Edmonton Lesbian+ Book Club

work, work, work Originally uploaded by kim.mama we've been busy. distracted. a little off the ball. but we're back on track. made some adjustments to the reading list - see the left-hand column. join us, okay?

This month we're reading Chandra Mayor's short stories "All the Pretty Girls." We've been on a streak lately of lesbian fiction with little to no actual lesbian content, so we're having some high hopes for this one. The sci- fi experiment was interesting. We had a couple of fans, and a couple of haters... the mixed bag always makes for good discussion. We tried to stretch the envelope looking for queer content but the gender neutral characters were all we could find. And they were creepy. Although some people wanted a diagram of way they mated because they couldn't visualize it... very amusing. If you find a diagram, illustration or some such? Send it, I'll post it! We also made a few adjustments to the reading list based on availability and stuff. Check the current reading list. We added Jewelle Gomez's The Gilda Stories due to one member's need for a story about a black lesbian vampire raised in a whorehouse. Ha! As always, we love request...

Here we go girls. This month we're reading Octavia Butler's Lilith's Brood . It's actually 3 books in one. But we can handle it. It's part of our reach out and touch some sci-fi venture. Last month's title, My Miserable Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy by Andrea Askowitz, was great. I loved it. A few were lukewarm. One person got a little scared since she's thinking about getting pregnant. The biggest part of the discussion was the great humour in her honesty about how she was feeling - how she didn't buy into the whole "i'm glowing and doing nature's work" myth that is out there for women; and then how there was this complete reversal when the baby came - the whole "i fell in love with the baby the second i saw her and knew just what to do and it made me feel like a natural woman" thing. I think some felt a tiny bit betrayed by that sudden flip in attitude. I myself experienced that instant bond and trusting my intuition about mot...

Looks good? I think so. Who's your daddy? Also? Interesting news stolen from afterellen.com : Carol Ann Duffy has been appointed poet laureate of Britain, a prestigious 341-year-old position previously held by men like John Dryden, Alfred Tennyson, William Wordsworth... Not only is Duffy the first woman to hold the position, she is the first Scot, the first mother, and the first lesbian.

what's on the shelf Originally uploaded by kim.mama Thanks to some great suggestions, we have a plan for the next few months of reading! A non-fiction title: My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy by Andrea Askowitz because at least one member of the book club is pregnant and I wish I were too. Fiction: Valmiki's Daughter by Shani Mootoo because basically, we're hopelessly devoted to her. A young adult novel: Breathing Underwater by Lu Vickers. Maybe it's not young adult. Maybe just about a young adult? Either way. A collection of short stories and a Lambda winner: All the Pretty Girls by Chandra Mayor - a Winnipeg author and because Kay thinks we should. We were going to wait for Chandra to be able to join us but everyone keeps requesting it so we're not waiting anymore! A classic that also happens to be sci-fi: Lilith's Brood by Octavia Butler because it was Trevor's first/best idea. Another non-fiction: Transparent: Love, Family and Living the T wit...

Okay. I have a confession to make. The first book we ever read in this book club was a science fiction title by Nicola Griffith: Ammonite . It was chosen by the members of the newly formed group and most of them (I think all 3 at that point?) really liked it. But here's my confession. I hate science fiction - yes, I'm making a blanket generalization about a whole genre. I just do. I have a mental block about it. I'm sure Ammonite has all kinds of goodness to it, but I got to page 7, saw the word "airlock," and I was done. I just couldn't push through. So, several book club members of late have decided we need to go down that road again. To punish me, maybe. To expand my horizons, maybe. Anyhoo, we've been researching like mad, with the help of the wonderful Trevor at Audrey's Books. And I've got a long list of titles to choose from. So. Go. Read below. And tell me your opinion. Quick! Before I change my mind. Octavia Butler: Lillith's Brood A...

2 favourite things at pride Originally uploaded by kim.mama Was anybody at Pride? Was everybody at Pride this weekend? Man, it was crowded. My little one and I didn't last too long but it was fun. Also, the Lambda Lit Awards were announced and I've been meaning to post some of the winners. BISEXUAL Open , Jenny Block, Seal Press LESBIAN DEBUT FICTION The Bruise , Magdalena Zurawski, Fiction Collective Two/University of Alabama Press LESBIAN FICTION (a tie!) The Sealed Letter , Emma Donoghue, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and All the Pretty Girls , Chandra Mayor, Conundrum Press LESBIAN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY Sex Talks to Girls , Maureen Seaton, University of Arkansas Press LESBIAN MYSTERY Whacked , Josie Gordon, Bella Books LGBT SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR Turnskin , Nicole Kimberling, Blind Eye Books

Zami was a great read the first time and I loved it more the second time. Audre Lorde is cool, face it. She was radical. She was brash. She pushed back.

Skim was good. That seems to have been the consensus. It's won about a gazillion awards. Including being nominated for the Governor General's award . You can even become a fan of Skim on facebook . Cute. Sweet. Ambiguous. Interesting. Definitely a glimpse into teen-dom. For those of us *cough* who barely remember. I had my usual aversion/problem with interpreting the graphic parts. Words I know how to interpret. The graphics? I struggle. Sigh. Found out some interesting stuff about the author and illustrator - they are cousins. One lives in Toronto and seems to be adroit at pretty much everything. The other is from Calgary (come see us someday, 'kay Jillian?!) and lives in New York and makes a living with her art. Which I admire. And love. Makes me happy for them. Check out Mariko Tamaki's site and Jillian Tamaki's site too. Apparently we're trend-setters too - the CBC book club has chosen Skim as their June title! Check out the pod-cast! Next month we...

The 2008 Lammy finalists have been announced! Lesbian Fiction The Slow Fix , Ivan E. Coyote, Arsenal Pulp Press The Sealed Letter , Emma Donoghue, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Map of Ireland , Stephanie Grant, Scribner All the Pretty Girls, Chandra Mayor, Conundrum Press Breaking Spirit Bridge , Ruth Perkinson, Spinsters Ink Lesbian Debut Fiction Red Audrey & the Roping , Jill Malone, Bywater Books Passing for Black, Linda Villarosa, Kensington Closer to Fine, Meri Weiss, Kensington Love Does Not Make Me Gentle or Kind, Chavisa Woods, Fly by Night Press The Bruise, Magdalena Zurawski, Fiction Collective Two/University of Alabama Press Lesbian Memoir/Biography Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy, Susan Griffin, Shambhala Publications Intersex (For Lack of a Better Word), Thea Hillman, Manic D Press Sex Variant Woman, Joanne Passet, Da Capo Sex Talks to Girls: A Memoir , Maureen Seaton, University of Arkansas Press Case of a Lifetime , Abbe Smith, Palgrave Macmillan It's great t...

adopted: veprecose Originally uploaded by kim.mama meaning: full of prickly shrubs or bushes heh. savethewords.org is a fun site with some words that have fallen into disuse and are being dropped from dictionaries.

So. Apparently, *someone* in our book club knows *someone* featured in this book - Secret Service: Untold Stories of Lesbians in the Military by Zsa Zsa Gershick. That alone qualifies it for our reading list. Hee. Seriously, it sounds really interesting, don't you think? Another memoir just caught my eye too: My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy by Andrea Askowitz. It sounds very funny and a little bitter. Anybody in?

In case you didn't know what IHOP stood for. April's selection is The IHOP Papers by Ali Leibegott. We met last night to chat about Dionne Brand's novel What We All Long For . There was a lot to say. For one thing, we tried to answer the question - what did the main characters long for? Did they long for love? For release from the ties to their families' troubles? I myself loved the depiction of Toronto - having lived there myself for a couple of years. It felt really honest. Not everyone loved it, but all of us found it fascinating to read and discuss. The book made us examine the immigrant experience, race, familial relationships, art, music, and on and on and on!

bloghead Originally uploaded by kim.mama In case you hadn't noticed, I decided we needed a logo. Ha! Nothing fancy, just something a little jazzier to blend in with this standard blogger template. But back to the topic at hand. Future reading. Been thinking on that. Some people want to read Radclyffe Hall's classic The Well of Loneliness . I like that idea. Some others (me!) want to read Audre Lorde's classic Zami . A newer title caught my eye - All the Pretty Girls by Chandra Mayor, a Winnipeg author. All the Pretty Girls is a collection of short stories, so a bit tougher for discussion, but still. Winnipeg author! Nominated for the Lambda in the Lesbian Fiction category! Another nominee that caught my eye was Stephanie Grant. Her latest novel, Map of Ireland , sounds delightful! Seriously. "In Map of Ireland , Stephanie Grant has written a novel of hard times that is a jagged jewel of perfection... it is as if Charles Dickens had written a tomboy." ...

Discussion of Southland was heated! There were lovers and haters of the book. From the topic of the Japanese internment during WWII to the race riots of L.A. in the 60s, there was lots of history to slog through - in a good way. I'm not sure I'm qualified to summarize the whole discussion because it really ran the gamut from the truly analytical - why so many voices and points of view; how one-dimensional some characters seemed; the author's choice to flip frequently from one time period to another - to the more subjective - why didn't Jackie break up with her girlfriend before kissing another woman?!; why did everyone love the grandfather so much? It was a great discussion. Thanks everyone. March's title is Dionne Brand's 2006 novel What We All Long For . Random House has some discussion questions on their site. Be sure to check those out. Take note we've selected titles for April and May as well. For April we chose something that appears to be a bit on t...

1000 novels everyone should read. Originally uploaded by kim.mama The Guardian has published a list of "1000 novels everyone must read." I thought I'd check how many titles by lesbian/bi authors were included in the list. Here's what I found: Nightwood by Djuna Barnes Fun Home by Alison Bechdel Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith Zami by Audre Lorde Delta of Venus by Anais Nin The Night Watch by Sarah Waters Affinity by Sarah Waters Fingersmith by Sarah Waters Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson The Passion by Jeanette Winterson To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Orlando by Virginia Woolf So what do you think? I'm a fan of Sarah Waters, but three? three titles? of hers? Really? There are only three of Hemingway's novels included! Just pondering. Is there any title you ...

February's title is Nina Revoyr's Southland and it sounds kinda like a mystery wrapped in a riddle. Which is, well, interesting. Anybody know of any discussion questions out there? Our January discussion of The Child was intense! Fitting I guess, since the book was also intense. Very thought-provoking. Um. Intense.