The Books and the Back-up List

So, here's a tiny photo of the books I'm hoping to read for the Women Unbound challenge.  As I was digging them out, I was looking at what else I had on hand and came up with quite a few alternates in case these don't appeal later in the challenge.  What I love about these challenges is they give me an excuse to dig around in my book piles and pick up a new book to read. Or finally read a few of these, as the case may be.

A few more fiction titles:

Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Water (my last unread Sarah Waters novel)

No Name, Wilkie Collins

The Awakening and Other Stories, Kate Chopin (I really want to reread this in any case)

Someone at a Distance, Dorothy Whipple

Up the Junction, Nell Dunn

The Robber Bride, Margaret Atwood

Emma, Jane Austen

The Story of an African Farm, Olive Schreiner

Ann Veronica, H.G. Wells

Sex Wars, Marge, Piercy

And a few more nonfiction titles:

A History of the Wife, Marilyn Yalom

The Body Project: An Intimate History of America's Girls, Joan Jacobs Brumberg

Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years : Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times , Elizabeth Wayland Barber (How many times has this book ended up on various lists of mine!).  

Jane Austen: A Life, Claire Tomalin (or maybe her biography of Katherine Mansfield or Mary Wollstonecraft)

A Century of Women: The History of Women in Britain and the United States in the Twentieth Century, Sheila Rowbotham

Born for Liberty, Sara Evans - Another survey of women's history.

The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers, Thomas Fleming (This is actually about the women who played essential roles in their lives).

The Diary of Elizabeth Drinker, edited by Elaine Forman Crane - This is an abridgement of her actual diary, which consists of many volumes.  I've meant to read it now for ages (usual story of course).   It is "perhaps the single most significant personal record of eighteenth-century life in America from a woman's perspective."

Etty Hillesum: An Interrupted Life, the Diaries 1941-1943, and Letters from Westerbork, edited by Eva Hoffman - I've heard many good things about Etty's writing!

Women Travel: A Rough Guide Special, edited by Miranda Davies - This is the fourth installment.  I've got two others and I love these books.  They are made up of essays by women who have traveled far and wide.  Each country/region includes an excellent list of recommended reading (fiction and nonfiction).

Sorry, I realize this is a pooterish post and a bit of a rehash of yesterday's, but the weather here has been so fine for November it's nearly a sin to stay inside sitting in front of a computer!  Of course outside activities means lots of raking of leaves, and there are still more to fall.  I've discovered just how little I use the muscles in my left hand and upper arms as all this raking has made me very sore.  Saturday night I took a hot shower and laid in bed trying to read, but I only managed about four pages in two hours as I was aching too  much.  I know, seriously wimpy.  Had the day meants lots of walking I could have hacked it easily.  Alas, this is what happens when your job only requires you sit at a desk all day.  I hope to get in some reading today.  Dare I start one of the books in my photo?  Or should I wait until I finish something first?  Hmm.

Comments

[Salira]

That's a very nice list. I love reading essays about women too, just to see how other women live and compare and get inspiration from them. Debs at War, in your photo, looks very intriguing...

[Sakura]

I misspelled my own name above (not intentionally, but still), very very embarrassing.

[Nadia]

Love your list! You have a lot of awesome authors on there. I still have to make my list. So many wonderful women writers to choose from.

[catharina]

This is a very appealing challenge and I like your choice of books! It makes it rather difficult to stick to my (self)promise not to start another reading project before I have some clarity about how I want to proceed with my reading in 2010.

[Stefanie]

What a great list of books! I have several of them in my TBR piles too. We had great weather over the weekend as well and I spent a nice part of it outdoors raking leaves too. My arms aren't sore but my legs are because in addition to the raking I was in the garden cutting back all the dead perennials and stretching into odd positions. But it's a good kind of sore :)

[Dorothy W.]

These are excellent additions to your list of the previous day. The Elizabeth Drinker diary sounds really great, as do the women's travel essays. I can vouch for the Tomalin biography, as I really loved it. Sorry about the sore arms! I know how that goes. My legs are strong, relatively speaking, but riding my bike does little for my arms, and they are embarrassingly weak!

[Danielle]

Sakura--Sometimes my fingers don't go where I want them to on the keys either! :) I think I'm going to start with Debs at War when I finally pick one of these up. And I really like essays and must read more of them!
Nadia--I'd love to see your list when you finally choose the books you want to read. It is hard choosing and I have lots of good books that would work well with this challenge!
Catharina--I hadn't planned on starting anything new--rather whittling down my reading pile before the end of the year, but I couldn't resist. At least this is a long running challenge so I don't have to start right away.
Stefanie--Yard work is a great way to find out which muscles are in good shape and which ones...not so much. At least in my case it is! :) I also hacked away at some big branches that had fallen from trees--nothing like using a hand saw! It was so nice, though, I didn't mind it a bit and you're right about being the nice kind of sore (and tired)--you feel like you've accomplished something.
Dorothy--I thought since I've been lifting weights the raking wouldn't affect me much, but I guess I need to choose heavier weights! I have no upper body strength, which I hate. I've been curious about that Elizabeth Drinker diary for a long time now. I should keep it by my bed and just read an entry every night before sleeping. So many good books--it's hard to pick one to read next!

[Debby]

Good luck with your challenge! If you get to Up the Junction, I'll be curious to read your review, as I bought a copy on one of the trips to bookstores with Dorothy.

We have not yet begun to rake leaves, but when we do, it will remind me yet again of my fervent hope for a whirlpool tub someday. Sore muscles...ouch. :)

[Danielle]

Debby--It should be fun and I hope to get to some of the books at least. I thought Up the Junction sounded good and will get to it sooner or later. I think we'll have at least one more day of leaf raking. We're waiting for the rest to fall and then hopefully we'll be good for the rest of the year. A whirlpool tub would have been perfect after a day like I had. I took a hot shower, a couple of aspirins and was laying in bed by 8:00 on a Saturday! :)

[Matthew]

After The Moonstone and The Woman in White, which I enjoyed this year, No Name will be my next Wilkie Collins. I save it for the first month of 2010. I cannot wait! :)

[Danielle]

Matthew--Aren't those great reads?! I'm glad you enjoyed them. Maybe I will read along with you when you get to No Name. I've yet to read it and it is most definitely on my list. I just need to get through Wives and Daughters (since it is a long one).

[Eva]

I love your list! I was hoping you'd join in just so I could see what books you'd choose. :D

[Danielle]

Eva--This is one challenge I couldn't pass up. And it is fun seeing everyone's list. I've been noting down more titles!

[litlove]

Raking is hard work! And pulled muscles are extremely sore. Do hope you are feeling much better now. And this isn't a pooterish post at all - it's a fabulous collection of books and one I'll return to for inspiration.

[Danielle]

Litlove--I have no upper body strength, so I always expect to be sore after raking. It's good exercise, but boy did it wipe me out. I'm back to normal now, though, and I think I can avoid any raking this weekend!