Edmonton Lesbian+ Book Club

We had an excellent discussion around Emma Donoghue's Slammerkin this month. Slammerkin was a fascinating read - "historical fiction" with dark, bawdy humour. Some members who started off hating it even came around a wee bit during the discussion. It's always interesting that a writer can create unlikeable characters and still make the reader care about them. I came across readinggroupguides.com , which had some great discussion questions for Slammerkin . We touched on a few of them - especially this one: "Is Slammerkin a woman's story, or an exploration of powerlessness in all its forms?" We seemed to all agree that it really is an exploration of the idea of powerlessness - how people choose to live out their lives in a culture and society that allows them almost zero choice. It was basically succumb to your lot in life, or die. Not a pretty picture! Enjoyed the discussion immensely! Next month we're reading a classic: Jane Rule's Desert of t...

Lambda Literary Foundation nominees for Lesbian Debut Fiction - includes a couple of titles on our list. And, nominees for Lesbian Fiction .

Our book club chat with Farzana Doctor via teleconference went off without a hitch! Farzana was wonderfully articulate and we were just so thrilled to have her join us from afar. It was a treat to have her answer our questions about her writing process. We were fascinated to hear how Stealing Nasreen 's story evolved over time and that she felt like the characters led the story. We were also really happy to hear that Farzana is working on her next book! Our discussion continued on after we hung up the phone. There was a lot to say, given the richness of the book. And I personally was intrigued that different readers connected with different characters to the point that they felt like that one character was the main character. Looking forward to Slammerkin ! Speaking of which, here's an interview with Emma Donoghue.

Did i forget to mention that at this month's meeting of the lesbian book club, author Farzana Doctor will be joining us via speakerphone to chat a little about Stealing Nasreen ? Well, she is! We're looking forward to it! And you should be there!

Here's a link to an online novel, Indigo Blue by Ebine Yamaji, mentioned at our recent book club meeting. There are also many other lesbian manga fan translations on the Lililicious site. Cool!

Our discussion of June Kim's 12 Day s was really fascinating. 12 Days was an unusual book - a graphic novel in the style of Japanese manga, by a Korean author, with lesbian content! The story revolves around the main character's mourning of her ex-lover's death. Everything from how the graphic novel affected us to the ethics of grieving came up. Fabulous. I'm only sorry I had to leave early. Here's a good review if you're interested. March's title is Stealing Nasreen , by Toronto-based writer Farzana Doctor . A Quill and Quire review says: “The process of leaving one’s country and finding a sense of belonging in another is often rife with uncertainty and turmoil. What makes Stealing Nasreen such a riveting read is the way it takes this uncertainty and makes it even more complex by adding sexuality and desire to the angst-filled immigrant experience."

Hello friends, This broadcast will include a friend of our book club, Laurie McFayden, reading her poem, "Skillet Prayers and Polar Bears." Tomorrow on CBC: Five poets perform with the Raving Poets Band tomorrow on the CBC, up here in Canada. If you'd like to hear what all the fuss is, the broadcast is available anywhere in the world here (click on Edmonton). All five poets and the Raving Poets Band doing some of their tunes will be broadcast on CBC's "Key of A" with Katherine Duncan, February 16 beginning at 5:00 pm MST.

Check out this great article entitled "13 Lesbian and Bi Characters You Should Know" at afterellen.com.

It's been 5 full years of the lesbian book club! How amazing! We've covered romantic fiction, mystery, memoir, sci-fi, pulp, and "fine, fine literature"! It's not often the book club members have a unanimous opinion on the books we read. Our reactions tend to run the gamut from love, hate, lukewarm, etc. This usually results in the best discussions. Once in a while we're unanimous in our love for the book. This usually results in a short, and not very exciting discussion. We recently finished reading Babyji , by Abha Dawesar. I think it was the first time we were unanimous in liking the book, but still had a lot to say about it. We were genuinely intrigued by the main characters, loved the writing style, and just generally enjoyed the story as it developed. As usual, we'll take a break - no book for December. Our reading list for the new year: *January 08: The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery *February 08: 12 Days by June Kim *March 08: Stealing Nasreen by ...

if so, join us, here!