read harder challenge – Page 20

“During the Middle Ages, there was a special English word for women who dared to speak in public: they were labeled scolds.” (BINGO!)

Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language by Amanda Montell

September 8, 2019 by faintingviolet Leave a Comment

Fellow Cannonballer kdm posted on Facebook about reading Wordslut and based on her recommendation and its eye-catching cover I immediately requested it from my library. I’ve read my share of feminist books over the past several years, trying to build my own repertoire of experience and knowledge whether it be in the form of a treatise on Single Ladies, the recollections of a self-described Bad Feminist, or feminist geeks, or the story of a heroine of mine the Notorious RBG. Amanda Montell’s Wordslut is a […]

“And in taking on the subject of themselves-making themselves vulnerable to the unseen reader-they have exchanged powerlessness for the power that comes with self-awareness.” (CBR11 Bingo)

Couldn’t Keep it to Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters by Wally Lamb and the Women of the York Correctional Institution

September 1, 2019 by faintingviolet Leave a Comment

The task list for one of my challenges strikes again. Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge includes a book written in prison. I was struggling to decide what to read for this one, I wasn’t particularly interested in reading a book by the type of criminal who would be the type to get a book deal in the first place. Then a bit of internet research led me to this collection edited by Wally Lamb of the work the women of the writing group he co-facilitates […]

“You want to know about anybody? See what books they read, and how they’ve been read.” (CBR11 Bingo)

The Bone People by Keri Hulme

August 12, 2019 by faintingviolet Leave a Comment

I don’t know if I knew what to expect when I decided to read The Bone People. I knew it had won the Booker Prize, which isn’t always a great indicator if I’m going to enjoy a book or not, and that it was an Own Voices book by a New Zealand author. Keri Hulme spent over a decade crafting a story of people of Maori heritage in the part of the country she still lives in, and she was steadfast in writing the novel […]

“Between the ocean and the mountains is a wild forest. That is where I want to make my home.” (CBR11 Bingo)

Gender Queer: a Memoir by Maia Kobabe

July 21, 2019 by faintingviolet 2 Comments

Back in March Emmalita read and reviewed Gender Queer: a Memoir by Maia Kobabe and it put this book onto my radar where it previously hadn’t been. I had been quietly on the lookout for Cannonballer reviews of books by or about non-binary people to help fulfill a Read Harder challenge, and while I have only read a few books by transgender authors (that I’m aware of) I had likely read none by non-binary authors (I may have, I’ve not been great about tracking that […]

“Happiness is not just an act of optimism – it is an act of defiance.” (CBR11Bingo)

Mrs. Martin's Incomparable Adventure (Worth Saga #2.75) by Courtney Milan

July 13, 2019 by faintingviolet 1 Comment

Courtney Milan really is fantastic at writing novellas. Even the ones I don’t love are still fantastic reads. The Governess Affair is one of my favorite books, period, and A Kiss for Midwinter is one of the few books I’ve read more than once in the past several years. Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure ranks right up there with them. While the book is part of the Worth Saga books, it absolutely stands alone, which I can attest to because the only other book in the […]

Continuing Adventures of a Mischievous Kitten (CBR11 Bingo)

Chi's Sweet Home, Part 2 by Kanata Konami

July 7, 2019 by faintingviolet Leave a Comment

Since this is only the second manga I’ve read, ever, I thought it would count nicely for the CBR11 Bingo square Not My Wheelhouse. When I read Part 1 last month I was taken with Chi and her family and since my library had Part 2 available, I requested it. Why not spend a little more time with this precocious kitten? On the whole I’m glad I picked up the next phase in the story, we follow the family as they move into their new […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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