whew This is extremely late.
Things have been busy offline for me lately, but instead of boring you with that, let’s just jump into a reading challenge for what remains of this month.
March brings spring, flowers, and a month-long celebration of women’s history for us to read through.
There’s a lot I want to articulate about women’s history, my own sense of being a woman, and the deep sense of enjoyment I derive from my own femininity.
But instead of spotlighting my own thoughts and experiences, I’d like to challenge us all to read the work of women who are often marginalized and excluded even within our own sister circles. For the month of March, try to read a book by a trans woman, a disabled woman, a neuroatypical woman, or a BIPOC woman over 65(aka an elder).
I’m not sure what I’m going to read just yet. I’ve been reading much more slowly than usual these days, but I hope I’ll get back into my usual groove soon. Still, I’m finding that it’s easier to find books about these women than by them, which is interesting. I just heard about S.T. Lynn’s Cinder Ella, which reimagines the fairy tale as a romance starring a Black trans girl. I may actually finally read Akwaeze Emezi’s Pet, especially now that the prequel has been released and is burning up #bookstagram.
As far as books by disabled or neuroatypical women, this is my chance to read autistic author Helen Hoang‘s romance novels. Maybe I’ll read Keah Brown’s memoir about being a Black woman with cerebral palsy, entitled The Pretty One.
For a book by an elder Black, Indigenous, or of color woman, I might check out the latest Nikki Giovanni collection, Make Me Rain. Bombay-born author Thrity Umrigar just turned 71, and just released a novel about interreligious couples called Honor. And I’ve been saying I’m going to read something by legendary Anishinaabe writer Louise Erdrich for literally years now. She’s 71, I own about 4 of her books and have never read more than a chapter so maybe now’s the time.
What will you read, beautiful people?
(This blog has affiliate relationships with Bookshop, so if you click on the links and buy books, we get a commission. It keeps the page shiny and bright. Thanks for reading, and peace! )
Equal Opportunity Reader 