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