As Summer of Series drew to an end, I began to think about what went well, what didn’t, or what I would rather have left out entirely. Naturally, this kind of reflection led to long-term thinking. There were things I wanted to improve, things I wanted to do better next time. Without even realizing it, I was planning to host another challenge. There was already a “next time” in mind, but what would it be and when?
Talking with several trusted bloggers not only helped narrow the type of book club I wanted to host, but also when it would be held. Attempting to read 16 books in 16 weeks in addition to an already full load was not an adjustment I made lightly. And it’s not one readers were able to keep up with in the same time frame . There are other things to consider: time to obtain a book, time to read, time to write a review (if so inclined). It all came down to time.
Taking my fellow bloggers’ advice into consideration, I decided to stretch out JRT’s 2011 book club throughout the entire year—one book per month. What books will we be reading? I toyed with several options (some of which had themes too narrow to cover the entire year), but I was inspired after chatting with TJ of Dreams & Speculation. While she will be hosting “The Women of Science Fiction” book club next year, I thought what if I did a sister challenge? And so…JRT’s 2011 book club will be “The Women of Fantasy.”
The Details
All year we’ll be reading books published by female authors in the Fantasy genre. Some are older titles, some newer, but all look to be amazing reads. Participants can join in the discussion in one of the months, all twelve, or a random selection from the entire year. It’s up to you!
There will be 12 books—a different one for each month. Readers will have the entire month to read that selection. At the end of each month, there will be a review/discussion post where I (1) review the book myself and (2) welcome comments and discussion. You may discuss whatever you like as long as it pertains to that book. You do not have to comment or post a link to a review (if you wrote one) every month or any month in order to participate.
Instead of having links in several different locations (there was little to no organization for Summer of Series as a whole), all of the pertinent information for this challenge will be on this page. It will serve as a hub for easy access to previous month’s reviews and discussions throughout 2011.
The Books
July:
All the Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear |
August:
Indigo Springs by A. M. Dellamonica |
September:
Firebird by Mercedes Lackey |
October:
Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton |
November:
The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee |
December:
Reader’s Choice! |
Choosing which books to read wasn’t easy, but I knew I didn’t want to repeat my mistake from Summer of Series and find myself unable to participate in my own book club because I couldn’t obtain the books. All of these books are from my personal library and are titles I’ve been meaning to read.
December’s book will be special. It will be decided by you, the participants of the book club! Throughout the year I’ll be gathering more Fantasy titles by female authors and have a selection for you to choose from. Votes will be narrowed down with the winner being announced some time in the fall.
Here is a complimentary .PDF of the above listing of books.
Spread the Word
Please feel free to use any of the buttons below to show your participation or to promote the club! Link all images back to this post.
Images used are by John William Waterhouse. If anyone believes these images have been used by mistake, or without permission, please contact me.
As a reminder, this is a sister challenge to one being hosted by Dreams and Speculation. I encourage you to join that one as well, in case you begin tiring of Fantasy… 
The Participants
Comment below this post to let me know if you’d like to have your name displayed for all to see that you are participating. Your name will appear as I add it below. This is not a requirement at all.
| 1. Erika @ Jawas Read, Too! 2. Star Metal Oak Book Blog 3. Not Now…I’m Reading! 4. Calico Reaction 5. Dreams and Speculation 6. The Bookling 7. A See of Green 8. Laura 9. Audrey 10. Deanne |
11. Laura 12. wayward drul 13. mel 14. Caitrin 15. Fiona 16. Cynthia Armistead 17. Pling 18. Chrysanthemum 19. Stephanie Leary 20. Daniela |
21. Chanpheng 22. Jocelyn C. 23. mervih 24. Tse Moana 25. Nancy 26. Baronet Taltos 27. Kelly 28. Stacy 29. Krystle 30. Sandy |
| 31. Kyriadalyn 32. Lissar 33. Fiona 34. jennielf 35. kristine 36. Elizabeth M. 37. Muse 38. Viverl 39. J 40. Good Books & Good Wine |
41. Oddmonster 42. Christina 43. Crowinator 44. aclarar 45. Old English Rose 46. Brit Mandelo 47. Meredith 48. Rosalyn 49. Jen 50. Alexa |
51. wraeththu 52. Kerry 53. Emily 54. Andrea 55. Terry Weyna 56. Sagebrooksage 57. SlyGly 58. Merle 59. Laurel 60. Opally |
| 61. Penelope @ Living Vicariously (Through Books) 62. Anastasia @ Bird Brain(ed) Book Blog 63. Brittany 64. Kirsten 65. Cassandra 66. Stray 67. Jennie Alice Lillard 68. Kristen @ Fantasy Book Cafe 69. Jennifer 70. Tris Chalker |
71. Sharon Martin 72. Tymcon 73. Liarbyrd 74. Maura Gaffney 75. Mary 76. JourneywomanHJ 77. Michelle 78. Clélie 79. Shauna Roberts 80. Sarah |
81. Hilary Strait 82. Amanda 83. ibeeeg @ Polishing Mud Balls 84. Lee 85. Miranda 86. Kristen M. 87. Anne Ardeur 88. Katie 89. Beth 90. K. A. Magrowski |
| 91. stfg 92. Diana Ruth 93. Robin 94. Morphidae 95. Kit Campbell @ Where Landsquid Fear to Tread 96. Iachi 97. Brenda @ Read Fairy Tales 98. Laura @ Lara’s Book Blog 99. Shaleena 100. Alisha S. @ My Need to Read |
101. Heather Perkins 102. birdgirl_1107 103. Nancy 104. Amelia R. 105. Mekaela 106. Landon 107. Lucy @ Find Me A Storm 108. Vanessa Di Gregorio 109. Shannon @ Giraffe Days 110. fred_mouse |
111. thegrimalkin 112. Diurnal Lee 113. Zoe 114. kai charles 115. inkling 116. Eileen 117. Katie S. 118. Tabi 119. Stefanie 120. Allie |
| 121. Rachel 122. Sally @ Bibrary Bookslut 123. Jeannine @ Books Before Breakfast 124. Karen 125. KMont @ Lurv a la Mode 126. Kelly 127. Christine @ The happily ever after… 128. Hilcia @ Impressions… 129. Amy C @ Romance Book Wyrm 130. Samanta @ Booked on a Feeling |
131. Majkia @ Vyses 132. Seb @ Geek Chixxx 133. Snowtulip 134. crusaderofhonor 135. Kristin 136. Kara Gnome 137. Keri Kennedy 138. Kahlan 139. Dana 140. TDF Pamela |
141. Alpa 142. Rachael 143. The Sartorial Nerd 143. Sarindre @ The Geeky Mom 144. Kath145.This could be you! |
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I just happened upon this list, via a link from Dreams and Speculation who had my book on Waiting on Wednesday. I wanted to tell you how pleased I was to see someone doing this! Also: it’s a fabulous list of books! There are so many amazing female fantasy authors. Thanks – this is a great gift to all of us who write fantasy books. Hope it’s going well. You’ve got books on your list that I’m actually dying to read too!
Thank you for the support! It’s been an interesting journey so far; reader participation has been pretty impressive—more than I ever expected. And everyone seems to have found something they’ve enjoyed reading.
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Please include me in mailings for the monthly selections. Also please include my name online, if you like, and if it is not too late. Thanks.
There are no monthly mailings, but I will add your name to the list here for posterity.
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I just found this and I’d love to join. I just downloaded June’s book on my Kindle.
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