Joining the Women Unbound Challenge

Well, now that you’ve seen all the books I’ve already read that would work for the Women Unbound Challenge, it’s time for me to tell you which books I’m planning on reading! I’m joining at the Suffragette level (and have had the Mary Poppins song in my head for two days!), so I’ll be reading at least 8 books. These are all nonfiction; I might add some fiction in the mix, but I really love nonfiction challenges. ;) I’ve divided the list up into categories, then it’s sorted alphabetically by title. (And sorry, feed readers, about triple-posting! That’s what happens at the end/beginning of month due to my love of challenges, lol.)

Books by/about International Women

• A Border Passage by Leila Ahmed : an Egyptian woman who now teaches women’s studies in the US…definitely good for this challenge!
• A Russian Diary by Anna Politkovskaya : Politkovskaya was an incredibly brave journalist assassinated for her coverage of events in Chechnya; I’ve been wanting to read her books.
• Aphrodite by Isabel Allende : I read a different memoir by Allende earlier this year and loved it; this one is a sensual examination of food. Sounds like fun!
• Autobiography of a Geisha by Sayo Masuda : I read Memoir of a Geisha a few years ago-now I’d like to read the real thing! ;)
• Born in the Big Rains by Fadumo Korn : A memoir by a Somalian woman; y’all know I’m all about reading authors from new countries!
• Days and Nights in Calcutta by Bharati Mukherjee : I’m fascinated by India. :D
• Foreign Correspondence by Geraldine Brooks : Had to have an Aussie on there! ;) I wasn’t a huge fan of Children of the Book, but I always try to give authors a second try. And who doesn’t love penpals?
• Freedom From Fear by Aung San Suu Kyi : I read 3 books about Burma earlier this year, and they made me really want to read a book by this nonviolent resistance hero!
• Imagining Ourselves by Paula Goldman (editor) : The subtitle is: Global Voices From a New Generation of Women…need I explain further? ;)
• Kickboxing Geishas by Veronica Chambers : I don’t really know much about contemporary Japanese society, and the title and cover really called out to me!
• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi : I’ve been wanting to try out one of her graphic memoirs forever!
• The Good Women of China by Xinran : I’m curious, after reading several male Chinese novelists whose writing upset me as a woman, what life is like for Chinese women.
• The Tiger Ladies by Sudha Koul : My favourite Rushdie is Shalimar the Clown, and it made me fall in love with Kashmir, so I’d love to learn more about it!
• There is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene : Wendy put this on her list; it reminded me that I’d been wanting to read it. It’s about an Ethiopian widow who ends up turning her house into a refuge for AIDS orphans.
• When Heaven and Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip : I just recently read my first book (fiction) by a Vietnamese author, and I’m interested in learning more about the country!
• When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago : I don’t think I’ve ever read something by a Puerto Rican author.

Culture (psych, religion, etc.)

• Gender Outlaw by Kate Bornstein : the GLBT challenge got me reading about transgendered people, and I want to continue. It must be so difficult to be a woman in a man’s body!
• Once Upon a Quinceanera by Julia Alvarez : going to high school in San Antonio, I definitely know about quinceaneras, but I think it’d be interesting to read a book about them!
• Price of Honor by Jan Goodwin : Like many non-Muslim Western women, I’m always curious about the veil, and Goodwin spent four years visiting lots of Muslim countries to interview women about their feelings on it.
• Slut by Leora Tanenbaum : I knew I wanted a book about women and sex on my list, but I couldn’t stomach a book about rape…this one will still be difficult to read I’m sure, but it’s important.
• Through the Narrow Gate by Karen Armstrong : loved the first Armstrong book I read (A Short History of Myth) so now I want to read her memoir about being a nun!
• Women Who Run with Wolves by Clarissa Estes : I’ve had this on my shelves since last May! I should read it one of these days. ;)

Essays

• Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith : I love the title of this essay collection! And I’ve been meaning to read Smith. :)
• Every Day is a Good Day by Wilma Mankiller (editor) : a collection by Indigenous women about their lives; I’d love to peek into such a different culture than mine.
• In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens by Alice Walker : I’ve always wanted to read Walker, but I can’t get into The Color Purple-I’m hoping her nonfic will work for me!
• Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou : I’ve been wanting to read this ever since I saw its gorgeous cover in a bookstore last fall!
• Shattering Stereotypes by Fawzie Afzal-Khan (editor) : a post 9/11 collection by Muslim American women? What’s not to love?
• Subject to Debate by Katha Pollitt : all Debi and Ana’s fault! :)
• The Maternal is Political by Shari MacDonald Strong : Debi mentioned this in her post, and said Dewey had reviewed and loved it too!

Science

• Another Day in the Frontal Lobe by Katrina Firlik : I love the writing of another surgeon (Gawande), so when I saw this one on Debi’s list, I wanted to read it too.
• Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent : in another life, I’d be a midwife, so I definitely wanted a book by one on this list!
• Birth by Tina Cassidy : It really is amazing what the female body can do (although I certainly don’t think you have to be pregnant and give birth to be a woman!), and this is a world history of childbirth.
• Nobel Prize Women in Science by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne : Debi has this one listed; I’m curious about the women who triumphed in a male-dominated field.
• Walking With the Great Apes by Sy Montgomery : I loved another Montgomery book I read last month (Spell of the Tiger) and this one looks at the three famous women scientists studying Great Apes: Goodall, Fossey, and Galdikas.
• Women: an Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier : I didn’t like the other Angier book I read (The Canon), but I want to give her another try, and this title and topic were too good to resist. Also, Ana told me to read it and tell her if its worth buying. :p

Straight Up Feminism

• Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti : Heather did a great review of this; I’ve been wanting to read it ever since!
• A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf : I love Woolf’s novels, so it’s about time I got around to reading her seminal feminist work!
• Taking on the Big Boys by Ellen Bravo : this is a book about why feminism helps both men and women; doesn’t that sound like a great attitude?

Women’s History (mainly US, but not completely)

• Freedom’s Daughters by Lynne Olson : I think the Civil Rights Movement is so interesting, and this is about the role African American women played.
• Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog : Saw this on Vasilly’s list; I think it’s important, as a white American, that I read books by Native American authors.
• My Journey to Lhasa by Alexandra David-Neel : a travelogue by a Victorian middle-aged woman who pretended to be a man and sneaked into Tibet!!! How awesome is that?
• Sojourner Truth: a Life, a Symbol by Nell Irvin Painter : the only things I know about Sojourner Truth I learned in elementary school…that’s kind of embarassing.
• Tender Murderers by Trina Robbins : I recently read a novel about an accused woman murderer (Alias Grace), and it’s made me curious to find out more!
• The Age of Homespun by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich : I loved Ulrich’s Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History (which I read earlier this year), so I knew I wanted to read one of her straight-up history books. As as a knitter, crocheter, and sewer, this one jumped out at me!
• The Latin Deli by Judith Ortiz Cofer : about a Latin neighbourhood in NYC; that’s got to be interesting!
• The Mitfords: Letters Between Sisters by Charlotte Mosley (editor) : I’ve been wanting to read this since it came out: what an awesome sister pack! :)
• The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser : Love the title! And it’s about women leaders from Boadicea to Thatcher; I’m curious to see such a breadth of women in one book.
• Women’s Work by E.J.W. Barber : This looks at women from 20,000-500 BC; I’m always curious about ancient history!