We Love Strong Women!

March is National Women's History Month and we've been featuring books that reflect on important and inspirational female figures. Our booksellers chose books that range from feminist theory to humor essays, novels to historical biographies. Included below are just a few of those selections:

Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life by Lisa Chaney
"Though much has been written about Chanel as a fashion icon, few books have been able to crack the veil of ambiguity surrounding Coco's personal life. In this detailed biography, Chaney reveals a woman made tough by her circumstances and driven to succeed irregardless of consequence." Recommended by Mechio.

Meaning of Freedom by Angela Y. Davis
"Angela Davis has been a hero of mine since the early 80's. I was lucky enough to be a student at San Francisco State University while she was a professor in the Ethnic Studies Dept. After taking two classes from her and attending several of her public lectures, I feel she is the most articulate and compassionate speaker, scholar and author and author regarding issues of race, class and prisoner rights." Recommended by Terri.

The Woman Behind the New Deal by Kirstin Downey
Kathy Z. writes, "This book may look and sound like a quintessential bore, but it's anything but. Much forgotten today, Frances Perkins was ahead of her time by decades. She was a true progressive hero throughout the first half of the 20th century, advocating health care, labor rights and social security. Her complex and troubled personal life never interfered with her tireless work for the public. A terrific book!"

Communion by bell hooks
Anna's recommendation of this book is simply an excerpt from it: "Everything is bearable when there is love. My wish is that you try to give more people more love. The only thing that lives forever is love." 

Miss Fuller by April Bernard 
Recommended by Sarina: "To read a compelling story that gives you a sense of female radical Margaret Fuller's personality, pick up this book. Miss Fuller is historical fiction with an emphasis on fiction. Bernard takes many liberties with the narrative --- inventing a primary character, positioning us within Fuller's fictionalized correspondence --- but these sort of transgressions seem to me the sort that the heroine would not only forgive, but welcome."

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
"Along with many of you, I suspect, I was utterly charmed by her in her NPR interviews. That same voice rings out in her book. Her childhood stories are fascinating and her attitude, inspiring." Recommended by Mary. 

Facing the Wave: A Journey in the Wake of the Tsunami by Gretel Ehrlich
Judith suggests this book: "Gretel Ehrlich --- adventurer, essayist, poet --- creates a compelling glimpse of life and survival of the spirit in Northeastern Japan following the devastation of the Great Wave."

Ladies of Literature

This month saw the publication of the 2012 VIDA Count, a study of gender representation in literary journals. VIDA's results are, sadly, not that surprising. Male reviewers and male authors hold the staggering majority of feature articles. The VIDA Count surveyed a broad selection of journals, including the New York Times Book Review, the Boston Review, Granta, Harper's, POETRY, The New York Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, New Republic, The Nation, etc...

The study is revealed in conjunction with National Women's History Month, which began the first day of March. Even more buzz has been generated by the events of the AWP Conference in Boston, including a discussion moderated by VIDA Board Member Cheryl Strayed. (Yes, the Cheryl Strayed of Wild!) And there are some awesome conversations emerging from the most recent numbers, including this conversation with Tin House editor Rob Spillman. While the voices of women have come a long way, we certainly have a lot of room to grow, as a culture, towards equality in publishing. But these surveys and talks allow us to reassess our growth, and adjust accordingly.

_Sarina
Bookseller