[Waffle]Hey! Surprise, yes it’s me! I don’t even want to see how long it has been since I last posted. I really wanted to write a post yesterday, but I wasn’t sure what to review, then I remembered it’s International Women’s Day today, so I thought why not write something for that?[/waffle]
Anyway, I’ve mentioned before that I’m in this great Feminist Bookgroup. We read books (obviously) and talk about them but we try to pick books which are feminist or which we can discuss with feminism in mind. 99.9% of the books we read are by women, although it’s not a rule.
So I thought for this IWD I’d look at the 5 best books I’ve read with my bookgroup (In no particular order). Links are to amazon, review links (where they exist) are noted.
Milkman is set during ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland. It’s told through the voice of one girl, and is really an illustration of everyday life at the time. There are a whole host of different characters, and feminism definitely comes into it. It can be a bit tough to get into because the style of writing doesn’t really ebb and flow, but it really creates a strong voice for the character and, despite it not being an ‘easy’ read I really loved it, and it went down well with my bookgroup.
I’m surprised I hadn’t written a review for this one because I loved it so much, and I’m not sure I could write a coherent review now. The Psychology of Time Travel starts with time travel being invented by 4 women, one of the women has a mental breakdown which has to be hidden. The story focuses on women from different times who are all affected by time travel, and the events which follow the first trip. It’s part sci-fi, part murder mystery, part romance. This one was a big hit with the bookgroup.
The Power is sexism reversed. When women gain a power which means they can harm others with an electric shock from their fingers they balance of power is twisted and women end up on top. This was another big hit.
This is our most recent bookgroup read (although tomorrow we meet to discuss ‘Sworn Virgin‘). It was a really good one to get us chatting, and it
was well liked. This book follows the stories of different women, of different ages and cultures, all who would call themselves feminists. It’s a really good illustration of the different intersections and ages of feminism, how it’s evolved, and how we need to join together.
Home Fire is the story of Isma and her family. After years of raising her siblings Isma is finally doing something for herself, but she is worried about her sister, and her brother has run away on a jihadist mission, and that might tear her new world down. I honestly can’t remember lots about this book except the general premise, and that it was really good.
See some of my old IWD/general feminism posts: Great Literary Women /Top 10 Books for Feminist Readers/All the Things The Witches in Harry Potter Taught Us: Part 1–Part 2–Part 3/
