The book that I looked forward to the most from my TBR stack was History by Elsa Morante, and the novel that surprised me the most was A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in a Conquered City by Anonymous. After reading both of these novels back to back, I could not stop my brain from making connections between the two stories and their subject matter.
Read MoreIn 1963, Rusty Berstein, Nelson Mandela, and fifteen other heads of the African National Congress (ANC) were arrested and charged with over 220 acts of sabotage with the goal of a “violent revolution.” The World That Was Ours details Hilda’s experiences, as well as her husbands and the other leaders of the ANC, leading up to the “Rivonia Trial,” which would determine the fate of the activists.
Read MoreMargaret Powell started out as a kitchen maid, the lowest rank in the servant hierarchy, yet she managed in time to become a respected cook, and, as a mature woman, enrolled in further education classes, even attending lectures in philosophy. In later years, she regularly appeared in talk shows.
Read MoreThe Door takes a humanistic approach to examine the greater questions of Hungary, finding its national identity and how it is for a country to rectify with their past after years of war and oppression.
Read MoreThe Far Cry tells the story of a father and daughter who move from London to India in the mid-1940s. Thanks to Smith’s personal experiences, the novel is filled with beautiful and realistic descriptions of the journey from England to India and the environment Smith found when she stepped off the boat. There is also a light sprinkling of feminist ideas throughout.
Read MoreWomen Within by Anne Leigh Parrish is a novel with a subtle subtext, which is about lost opportunity, respecting the elderly, making one’s peace with relatives, about finding new meaning in life, and perpetuating the torch of womanhood.
Read MoreIf I could describe Willa & Hesper by Amy Feltman in one word, it would be a 'slow burn,' okay, I guess that was two words. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something light to digest or for young adults.
Read MoreCall me crazy but with a bit of digging, there are examples of empowered women within the Gilded Age to be found, and I love finding them. I was pleasantly surprised that The Age of Innocence contains one of them.
Read MoreI was extremely excited to read this book because very rarely do biographies about gay black women get told. Lorraine Hansberry is a famous playwright whose most notable work is A Raisin in the Sun.
Read MoreThe Scarlet Letter may have been written by a man, but the novel’s main character, Hester Prynne, is a strong female character, and I’d like to argue that Hawthorne gave her a very feminist mindset and attitude from the very start of the story.
Read MoreFrankenstein has been told and retold since its publication, but one thing that is certain, is that the original novel is not so much about fear or horror or monsters, but what happens when a living thing becomes lonely.
Read MoreMore often than not, I find books that are 'hyped' by mainstream media to be disappointing. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is one of these books that have been a New York Times bestseller, and so fittingly is the first book that I am reviewing that I did not enjoy reading.
Read MoreI recently finished a historical drama about Ms. Alcott’s life called Only Gossip Prospers by newcomer Lorraine Tosiello. In addition to giving the readers an intimate look into Louisa May Alcott’s life and her personality, it also gives insight into New York City at the end of the 19th century.
Read MoreMy Brilliant Friend is the first book out of four in the Neapolitan Novels written by Elena Ferrante. Elena Ferrante is the Lemony Snicket of Italy. Similar to how the author of the series The Series of Unfortunate Events uses the pen name Lemony Snicket, the author of the Neapolitan Novels, employs the pen name, Elena Ferrante.
Read MoreLittle Women by Louisa May Alcott was one of my favorite books that I read when I was a child. I picked up this 1923 French translation by P.J. Stahl at one of those free libraries that seem to be popping up everywhere. As I started to read this 1923 French version of the story, I was immediately taken back to the first time I read it.
Read MoreThe book selected for November for the meeting at Paper Boat Booksellers is Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine. The theme for the meeting at this location is feminism in France and the United States. Books selected for this theme can vary from just focusing on feminism in that particular country or an author who has a relationship with both of them. I choose this book because it is a collection of short stories about Mexican women in the Southwest region of the United States.
Read MoreThe book selected for November for the meeting at Moonshot Coffee is Here's to You, Jesusa! by Elena Poniatowska. The theme for the meeting at this location is feminism around the world, so I decided to start in Mexico! Elena Poniatowska is one of Mexico's most famous female writers.
Read MoreSomeone at a Distance is the last novel Whipple wrote and is the first novel by her that I have read. Whipple is presently experiencing a renaissance due to the bookshop Persephone in London republishing a majority of her novels, which happened to be the place I found the book.
Read MoreI was recently given the opportunity to work on Mona Eltahawy’s latest, The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls, and I jumped at the chance.
Read MoreThis month I chose to review the novel Disortiental by Négar Djaradi. What drew me to this book is the main setting is Paris, the main character is bisexual, and it’s a story about exile.
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