Reading challenges are encouraged and undertaken everywhere on the blogs and podcasts that I love, but up until now, I’ve  shrugged them off as overwhelming. Who has the time to read books in addition to what is already on your nightstand? was my usual objection. Funny how you always eat your words.

Days later I started drafting a post that included the one thought…

“I’m unfailingly drawn to women’s voices: in music, literature and television.”

This is usual blogging practice for me. Catch one phrase out of the soup, digest, ruminate, flesh it out later. This particular thought was odd however because though I felt very strongly about it and noticed the pattern in my life – for example my “girls” playlist in iTunes – I had no idea what else needed to be said… yet.

Enter Lily, one of my Chicks on Lit friends and book blogger, who posted on Sunday about a brand new challenge called Women Unbound, a real blog community effort, that is set to run from November of this year to November of next. My imagination was instantly captivated and recognized that I had been given the means to delve further into undiscovered thoughts. Awesome.

Women Unbound now has it’s own blog where you will find all the rules of participating and pretty buttons to decorate your blog if you’d like to participate. The general theme is fairly obvious, but…

Participants are encouraged to read nonfiction and fiction books related to the rather broad idea of ‘women’s studies.’  The definition according to Merriam-Webster is the multidisciplinary study of the social status and societal contributions of women and the relationship between power and gender.

And there are different levels of commitment, which I like!

• Philogynist: read at least two books, including at least one nonfiction one.
• Bluestocking: read at least five books, including at least two nonfiction ones.
• Suffragette: read at least eight books, including at least three nonfiction ones.

Ever since discovering the challenge, I’ve been pouring over my to-read shelf over at Goodreads, my own physical bookshelves as well as all of the other participants reading lists to find just what suited me best. I’ve even saved the hashtag search for #unbound on Twitter as it’s a good resource and place to chat. Best of all, here is the complete list of participants. Watch it, there will be some amazing reviews.

At the end of it all, I’ve made my own challenge reading shelf at Goodreads that you can check out, but I’ve copied and pasted my choices here as well. The results are a combination of classics I’ve always wanted to read, fantasy I wasn’t ready for once upon a time but am now, science fiction, lots of southern (read: home) influence, one Canadian and one from my profession.

I’m thrilled and am diving into The Handmaid’s Tale first, as I picked up a hardcover copy last time I was at the Goodwill 1/2 off sale and it is one of the November reads for the Chicks. And yes, I’m going for my Suffragette badge of honor. I have the sudden urge to put Mary Poppins on! lol

I always said that my mom raised me to be a good feminist. Here goes!

Nonfiction:

The Maternal Is Political, Shari MacDonald Strong (Editor)

The Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler

The Curse of the Good Girl, Rachel Simmons

Notes on Nursing, Florence Nightingale

A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf

Fiction:

The Color Purple, Alice Walker

Kindred, Octavia Butler

The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Children’s Book, A.S. Byatt

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

The Awakening, Kate Chopin

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