftheskymovement.org). 

Hope you like, 

love,

Emma 

US: http://amzn.to/2aXfXjU
UK: http://amzn.to/2blbKL5

July/August book! Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl

Hi everybody, 

The winner of the poll for July & August’s book is Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, by Carrie Brownstein!

Thank you for voting and I’m really looking forward to reading this one with you all. 

Love,
Emma 

  

Announcements: July/August

Dear Our Shared Shelf,

Some announcements!

First, after careful consideration I’ve decided to make books bi-monthly to give people enough time to borrow/buy, read and discuss each book (I hope this gives everyone some extra breathing space. For eager beavers and keen beans I might add a few extra things to look at when a new book is posted. 

Second ! For the first time………….. I want YOU to decide what we read over July/August so I’ve set up a poll. I’ve added some ideas to get you going but I’d love to see your suggestions too if you feel strongly. I can’t wait to see what you all pick!

Love, 

Emma x 

June Book: Persopolis

Dear Our Shared Shelf, 

Our next book will be Persepolis, a graphic novel that serves as the memoir of the author, Marjane Satrapi. It's about a bold and brave young woman and her experiences in 1980s Iran.

Persepolis was first published in French in 2003 and like Art Spiegelman's Maus (which was about the Holocaust and was the first graphic novel to win the Pulitzer Prize) is now widely considered a classic of the graphic novel form. 

Satrapi grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and its aftermath; Persepolis is the story of her childhood. Through Marji's youthful (though not-always-innocent) eyes and mind, we see a turbulent moment in history unfold, and we witness the tremendous impact that local and global events and politics can have on even the most intimate moments of personal lives.  We experience with Marji her day-to-day dreams and struggles, from family strife to wrestling with religious faith and custom.  We're swept up in her parents' anxieties and her grandmother's memories of an utterly different era.  And we get a very real sense of what it was like to be a woman in Iran during this intense time of cultural and political transition. 

As Iran enters another important period of change, with relations re-opening with much of the world, I think this is a particularly good time to pick up Persepolis.  Satrapi's deceptively simple, almost whimsical drawings belie the seriousness and rich complexity of her story--but it’s also very funny too. 

I’m excited to hear what you think.

Love, 
Emma x
 

May book!! The Argonauts, by Maggie Nelson

Dear OSS,

I've been searching high and low for our next book. The club has been much more international than I had anticipated - and much bigger. I'm really proud of my club members - discussion-wise - you are all hitting it out of the park. I'm having to find books that are accessible, cover multiple perspectives and languages, that are unique and not too well known already... So without further ado... 

Our next book is going to be The Argonauts, by Maggie Nelson. The story is about the author’s relationship with artist Harry Dodge, who is fluidly gendered. It's about their romance, the birth of their son, the death of Harry’s mother and their changing bodies, as Maggie becomes pregnant and Harry undergoes surgery, but it’s also about inclusion and the powers and shortfalls of language. It might require a bit of work but The Argonauts rewards us with an expansive way of considering identity, caretaking, and freedom—along with a liberation from, what Maggie calls, “the demand that anyone live a life that’s all one thing.” I am excited to read this book with you. Maybe it will change the way we think and speak about others and ourselves?

Hope I did you proud,
Em Wats X 
http://amzn.to/1TCoQBh

April book!! How To Be a Woman, by Caitlin Moran

Dear OSS, 

This month I am choosing a book which I confess I have already read. It is so brilliant though. It deserves to be read more than once. 

Maybe you read Caitlin’s article in my Esquire guest edit this month ("12 Things About Being A Woman That Women Won’t Tell You")… Maybe you’ve seen some of the hype about her new book Moranifesto... Either way, she is an English hero of mine who I think you need to know. On a side note, this book also appears to have been translated into lots of languages and should be reasonably easy to get hold of. 

You’ve probably guessed it by now, April's book (for a little light relief) is ‘How to Be a Woman.’ I read it on a plane from London to New York and I laughed out loud and cried so much I think the whole of my cabin, airline staff included, thought I was losing my mind. (For speedy readers out there, I am also going to read Moranifesto). 

Love, 
Emma xx

http://www.esquire.co.uk/culture/advi...

http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Woman-Ca...

http://www.amazon.com/Moranifesto-Caitlin...

http://www.caitlinmoran.co.uk 

Third book!! All About Love: New Visions, by bell hooks

This month's book choice is in honor of bell hooks who interviewed me for Paper magazine this month. Maya Angelou said of bell’s work, “Each offering from bell hooks is a major event, she has so much to give us’. I love hearing from bell, I am pretty excited to start “All About Love: New Visions". It’s been on my list for a while. 

http://www.amazon.com/All-About-Love-...

  

Love,
Emma x

The Color Purple

Hugs an FYI - the books I am suggesting I haven't read myself. I am learning and reading for the first time with you. I am trying to choose works that cover as much ground as possible and are diverse... I've heard amazing things about this book from a person that I trust... The musical is currently on Broadway (starring Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Hudson and Danielle Brooks) and a film was made of the book in 1985 by Steven Spielberg. It was Oprah Winfrey’s film debut and introduced Whoopi Goldberg (I love both of these women). I’m excited to read it and maybe do some watching too.

Love,
E xx

http://amzn.to/1SVHIhN

From Gloria Steinem

TEN BOOKS FOR A DESERT ISLAND

If I were marooned on a desert island, I would want a book on edible plants and building a raft, but here are ten I would choose for the pleasure of big and new understandings.

The Mermaid and the Minotaur, Dorothy Dinnerstein In a migratory past when both men and women raised children, men developed empathy, patience, attention to detail, and a sense of the value of life; all qualities now wrongly called “feminine.” Dinnerstein will convince you that men again raising children is the key to world peace.

Exterminate All the Brutes, Sven Lindquist By traveling in Africa while also learning from hundreds of books stored in his computer, Lindquist shows us that racism was invented to justify colonialism. Racism came home to Europe as the holocaust.

Two Thousand Seasons, Ayi Kwei Armah In the communal voice of a storyteller, this great Ghanaian novelist describes Africa before Arab and European invasions and slave-taking. He not only re-defines history, but how history is told.

The Sacred Hoop, Paula Gunn Allen By describing the Americas before Columbus and what is still the biggest genocide in history, she tells us that “the root of oppression is the loss of memory.” Otherwise, we would know that most of what we want in the future was once here. 

Trauma and Recovery, Judith Herman From shell shock in World War I to childhood sexual abuse today, the reality of trauma has been denied. But as this indispensable book makes clear, “Remembering and telling the truth about terrible events are prerequisites both for the restoration of the social order and for the healing of individual victims.” 

At the Dark End of the Street, Danielle McGuire For a decade before Rosa Parks began the Montgomery bus boycott, she had been protesting the rapes at bus stops of black women by white men. This book helps make the female half of the civil rights movement visible.

The Color Purple, Alice Walker Because she makes the invisible visible, and redeems people who seem irredeemable, she makes every reader feel visible and redeemable, too. 

Sex and World Peace, Valerie Hudson et al All the many forms of violence against females have now added up to fewer females on earth than males. Since violence against females is the normalizer of all other forms of violence, this book is vital, from family life to foreign policy.

The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston If a Chinese girl living in the back of a laundry in San Francisco can imagine herself as a woman warrior riding down from the hills of China to rescue her people, I can imagine myself off this island.

Dark Matter, Robin Morgan Though I plan to live to 100, this soon-to-be published book of poetry contains my favorite lines:

….It’s sweetness 
that turns leaving sour, joy that makes dying hard.” 

# # #