Reading Women Challenge Selections

I had a comment on my first Reading Women Challenge post asking about if I had picked out books in advance. I did pick all of my books in advance and I am going to share them now with you. I will note which ones I am currently reading and which ones I have finished. Which is an extremely sad amount but I still have time to finish the challenge right?

1) A book by an author from the Caribbean or India:
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

2) A book translated from an Asian language:
Love in No Man's Land by Duo Ji Zhua Ga, Hallie Treadway(translator)

3) A book about the environment:
Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit by Vandana Shiva

4) A picture book written/illustrated by a BIPOC author:
Through Georgia's Eyes by Rachel Victoria Rodriguez

5) A winner of the Stella Prize or the Women's Prize for Fiction: 
And American Marriage by Tayari Jones  ✔

6) A nonfiction title by a woman historian: 
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold ✔

7) A book featuring Afrofuturism or Africanfuturism: 
How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin

8) An anthology by multiple authors: 
Hags, Sirens, and Other Bad Girls of Fantasy by Denise Little

9) A book inspired by folklore: 
The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty ✔

10) A book about a woman artist: 
The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland ✔

11) Read and watch a book-to-movie adaptation: 
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

12) A book about a woman who inspires you: 
Jane Addams: Spirit in Action by Louise W. Knight

13) A book by an Arab woman: 
The Women of Tantoura by Radwa Ashour

14) A book set in Japan or by a Japanese author: 
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee ✔

15) A biography: 
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

16) A book featuring a woman with disability: 
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller ✔

17) A book over 500 pages: 
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon -- currently reading

18) A book under 100 pages: 
Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

19) A book that's frequently recommended to you: 
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ✔

20) A feel-good or happy book:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

21) A book about food:
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

22) A book by either a favorite or new-to-you publisher:
the Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

23) A book by an LGBTQ+ author: 
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier ✔

24) A book from the 2019 Read Women Award Shortlists and Honorable Mentions:
The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esme Weijun Wang

BONUS
25) A book by Toni Morrison:
Sula

26) A book by Isabel Allende 
Daughter of Fortune

Current & Recent Reads

I wanted to write a quick post talking about some of the books I am currently reading and have recently finished. I have been going through a bit of a reading slump that I think was brought on by Covid-19 quarantine so I am trying to be kind to myself and get back into reading without forcing it. If anyone has any suggestions for managing reading slumps as a mood reader(I am a notorious mood reader) I would really love to get some ideas.

First I will talk about the books I have finished reading.

I listened to the audiobook The Five: The Lives of Jack The Ripper's Women by Hallie Rubenhold. It was amazing and I highly recommend it. She does not talk about the actual murders but writes 5 biographies about each of the women and focuses on how history had painted them as prostitutes when in actuality only one of them was. She also really dives into the social and cultural atmosphere of London and public welfare of the time. I read this book shortly after reading the entire Call The Midwife trilogy and I highly recommend reading the Five in conjunction with those books. It paints a fascinating picture of the East End of London and welfare.

I also listened to a couple of Audible Originals. Caffeine by Micheal pollan was interesting to listen to as an avid coffee drinker. He talks about the social and economic development and impact that coffee or rather caffeine has had on specifically the western world. My other listen was The Science of Sci-Fi. I really enjoyed as a lover of science fiction, especially how much the author talks about Star Trek. If you enjoy Sci-Fi I highly recommend giving this a listen.

Now on to what I am currently reading.

First I am so close to finishing Reclaiming The Atonement. It is a bit more of a heavy theological but there have been so many interesting bits in it. I know it is the first book and I am looking for books two and three to add. I really enjoyed Reardon's chapter where he talked about how St. Paul was educated by the tradition of the church.

My other current reads are The Innovator's Mindset which I am reading for work. The author focuses mainly on innovation in education but there are some takeaways I have for my future in social work. My last current read is The Power of Self Compassion. I started this book as it seemed good timing with current events in the world and there are some bits about science and practice. What I am not enjoying is the guided practices maybe there are people who need that but I would much rather read about the science of why and various options for self-practice and then do it on my own. But that is just me.

What are your current or recent reads?

Star Trek Discovery & Captain Pike

My dad is a huge fan of The Original Series so he was a little hesitant about Discovery and but I think season two managed to do some things that he really enjoyed. Particularly related to Captain Pike. What he enjoyed specifically was the references to the original pilot( The Cage) with Captain Pike. I enjoyed how Discovery tied in with The Cage but I enjoyed even more Anson Mount's performance as Pike. He really stepped right in to play Pike and didn't even skip a beat. It was so enjoyable to watch him on screen with the Discovery crew. I am absolutely thrilled that Pike, Spock, and Number One will be getting their own Star Trek series with the Enterprise in Strange New Worlds. I also like the title they chose referencing the speech Kirk and Picard give in The Original Series and Next Generation episode opener.

However, I want to talk more about how Discovery tied into The Cage and how well they did it, as I think it was probably the best part of the entire season.  So let's go through what was well done.

The first thing my dad noticed with tying it into The Original Series and The Cage is Number One. I really wish we had her actual name but it wasn't revealed in Discovery and I think it is the only choice that I find a little odd but I digress. However, the choice to keep Number One and have her be a woman just like in the original series let along make sure she was brunet shows attention to detail. My dad talked about what a big deal it was to have a first officer be a woman and it was not received well and Gene Roddenberry was forced to change and not have a woman first officer. But Discovery has brought Number One back and I am excited to get to know her more.


The second part that Discovery tied specifically to The Cage was including the planet Telos IV and the Telosians. It gave a clear and firm tie. My dad was actually quite please with the upgrade the Telosions got in design. Yes it doesn't look exactly like in The Original Series but special effects makeup and CGI have upgraded. However, Discovery stayed true to the original concept of the design. Vina also being there provided a clear tie to The Cage. I am not sure if I fully understood her connection to Captain Pike but maybe I need to rewatch The Cage to get a bigger picture. However, I also know that Discovery was also handling what we know will happen to Captain Pike in the future.

I am looking forward to when Covid-19 will allow filming to happen and we can watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.