The Ten Best Books About Women

Everyone loves lists, right?  They make life easier.  So, even though I have no clue who the author Bidisha is, I am willing to see what she deems to be "the ten best books about women" in her recent article in the UK's Guardian.

What a list!  I've only read two of these books, but one was very influential in forming my literary "career"--Reading Lolita in Tehran.  And because that wonderful book is on Bidisha's list, I'm willing to give the others a try.  I am particularly intrigued by Joan of Arc: In Her Own Words and Intercourse.  Wow, the TBR pile next to my bed just got higher!

Click here for the full list.  What would your Ten Best Books About Women list look like?

Literary Masters: The List!

Your long wait is over!  The 2013/2014 Season of Literary Masters is officially launched!  You will find the reading list below.  As you'll recall, I allowed my LM members to vote this season; they chose our eight titles from a long list of books.  Everyone had fun with this, although making a decision wasn't easy!  First, here's the long list:
  
Fiction Category: (I asked members to vote for six out of the following titles; please note that the prizes and awards are for the author, not necessarily for the title listed below.)

1. The Son by Philipp Meyer (Guggenheim Fellowship)
2. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, O. Henry Award)
3. The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud (PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction nomination)
4. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, Orange Prize for Fiction)
5. The Dinner by Herman Koch; translated by Sam Garrett (Publieksprijs Prize)
6. The Burgess Boys by E;izabeth Strout (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
7. The Round House by Louise Erdrich (National Book Award for Fiction, Guggenheim Fellowship, National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction)
8. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid (Man Booker Prize nomination)
9. The Innocents by Francesca Segal (National Jewish Book Award for Fiction, Costa First Novel Award, Women's Prize for Fiction nomination)
10. The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
11. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler (California Book Award Silver Medal, PEN/Faulkner Award nomination)
12. Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner (National Book Award finalist)

Oldie but Goodie Category: I asked members to vote for one of the following titles:

1. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
2. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
3. A Dry White Season by Andre Brink
4. Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
5. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren

Non-fiction Category: I asked members to vote for one of the following titles:

1. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
2. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
3. God's Hotel by Victoria Sweet
4. The Season of the Witch by David Talbot
5. The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

How would YOU have voted?  Keep reading to find out how Literary Masters members voted!

 
 The 2013/2014 Season of Literary Masters Book Groups and Literary Salons Reading List is:

 

October: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

November: The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud

December: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

January: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

February: The Innocents by Francesca Segal

March: Telex From Cuba by Rachel Kushner

April: God's Hotel by Victoria Sweet

May: The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

 

So grab your reading glasses and join us for another fabulous season of digging deep into literary treasures!

 

To find out more about Literary Masters book groups and salons, or if you'd like to join us, please visit my website: www.literarymasters.net

1. Publieksprijs Prize
   Publieksprijs Prize