also, i would totally recommend still life! it has a respectful view on taxidermy from a person who is initially an outsider to the field. it covers the history and present of taxidermy concisely but thoroughly. i’m definitely biased towards it because i appreciate taxidermy but even if you aren’t the author breaks down stereotypes and gives a different perspective about the topic (while not being too biased, imo). and taxidermists seem like they’d be awesome to hang out with!

I am glad that you want to spotlight women in literature. here is a web sight by women about women in literature. http://vidaweb.org/

when people tell me that they read twilight, i usually try to get them to check out “better” vampire books. three quick favorites (and this is from someone who really doesn’t enjoy vampires – but these are well written/hilarious):
Evernight series by Claudia Gray
Boys that Bite by Mari Mancusi
Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey

ooo, I would recommend ‘Slouching Towards Bethlehem’ by Joan Didion. It’s a beautifully varied collection of essays about California in the sixties. If anything, I’d say read the essay on San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury culture during the Summer of Love is most definitely worth a look. :]

I would definitely read Atlas Shrugged instead of The fountain head if you are going to do Ayn Rand. I mean though you have to take a step back and try realllllly hard not to get sucked up in the fantasy world she weaves and realize that it cannot work and that she left out major major points. But it is a fantastic novel =]

Geek Love fucked with my head so hard omg, I’m jealous that you get to take that trip.

I generally strongly recommend against reading anything by Ayn Rand but like Angela said at least Atlas Shrugged is a better(ish – it’s still really bad) story.

Jack the Ripper – Case Closed is a compelling argument but not really case closed. It’s awesome for some true crime goodness though.

Definitely pick up something by Flannery O’Conner, really anything by her.

The Bell Jar and Transformations to throw in some awesome female poetry.

thanks for all the suggestions, these are definitely getting added to my list! i’m also putting ‘tipping the velvet’ and ‘orlando’ on and probably some sylvia plath (but not the bell jar, i read that right before a semi-recent break up and it was a baaaad idea)
ie. ayn rand: it’s too late for me, i’ve already read and reread the fountainhead and atlas shrugged a bunch of times. i never take her seriously though, it’s like a trashy novel but long and somewhat tied to a philosophy. one of my summer traditions is to reread an ayn rand book, anthem is too short and i’m pretty sure i did atlas shrugged last summer so fountainhead it is. bring on a truly terrible female character and ridiculous (and disgusting) rape! (i totally agree with the criticism!)
ie. geek love: ugh i’m such a rereader, i’ve read this before too but it’s been a couple of years. i’m excited to see what jumps out this time

I like the idea of reading only female writers. I’ve spoken with a lot of friends (male and female) who seem to dismiss them. I’ve been keeping a list of all the books I’ve read this year, so far I’ve read 31 of which (unintentionally) 20 were women. I think my favourites probably were by women as well.
Can I recommend Margaret Atwood (Oryx and Crake is my favourite but The Handmaid’s Tale and Life Before Man are up there) and Catherine Hall (she has two published books – Days of Grace and The Proof of Love – both of which I go back to time and time again despite breaking my heart).

Oh, and with regards to Sarah Waters, ‘Fingersmith’ and ‘The Night Watch’. Brilliant.

You said you wanted to read graphic novels – my favorite graphic novel by a lady is Alison Bechdel’s FUN HOME. Not only is the art fantastic but it’s an amazing literary coming-of-age / coming out story.

I’ve been pimping Catherynne Valente like there’s no tomorrow, but she’s so awesome and I love every word she writes.
‘Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang’ by Joyce Carole Oates is a really great story, as well as a scathing critique of the treatment of gender, class, and race. With bonus lesbosexy subtext!

If you like urban fantasy, Dianne Sylvan is coming out with the second book in her Shadow World series in a few weeks. I have the first one and it was really good.

I got Chicks Dig Time Lords and Whedonistas in the mail today and I’ve been blasting through them today. Fannish goodness!

Nalo Hopkinson writes really great sci-fi from a Caribbean context.

Dorothy Allison’s ‘Bastard Out of Carolina’ is a classic for good reason and if you haven’t read it for the book club yet, you should give it a try!

‘Baby Remember My Name: An Anthology of New Queer Girl Writing’ edited by Michelle Tea is great if you like short stories, plus it’s all written by homogays for homogays.

‘I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight’ by Margaret Cho is good if you’re in the mood for political/social commentary with some biting wit (<A HREF="http://www.margaretcho.com/content/category/blog/"her blog is also good for that).

“Cunt: A Declaration of Independence” by Inga Muscio is a chatty, friendly exploration of women’s relationships to their cunts (and the rest of their bodies too) and thoughts on improving those relationships.

Amber Benson’s Death’s Daughter books are good for a light, fun beach read.

‘Kindred’ by Octavia E. Butler is a sci-fi classic and a fantastic, if depressing, read.

‘Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel’ by Jeane Kilbourne is also a depressing read, but for a different reason. It’s necessary though, I think.

It’s not a book (SOON, though!), but if you like comedy Hyperbole and a Half will kill you dead. With the funny. “The Party” was the first entry I ever read and I haven’t been the same since.

Okay, that’s all I can think of off the top of my head. I’m moving and my books are all packed up, or I’d have more. But you should be able to find something interesting to you in there, hopefully!

If you read YA or fantasy, Malinda Lo’s “Ash” and “Huntress” (especially Huntress) are quite great and easy read.
Virginia Woolf’s “To the light house”, anything by Jane Austen and Emma Donoghue, Sarah Waters’s “Fingersmith” are also brilliant..

the name of the star, by maureen johnson #jacktheripper #contemporary