Looking at the pile of books on my bedside table I was a little taken aback at all the male authors names staring back at me. Where were all the ladies at?
Last month I read two books by men so I thought I’d rectify that and read two books written by women this month…
Go Set A Watchman, Harper Lee
Goodreads says… From Harper Lee comes a landmark new novel set two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird. Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch–“Scout”–returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in a painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past–a journey that can be guided only by one’s conscience. Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer understanding and appreciation of Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity, passion, humour and effortless precision–a profoundly affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own times. It not only confirms the enduring brilliance of To Kill a Mockingbird, but also serves as its essential companion, adding depth, context and new meaning to an American classic.
Rosie says… I don’t know about this one you guys! I absolutely loved To Kill A Mockingbird and I have been told not to think of Go Set A Watchman as a sequel but how can you not when the same characters appear, only 20 years later?!
There was a lot of controversy around the book and whether Harper Lee wanted it published before her death and I’ve tried not to let that cloud my judgment. To me this feels like a first draft with ideas that weren’t fully fleshed out. Suddenly you get to the crux of the story and then BAM it’s finished. And I’m sorry, you can’t make Atticus Finch a racist!! YOU JUST CAN’T!
Read this book… if you loved To Kill A Mockingbird hmmm maybe not!
Past The Shallows, Favel Parrett
Goodreads says… Brothers Joe, Harry and Miles live with their father, an abalone fisherman, on the south-east coast of Tasmania. Everyday their dad battles the unpredictable ocean to make a living. He is a hard man, a bitter drinker who harbours a devastating secret that is destroying him. Unlike Joe, Harry and Miles are too young to leave home and so are forced to live under the dark cloud of their father’s mood, trying to stay as invisible as possible whenever he is home. Harry, the youngest, is the most vulnerable and it seems he bears the brunt of his father’s anger.
Rosie says… This book was recommended to me by a couple of people when I put the call out for titles at the beginning of the year and it definitely didn’t disappoint. It’s devastatingly heartbreaking! Parrett writes about the Tasmanian landscape so beautifully you feel as though you’re there with the brothers, huddled under a blanket, cold and scared for their futures.
Read this book… if you love a haunting and woeful story.
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Read any good books lately?… (especially female authors?)
Ciaosies 💋
Categories: Books
A Red Lip And A Nude Shoe 
I read The Member Of The Wedding by Carson McCullers. That was good. She was a woman 🙂 Only novella length. Try her novel The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter. Unbelievably she was only twenty three when she wrote it. And still a woman.
I think I Have The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter on my to-read list, and do you know I didn’t realise it was written by a woman – YAY! Thanks Andy 😉
I have a bunch of female authors in my TBR pile. Actually, I some how came to read books mostly written by women. I am not sure how that happened. If you like urban fantasy I highly suggest The Hollows Series by Kim Harrison. I love her books so much and the best part is that The Hollows series is over so you don’t have to wait a year between each book. It’s also a bad thing because it was such a fantastic series. There is also The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward.
If you like YA check out The White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter. Showalter has a newer series in the process called Everlife. The first two books were really good. And I am in love with The Red Queen Series by Victoria Aveyard and The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. Also, I have loved just about every book by Julie Kagawa.
Sorry, I read a ton of YA books. I’m guessing there are not a lot of male authors in that genre.
Awesome, thanks Heather! Right after I posted I went online and made sure to stock up on some female authors and restored the balance to my reading pile hahahaha 😉