Hey Readers,

Early March and here in Mumbai, the almond trees are a blaze of red and green. The days grow warm, swimming pools are now open & traffic jams are back.

March is also the month for more women’s books.

Here are our top 6 - books deconstructing identity, power & conflict, using data and stories to tell important truths. If you’d like to read or gift a personalised selection like this one, a starter kit or a book-a-month, begin here .

Must Reads : Book 1 of 6

Read the thought provoking If I had your face for how it engages with the realities of the Beauty Myth. A novel around 5 women in Seoul, this deceptively light Korean Gossip Girl addresses patriarchy, plastic surgery, inequality, art & the celebrity culture. A interesting follow up book is The Vegetarian, also set in Korea.

Subscribe now

Must Reads : Book 2 of 6

3 reasons why should read the story of beautiful Lily Bart in The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.

It won the first Pulitzer prize ever awarded to a woman

Lily Barts still exist today,100 years later.

It gives you a taste of classical prose, with easy listening on Librivox or Audible.

Must Reads : Book 3 of 6

The stories of women who fight to go to college, to work, to play games, to vote, to own property, Difficult Women is a page turner. And for a cinematic side dish, watch the fabulous film Sufragette.

Must Reads : Book 4 of 6

What we love about this book is the voices across continents. Co-authored by Julia Gillard, Australia’s first woman prime minister, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Nigerian finance minister, Women in Leadership puts forward practical solutions to the problems women in leadership face, with chapters like

It’s all about the hair

Shrill or soft (the style conundrum)
She’s a bit of a bitch
Who’s minding the kids?

Must Reads : Book 5 of 6

Invisible Women deconstructs design to demonstrate how everything in our world ignores women. From decisions on snow clearing to the design of cities & even health protocols, this audit throws up shocking insights. Read this book as a necessary first step to re-design.

Must Reads : Book 6 of 6

Christina Lamb visits war zones like Sarajevo, Burma, Sudan, Argentina to tell a history of armed conflict through the stories of women. Our Bodies, Their Battlefields is a heart rending book, yet one we must read, as armed conflict continues to erupt.

Must reads : Children’s read aloud book

A read aloud ritual with older children helps keep their love for reading alive & makes for good bonding, say researchers. Read Gulbadan aloud to engage with ideas of language, culture & versions of history. This little known gem of a book is written by a favourite author - Englishwoman Rumer Godden, best known for her Black Narsissus, set in the Himalayas.

Book Events :

March 4 at 6.30 pm IST on Zoom : This is going to be very interactive, write in asap if you’d like to attend and keep your questions ready !

The Bombay Feminist Book Club

A book club whose mission is to read texts that have beautiful writing, to be exposed to thoughts and ideas that provoke reflection and discussion, and to explore modern-day feminism.

We speak to founder member Aparna Piramal Raje, Mumbai based writer, columnist, public speaker, educator and advisor. She is the author of the forthcoming Chemical Khichdi: How I Hacked My Mental Health to be published in April 2022 by Penguin Random House India. Edited excerpts.

1. How & when did your book club start ?

It all started at Swati Snacks in Tardeo, the germ of so many good things, in mid 2012. Mary Abdo and I contemplated a writing group and she mentioned that someone she knew was part of a book club that read literature relating to ‘a woman’s place.’ Instead of a writing group, she decided to start the Bombay Feminist Book Club, which featured writing by women. When Mary left India, she handed over charge to a steering committee which today consists of Hemal Shroff Patel, Banoo Batliboi and myself.

2. Give us some idea of the different profiles of the members?

Mary’s origins as an American expat were reflected in the initial mix of members, many of whom were expats. The membership base keeps evolving, although it’s safe to say we are all quite liberal, passionate about reading and about women’s issues. Our fields include art, writing, social enterprise, environment and climate change, law, social media, mental health and more. A multi-disciplinary approach definitely adds a lot of to our conversations. We also straddle generations – from millennials to a grandmother – which is interesting.

3. How do you select your books?

Mary used to the pick the titles based on recommendations by the groups and her own research. Now each member takes a turn to pick a title, with the mandatory criteria that she must have read the book before recommending it. We alternate between fiction and nonfiction and have one session each for poetry and one for literature about feminism in any given year.

4. How long in advance do you select your books?

We meet nine times a year, usually on weekday evenings. The calendar with dates is decided at the beginning of the year by Banoo, who takes great trouble to coordinate with each member. Each member announces her book choice at the book club prior to her session, so usually 5 weeks in advance.

5. Tell us about some popular books in your book club ?

We’ve enjoyed many of the ‘blockbusters’ like Becoming by Michelle Obama, Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur, Americanah & Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie.

We’ve also enjoyed feminist titles such as Helen Lewis’s Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights, which are not as well-known.

It’s been lovely to discover hidden gems such as Pip Williams’ Dictionary of Lost Words, our most recent find.

Finally, live sessions with authors, such as Anindita Ghose (The Illuminated), Tara Kaushal (Why Men Rape), Linda Ashok (Whorelight) and Shubhangi Swarup (Latitudes of Longing) are always memorable.

6.Is there a book that you changed your view on after the discussion ?

I found it easier to relate to Whorelight after Linda Ashok, the poet, shared more about how she composed her work. I also did not easily gravitate to Ismat Chughtai’s short stories, but we had a great turnout and discussion about it, which contextualized her work and made it more accessible.

7. How many are you ? What is a good number for a fruitful book discussion?

We cap the number at 10 and currently have a minor waitlist! Personally, I feel that if even if 4-5 members show up, we can have a great, intimate conversation, although it’s always nice for the moderator if there are at least 6 members.

8.Has being in this book club impacted your reading?

It got me back into reading at a time when I was just coming out of a postnatal cocoon, after having had two children. And it has exposed me to authors and genres I would never have explored.

9.Would you recommend joining a book club?

Yes, for expanding one’s horizons, meeting great new people and making friends with authors and readers alike. Some of us have travelled to the Jaipur Litfest together!

10.What are some important dos & do nots ?

If you want a club that is serious about reading, I think the most important ‘do’ is to be committed, read the books and show up for meetings. Have a moderator who will steer the discussion and make sure the group doesn’t get distracted. Clarity on dates and meeting times helps a lot.

11.Does the bookclub become a support group ?

For me, for sure, yes. The book club was where my new book was conceived, which is priceless. On occasions when I have been very upset, I have leaned on book club members for emotional support and they have really come through for me. It is a very safe and special space for me. So much of conversation in our lives is focussed around consumption – lifestyle, shopping, food & drink etc – so it’s amazing to be part of a space that is centred around the act of creation.

Subscribe now

To follow the Bombay Feminist Book Club book reviews, click here.

If you are part of a book club you enjoy, do write in to tell us more to sonyasbookbox@gmail.com.

And if you’d like to revamp your reading life, read more & read better, click here.

Next issue we feature a real life tech thriller, 5 murder mysteries to curl up with and first person reporting from the upcoming onground Jaipur Literary Festival.

Till then, Happy Reading !

Warm regards,

Sonya

Sonya’s Read to Lead

What to Read Next Issue 14