Ep. 91 | Fight Like a Girl

[00:00:10] Kendra Hello, I'm Kendra Winchester, here with Sumaiyya Naseem. And this is Reading Women, a podcast inviting you to reclaim half the bookshelf by discussing books written by or about women. And this is episode 91, where we're talking about books around this month's theme, which is "Fight Like a Girl."

[00:00:28] Sumaiyya You can find a complete transcript and a list of all the books mentioned today linked in our show notes. And don't forget to subscribe, so you don't miss a single episode.

[00:00:39] Kendra So before we get started on this month's theme, we have some news. So last month in June, we delayed Reading Women Month out of respect for the protests that were happening all over the country and all over the world. And we really wanted to focus on raising awareness for Black Lives Matter and and supporting that in the best way that we could with our social media and different outlets. So we delayed Reading Women Month, and we started that up in late June instead of the beginning of June, which is when we typically do it. So because of that, we have extended our festivities into July, actually probably through the end of July. So you can still find Reading Women Month Bingo, all of our new merch, and the sale has been extended over in our Reading Women Store.

[00:01:27] Sumaiyya And I think we have some new merch, right?

[00:01:29] Kendra Yes. So we have mugs, if you're not a t-shirt person. If you are a t-shirt person, we have new t-shirts.

[00:01:35] Sumaiyya I definitely need a new mug.

[00:01:40] Kendra These have the Reading Women Month logo on them. And then on the back of the mug is our tagline, "Reclaim Half the Bookshelf." And I used mine just today. So. Big fan. Obviously.

[00:01:50] Sumaiyya What did you have? Was it a coffee or a tea?

[00:01:54] Kendra Well, actually, I make my tea and my coffee at the same time every morning, so I don't actually have to get up to go make the other one.

[00:02:00] Sumaiyya Yeah.

[00:02:01] Kendra So whatever I decide to have first.

[00:02:04] Sumaiyya And that is very efficient.

[00:02:07] Kendra Yeah. You know, I feel like when you start having mobility issues, you get all kinds of life hacks that you just never knew existed. Now I feel it's like it's my superpower. For sure. So those mugs will be in our Bonfire store. And of course, all the information for Reading Women Month will be linked in our show notes.

[00:02:28] Sumaiyya So our theme this month is "Fight Like a Girl." And the goal is to talk about books by women that are essentially stories of women fighting back. So we are highlighting narratives of resistance. Kendra, did you have fun reading for the theme?

[00:02:43] Kendra I did. I did. There were so many options. I remember when we first started talking about it a few months ago, you had this amazing, glorious list of all of these options. And I was like, where do I even start?

[00:02:56] Sumaiyya Yeah. And this idea had been brewing for a while to talk about, you know, books that celebrate female strength. And the reason that we're titling it "Fight Like a Girl" is because obviously the expression was used as an insult, but women and girls around the world are reclaiming that expression to suggest that fighting like a girl is probably the greatest compliment of strength. And so with this theme, I wanted to urge people to think a little about that reclamation and the kinds of female strength that we celebrate in our communities through literature and art and also in popular culture.

[00:03:33] Sumaiyya And one of the things that I actually wanted to highlight because—I don't know if your opinions on this are similar to mine, but I feel like they might be—I feel like there's this tendency to glorify and celebrate female characters in books and films who are using physical strength to fight back. And while I think that that kind of representation is important because a lot of people still think that women are physically weak, the reason I find this glorification of physical strength problematic is not just because it's ablest, but also because it comes from the same system that has created toxic masculinity and sees as physical strength as the greatest strength. I feel like being a female is so exhausting because, you know, we have to fight for things that we should not have to fight for. And it's a crazy world out there, particularly when you're a female. And there is a lot of stuff that we have to constantly deal with. And of course, the same goes for people who have been marginalized systemically. But I believe that all women are fighters and have strength that often goes unnoticed or is disregarded because patriarchal systems, you know, that are . . . societies that are built on generally don't want to see women as strong people.

[00:04:52] Kendra Yeah, yeah. I really like what you said about how it's not just physical strength because that, you know, that ideal strength—which in a patriarchal structure is physical strength—isn't necessarily actually the strongest thing that a person can be. And there are so many different ways that women have strength and the ways that they can fight back. And I really love that because I think so often when women are emotional about whatever, it's considered as a fault, but it's not. You know, women have such a beautiful range of emotions and are generally more in tune with their emotions, which I do believe is one of our strengths.

[00:05:31] Sumaiyya Definitely. And I think, you know, mental strength, intellectual strength, even emotional intelligence and strength are things that we have to nurture because of all the things that we deal with that people don't even want to see that we're leading with that, you know, are meant to be these natural experiences when, in fact, it's patriarchy telling us what we can do and can't do. And obviously, you know, with this also, there's a problem that men don't experience the full range of emotions because they're so focused on not trying to look weak, which, again, you know, is toxic masculinity. So if we start celebrating all kinds of strength, it's not just good for women, it's also good for men.

[00:06:17] Kendra So we have a wide range of books today between Sumaiyya, myself, and RuthAnn, who will be on later in the show. We have a wide range of women who are advocating for themselves and fighting the systems that they find themselves in and a wide range. . . . It just happened kind of really naturally the way that the books that we chose kind of really fit well together under this theme. And I can't wait to get started.

[00:06:45] Sumaiyya Yeah. And I think that literature is one of the prime ways of fighting back by writing and by sharing stories.

[00:06:54] Kendra So Sumaiyya, you have the first pick today.

[00:06:57] Sumaiyya So my first pick is PASSAGE TO THE PLAZA by Sahar Khalifeh. This was translated from the Arabic by Sawad Hussain. But actually the book was originally published in 1990 and is considered and a classic in Arabic literature. So it's been a while since this book has been out there, but it's finally accessible for people who are reading in English. And it has also appeared on prestigious lists of the best novels in Arabic. So, Sahar Khalifeh is a prolific feminist fighter from Palestine. This was actually the first book that I read by her. But I've heard a lot about her books, and I think four or five of them have been translated to English. So they are on my TBR. The historical setting of PASSAGE TO THE PLAZA is 1987. That's a significant year in recent Palestinian history because that's the year of the first. . . . That was the first year of the intifada or uprising against the Israeli occupation. And that's the year it began. So Khalifeh writes about the gendered female experience of revolution by bringing together three female characters who are very different types of women whose ideologies and experiences are contradictory. And this in itself shows you how multifaceted the female experience actually is.

[00:08:26] Sumaiyya So the three women are Sitt Zakia, who is an older woman. She is a midwife. And she's known for her piety, and she's generally seen as this harmless old lady. Samar is a university researcher who's writing about the impact of the revolution on women. She is ambitious and idealistic. And in the novel, her plan is actually to write about women by interviewing them. So this includes Sitt Zakia, who she's interviewing, and the other main character, Nuzha. So basically she wants to document the particular experience of women during war and occupation. To me, Samar represents the newer generations of educated women, who are trying to resist the patriarchal confines of society. But my favorite character in this book is actually Nuzha. She is a social outcast and a prostitute whose mother was also known to be a prostitute. So she has been rejected by society because of what she does. And people completely ignore the fact that it was actually the conditions of society that drive women like Nuzha to take such desperate measures, especially when they are rejected by people and are not supported by their own people and their own families.

[00:09:42] Sumaiyya So in this novel, the circumstances of the curfew bring these women together along with the main character who they each have some relationship with. So they are together under one roof and their dynamic reveals a greater picture of Palestinian society. What's interesting about this book is that Kahlifeh writes female characters who are not only dealing with political oppression, but they're also dealing with patriarchal oppression. So I definitely cannot recommend this book enough. It paints a very complex portrait of Palestine and Palestinian women and the reality of losing people that you love to the righteous cause of fighting for freedom and fighting for the nation.

[00:10:25] Kendra I have never actually read a book by a Palestinian woman who hasn't left Palestine before. So this definitely sounds like something I want to get my hands on.

[00:10:36] Sumaiyya Yeah. It's very fascinating to read her work, especially the the life that she's had and the way that she is, you know, experienced the struggles of patriarchy and then risen up beyond that. So that was PASSAGE TO THE PLAZA by Sahar Khalifeh, translated by Sawad Hussain. So, Kendra, do you want to tell us about your first pick for this theme?

[00:11:04] Kendra Yes. And we both picked books by Palestinian writers on our own. So I thought it was interesting how these things come about. But my first pick is THE BEAUTY OF YOUR FACE by Sahar Mustafah, and this is by a Palestinian American writer. And this novel is her debut. It's set in and around Chicago. And it's about Afaf, who is a principal of an all-girls Muslim school that is actually located in a former convent school. And so she— at the beginning of the book, it's a framed story—and she's at work. She's gone into the school. And very quickly, you learn that there is a shooter in the school. So we go back, flashback to her past, and then it'll jump and give us segments of what's happening at the school in the present time of the novel.

[00:11:58] Kendra And so we go back to, I believe, like the '80s when Afaf was a young girl in a Palestinian American household. Her parents had immigrated. And her older sister was born in Palestine. And her mother adores her older sister, her favorite child. But when her older sister disappears, her entire family seems to fall apart. But throughout the flashbacks, you see that her family finds a place back together when, in particular, Afaf and her father return to their faith. And there comes a point when Afaf puts on, you know, the hijab for the first time and has dedicated herself to that and her faith in that very formal, you know, obvious way. And so now when she walks about, people can see her faith on her. And it's really interesting to see this narrative of her coming back to God and coming back to her faith and finding community at her mosque. And I find it so beautiful because this is not a story that I think a lot of Americans hear. I think oftentimes, whatever someone's faith, there's always this losing-your-faith kind of narrative. But this is the opposite. This is a coming-back-to-your-faith kind of a narrative. And when Afaf returns to Islam, it's like she finds meaning and security in who she is and who she is with her family. And it's a beautiful story. And it reminded me a lot of A PLACE FOR US by Fatima Farheen Mirza. And I got the same kind of family feels, but this one focuses mainly on Afaf's life as opposed to jumping around to different viewpoints from the different family members.

[00:13:41] Sumaiyya Yeah, and I think with immigrant experiences or just when you're simply displaced or alienated from, you know, the culture that your parents are from can result in people losing their faith or becoming distant from their faith. I personally love stories where characters are in tune with their faith or rediscovering it. And I've heard that with this book, there is some really great representation of that. I've also heard that there is a scene that describes her going on pilgrimage with her father. And I imagine it must be really beautiful to read about that experience, like a father and daughter experiencing that together.

[00:14:24] Kendra Yeah, it is really beautiful to see that because her father struggles with alcoholism and just being a really neglectful father. He has affairs and different things, and his faith brings him back to what's important in life, his family and his love for God. And it's just a beautiful story. And I think, you know, aside from reading middle-grade novels about Muslim girls and their experiences, I hadn't really seen a coming-back-to-faith story because I feel like other stories are more like finding your faith and how it looks different from your parents. But this is kind of just finding your home within your faith kind of story, which is a bit of a different turn, as it were.

[00:15:11] Sumaiyya And kind of growing with your parent within that experience. That's really beautiful. And I can't wait to read it.

[00:15:20] Kendra Yeah. I'm so excited for you to read it. As soon as I finished it, like, I hugged it to my chest and was like, this is a Sumaiyya novel.

[00:15:28] Sumaiyya Yeah. Definitely sounds like a book that's perfectly made for me.

[00:15:33] Kendra And if you live in America, this book came out from Norton. And it's her debut. But unfortunately, because of everything happening with the pandemic, unfortunately, I feel like it got lost in all of the chaos of people trying to figure out how book tours and author events look like in a virtual space. So I would highly recommend that you go out and support this author so that she can have another book deal and write more amazing books like this.

[00:15:59] Sumaiyya Absolutely. I actually had one more question. Are there—since this book deals with a school shooting—are there trigger warnings that people should know about?

[00:16:09] Kendra So, yeah, there are trigger warnings for school shooting for this. There is not a lot of violence towards children on the page, but the protagonist does come face to face with the shooter. And I don't want to give you any spoilers, but just fyi that that is there. But nothing against children happens on the page.

[00:16:29] Sumaiyya All right. That's good to know.

[00:16:31] Kendra So if you would like more details on that, you can email me at [email protected]. And I'm happy to answer any of your questions. And like all of the books that we mentioned today, we will have links in our show notes where you can go buy this book from bookshop.org and support the author that way. So they get more of your money when you buy it from indie bookstores, which is always important. We want to support our authors.

[00:16:57] Sumaiyya Especially debut authors during this pandemic.

[00:17:02] Kendra Yes, amen to that. So that is THE BEAUTY OF YOUR FACE by Sahar Mustafah. And that's out from Norton. And Sumaiyya, you have our first discussion pick.

[00:17:11] Sumaiyya So my discussion pick for our theme is A BURNING by Megha Majumdar, which was recently published by Knopf in the US and by Penguin in India. And this is a book that I'm going to rave about for months to come. So be prepared. This is a phenomenal debut novel. A huge accomplishment, I think, by a young writer who grew up in India and now lives in America and also works for a publisher as an editor, I think.

[00:17:40] Sumaiyya Megha skillfully crafts a narrative that is set in contemporary India in Calcutta. And the story that she's written exposes the reality of Hindu nationalism in a society that's already divided on the basis of class, gender, and religion. The premise of the story is a terrorist attack that results in the death of more than a hundred people. And in the aftermath of that, a poor Muslim girl's careless comments on Facebook results in her being persecuted as the terrorist behind the attack. So we follow three major perspectives in this book. They're all people who are divided by their experiences of gender and class. And they're also on the lower rungs of privilege, which is what makes this a novel that I think, you know, so important because it looks at the hopes and fears of people living in India whose dream is to improve their life and standard of living.

[00:18:38] Kendra Yes. And this book is a page turner. And, you know, I listened to the entire book in one day. And it has a full cast narration where each perspective has its own narrator. And it is just amazing. And, you know, I think it tackles really difficult topics, while also being very entertaining and page-turnery in that way that you will just want to . . . you have to keep reading.

[00:19:02] Sumaiyya Yeah. And the writing styles are very distinct for each of the perspectives that we have. And I found that to be really effective. And I think another quality of the narrative that I think makes this such a compelling read is how expertly plotted it is, along with the fact that the chapter lengths are quite short.

[00:19:21] Sumaiyya So we have these three perspectives. And, you know, the first is obviously Jivan, who is a poor Muslim girl from the slums, who drops out of school to support her parents, especially her father, who is too sick to work. Like I mentioned before, Jivan's comments on social media turn her life upside down. And she finds herself in prison for a crime that she did not commit. The second major perspective that we have is from Lovely, who is a hijra, which is the trans or intersex community in India, which is both respected and rejected systemically. She is an aspiring actress. And what we know is that her testimony could help Jivan find justice because Jivan was helping Lovely with her English lessons. And finally, we have PT Sir, who is a teacher who doesn't earn a lot of money. And by chance, he becomes involved with a right-wing political party. And they use him as a puppet in exchange for some power and privileges. So PT Sir's perspective actually reveals a lot about the right-wing politics and anti-Muslim rhetoric in India right now. And yes, there is also a very graphic scene that shows you the kind of danger that Muslims are currently facing in India. So it definitely has trigger warnings for some violence, for graphic violence.

[00:20:43] Kendra And there's so much to talk about in this book and how the different characters weave in and out of each other's lives and how it's a huge commentary on politics currently in India. And it kind of makes me wonder how it's been accepted in India. Has it been published over there? And what are people's thoughts on it? Like, I just have so many questions because this is a very powerful story that the author has written.

[00:21:10] Sumaiyya Yeah, absolutely. And I think as we're recording this, there are still a few days left for the publication here. But by the time this episode comes out, we'll have a better picture of what it looks like. And, you know, I do think that this is a book that is relevant to both India and America when you consider modern democracies that are being shaped and led by xenophobic leaders.

[00:21:33] Kendra That is very true, considering that there seem to be very similar type leaders in everywhere from Australia to the UK to India to America. And it's really disconcerting, all the parallels that have appeared in the last few years.

[00:21:50] Sumaiyya Absolutely, and I think that is why it makes it more important for us to discuss books like these. Because whatever their politics, things like these usually affect women disproportionately. And I don't want to say that it's just women who are obviously going to face this. But everyone should be united to read narratives that are talking about such oppressive regimes that are very, you know, authoritarian in nature. I mean, we say that it's a democracy and it's secular, but that's not really what it looks like anymore. So we do have to think about this. And I think this is a struggle that we're all united in because so many countries around the world are going through this, like you mentioned.

[00:22:33] Kendra So there's so many things that I want to ask you about, Sumaiyya, and so many things I want to talk about. But we'll have to save that for the next episode when we have our discussion of the book because I'm sure we could talk about this book forever.

[00:22:47] Sumaiyya There's definitely a lot to unpack in this novel. So that was A BURNING by Megha Majumdar, which is out now from Knopf in the US and Penguin in India. Okay, so Kendra, tell us about your discussion pick for this theme.

[00:23:03] Kendra So I have chosen a book in translation, and that is THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE GREENGAGE TREE by Shokoofeh Azar. And this book is translated from Farsi by a translator who would like to remain anonymous. That is the kind of book that we're going to be talking about today, because this book looks at the Iranian revolution, the decade after the 1979 Iranian revolution, and what that looks like, but in a very unique perspective.

[00:23:31] Sumaiyya Because it's following a particular family and has elements of magic realism.

[00:23:36] Kendra Yes. And it was really interesting to listen to the author talk about this book. And so I will link an interview with the author in our show notes. But she was talking about how she was really inspired by ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE. But she also wanted to include elements of Iranian folklore. So there's a bit of an element of a cultural tradition there, almost like—as we would think them here in the US—like fairy tales. And so she does some like retelling work, but also there's magical realism. And you can definitely see the inspiration of those two elements working together in tandem throughout the book.

[00:24:12] Sumaiyya She's also mentioned a lot of Persian literature within the novel's text and in her interviews that have inspired her. So the magic realism and, you know, the retellings that she's doing, all the supernatural things, they are inspired by Iranian culture. And that is kind of the narrative that she's trying to bring back, which is, you know, very close to the Iranian culture and life.

[00:24:37] Kendra And so the author was a journalist for a long time in Iran and then moved to Australia and sought asylum there. And we'll talk a little bit more about that next episode. But the first time I heard about this book was because it was short listed for the Stella Prize in 2018. And now it's actually on the short list for the International Booker Prize, which is really exciting. I'm very excited for her and the work that she has done.

[00:25:05] Kendra This book is very episodic. So if you have read something, you know, it's almost like each chapter is its own short story, but they all are related to this family and the different things that happen to this family. And most of them read like fairy tales. There are fantastical things that happen, such as like there's this guy who can look at dragonflies and interpret meanings and futures. There's this one girl who turns into a mermaid. There's all sorts of things that happen throughout this book. But it really looks at a lot of different aspects of Iranian culture after the revolution and this family's journey to the country where they feel more connected with more Persian traditions and different things like that. It's a very complex book, and there's a lot going on. And I'm afraid of giving spoilers or spoiling our conversation for the next episode. So I won't say too much here. But there's a lot to talk about in this book, to say the least.

[00:26:09] Sumaiyya It was narrated by a ghost. There are a lot of ghosts in this story, which I absolutely loved. And you know, you mentioned the episodic, short sections that have these retellings. Did you know that she's also written two short story collections, which makes perfect sense?

[00:26:25] Kendra I didn't know that.

[00:26:26] Sumaiyya Yeah. So she has two short story collections, and that's why she's so good at this.

[00:26:31] Kendra Well, I hope they're translated into English because that would be fabulous. This book contains so many different things and is very complex. I was just fascinated by the whole thing, really.

[00:26:44] Sumaiyya Yeah. It's definitely a beautiful novel that celebrates literature and life.

[00:26:49] Kendra So I will quit spoiling our discussion of this book, but definitely go out and pick up a copy of THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE GREENGAGE TREE by Shokoofeh Azar. And this is out from Europa, here in the US. And it's published, I think, by Wild Dingo Press in Australia.

[00:27:11] Kendra So this month's guest spot is from RuthAnn, who is one of our contributors. You heard her on our nonfiction theme for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. And so RuthAnn is going to talk about a few nonfiction titles that go well with this theme. And I'm very excited to hear what books she's going to recommend.

[00:27:33] RuthAnn I'm RuthAnn, and I have been on the Reading Women team since November 2019, and I contribute to the weekly newsletter as well as put together the patreon newsletter. So if you're a patreon patron, thank you. And you'll hear from me once a month. One of my specialties with Reading Women is nonfiction. So I love nonfiction and sharing it, all different kinds of genres. And it's great reading nonfiction by women especially. I can be found on the internet on Instagram (@definitelyra) because I've been called RA since high school, short for RuthAnn.

[00:28:15] RuthAnn The first book that I've chosen to highlight today is I AM NUJOOD: AGE 10 AND DIVORCED. This is a fascinating and powerful memoir by Nujood Ali, who at the age of nine was forced into marriage by her parents even though the minimum age in Yemen, her home country at the time, was fifteen years of age. So this is a short memoir. It's actually targeted toward a young adult audience. But I think that adults can get a lot of value out of it. It talks about Nujood's family and the culture that she grew up in. And it's just one example. So it certainly is not indicative of everyone at the time. This took place in 2008, and the book was published in 2010. So Nujood was married at the age of nine, but she then advocated for herself. She went to the local law officials, and she advocated so that she could get a divorce for herself. So it was really a landmark case in a lot of ways. Really, for any woman to advocate for her own divorce was shocking. But the fact that it was such a young child, really, going about that process. She did work with a lawyer to do so. And then after she was granted her divorce, she and her lawyer were named Women of the Year by "Glamour Magazine." So that was 2008. Like I said, this book was published shortly thereafter. I read it about a year and half ago.

[00:29:58] RuthAnn I am still in the process of learning about forced marriage as a form of modern slavery, which is an interest of mine in the social justice sphere. And I looked up some stats on it. This is sort of an old one. But in 2016, according to the International Labor Organization, there were an estimated 15.4 million people who were forced into marriage. And not all of those people are children, but some of them definitely are. So this book, I AM NUJOOD, is a really interesting look at one case. Like I said, I don't think it's indicative of the country of Yemen or even maybe the practice of child marriage. But I think that sometimes reading one person's experience can give a lot of insight into a topic you might be interested in. And there's another book that I have read called GIRL RISING by Tanya Stone. And it's about lots of different adversity that girls and young women face around the world. And there's a section on child marriage, about how it is a major barrier for girls who want to be educated. So basically, once girls get married, then their education stops because they have domestic responsibilities. And so since I read GIRL RISING, I wanted to learn more about this topic. And I have through reading and especially this book.

[00:31:24] RuthAnn So I would recommend it. I think the language is fairly simple, which goes along with the fact that it's a young person, and she's recollecting her experience. The story is a little difficult. The topic is hard. But it's a really quick and worthwhile read to open your eyes to what is millions of people's reality. And if you look up Nujood Ali today, you'll find that her life definitely improved after her divorce. But it didn't magically become easy. And I think it's tempting sometimes to project a positive narrative onto these stories . . . happily ever after. But the reality is much more nuanced and complex. So I would encourage you to look up this book, I AM NUJOOD: AGE 10 AND DIVORCED by Nujood Ali.

[00:32:22] RuthAnn The second book I've chosen to highlight today is WE ARE DISPLACED by Malala Yousafzai. You might be familiar with Malala, as she is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and has done so much amazing philanthropic work and advocacy all over the world. This book WE ARE DISPLACED tells the true stories of young women and girls who are refugees in and from their home countries. The first part is all about Malala's experience as an internally displaced person in Pakistan. And then she goes on to share the stories of other refugee women whom she has met in her travels. So it's twelve stories, in all. The accounts vary in their native geography, the age of the speaker, and their specific circumstances. But there is a real thread throughout about what it feels like to be displaced, how the person and their family are rootless physically in that they're often on the move or they don't know where they're going to live—or if they are able to get into a camp, it might be temporary—and the stress that that creates, that uncertainty.

[00:33:41] RuthAnn There's also this theme of longing for home. And what does home really mean when you can't be in your home country? For me, it prompted a lot of reflection when I see things in the news about a refugee situation. It's natural, for me anyway, to kind of ignore the individual stories. I mean, it's overwhelming, especially when you hear really big numbers and lots of faces in a camp or something like that. But I think that this book is a really great job of highlighting an individual as an example. And all of these women are so interesting and have their own voice. I love that Malala took the time to tell their stories in a really human way. So there's not like a moral at the end of the story. It really is straight reporting, basically, of what they're going through and what their hopes and dreams are and how they're caring for their families, whatever their family structure is.

[00:34:56] RuthAnn I also really appreciate that at the end of the book, there is a section on how you can help. So there are some stats about displaced persons and organizations that you could look up or support with financial donations. And there's also a bio of each woman who's featured. And it talks about, you know, if they have any education that they're pursuing or if they plan to return to their home country, things like that. I actually listened to this book on audio, and it was very well done. There were different readers for the different stories. And it helped me sink into the stories, I think a little more than if I had read it in print. But I'm sure that it's great in print too. And as I listened, it reminded me of another book about immigration, but also refugee situations. And that was TELL ME HOW IT ENDS by Valeria Luiselli. That one focuses more on the Latinx experience in the United States specifically. But I think that the similarities are real stories about real people and a sense of urgency to examine the situation and take action if you are compelled to do so. So that's WE ARE DISPLACED by Malala Yousafzai.

[00:36:25] RuthAnn These are two nonfiction books that would be great for young adult readers and worthwhile for adults as well. I got a lot out of both of them. If you are reading these books with younger readers—if you're a teacher or a parent—I would recommend previewing them ahead of time because the content is a little more difficult, even though the language is not difficult. But especially if you have a sensitive reader that you're reading with, it'll be helpful to understand the content or anything that you might want to debrief or prebrief, I guess, ahead of time, just in case. But I do think that they would be great for conversation about not just current events, but how we can respond empathetically when we know that there's hardship going on around the world.

[00:37:13] Sumaiyya Yeah. Thank you so much, RuthAnn, for the nonfiction recommendations. You've really added amazing books to our TBR.

[00:37:20] Kendra You know, RuthAnn always has the greatest nonfiction recommendations. It's just magic. And also, she listens to a lot of audiobooks. So always here for that. So those are our six picks for this month. We're very excited about them. But what are you currently reading right now, Sumaiyya?

[00:37:40] Sumaiyya So I'm actually in between books right now. And the next book that I'm planning to start is actually WOMAN AT POINT ZERO by Nawal El Saadawi. This is an Egyptian modern classic based on a real woman's story who the author interviewed when she was going through the process of meeting women who were living in prisons. So it's about a woman called Firdaus who kills a man and is sentenced to death for this great act of defiance. And this is the story that she tells from prison. And I feel like I haven't read another book like this. So it also looks like it would be a good book for this theme. You know, a woman who is fighting back. But, yeah, that's basically my plan to read. That's my next read. What about you?

[00:38:29] Kendra I'm going to read THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett. And everyone and their mother's brother is talking about this book. But I chose it to share today about what I'm currently reading because Brit Bennett actually was our very first runner up for the very first Reading Women Award back in 2016. And her novel, THE MOTHERS, is one of our most recommended books in our Reading Women Book Blind Date Store. And I have sent out literally dozens of that book. And so I am so excited to read this one because, I mean, she's just so good at what she does. There's a reason she's very popular, and that's because she's an amazing writer and an even better storyteller.

[00:39:14] Sumaiyya Absolutely. And I actually really love her writing. I read THE MOTHERS and really loved it. And one of my favorite quotes from that book is, "The weight of what has been lost is always heavier than what remains." Such a beautiful novel. And I can't wait to read her new book.

[00:39:32] Kendra So good. So, so good. All of the books that we've mentioned today will be linked in our show notes where you can go buy them from bookshop.org. That supports Reading Women as well as your favorite indie bookstore. And that's it. That's our show. So if you haven't yet, please leave us a review in your podcast app of choice. Like many podcasts, now is a very difficult time for podcasting with the pandemic going on. So if you would like to help us out, definitely please leave us a review or a rating in your favorite podcast app. And thanks to all of you who have already done that. And, of course, many thanks to our patrons, who keep our lights on. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts. You make this podcast possible. If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter to get the most recent updates and news or to learn about becoming one of our patrons, visit us at readingwomenpodcast.com.

[00:40:31] Sumaiyya Be sure to join us next time where we'll be discussing A BURNING by Megha Majumdar and THE ENLIGHTENMENTS OF THE GREENGAGE TREE by Shokoofeh Azar. In the meantime, you can find Reading Women on Instagram and Twitter (@thereadingwomen). Thanks for listening.