Wait, what, I have reading interests outside Shakespeare?!
Last summer I wrote a piece on Women in Translation month that you can read HERE if you’re looking for a primer on what this is all about!
Every August the wonderful Matthew, Kendra, and Jennifer from booktube host the Women in Translation Readathon – this year it’s taking place from August 24th – 31st. There are 3 prompts this year:
Prompts (bonus for any if the translator is also a woman!):
1. Read a book published by an independent press
2. Read a genre title (SFF, romance, crime, thriller, horror, etc.)
3. Read a book that was published in its original language pre-2000
My own TBR is as follows:
Prompt 1 – Disoriental by Négar Djavadi, translated from the French by Tina A. Kover (published by Europa Editions)
Prompt 2 – The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani, translated from the French by Sam Taylor (thriller)
OR
Out by Natsuo Kirino, translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder (thriller – also works for prompt #3, originally published in 1997)
Prompt 3 – Abigail by Magda Szabó, translated from the Hungarian by Len Rix (originally published in 1970)
My big priority here is Disoriental, but I will be getting to as many of these as I can that week!
But this year there’s an exciting component to the readathon that affects me – and potentially all of you!
If you’ve wanted to try your hand at written reviews but don’t have your own platform (or maybe you have a smaller platform that you’re looking to grow), there are two exciting options. You can review ANY book by a woman in translation and submit your pieces to Jennifer – they’ll either be featured in Open Letters Review or here on my blog! Guidelines below:
Written Review Options:
1) Open Letters Review (https://openlettersreview.com/): Any full reviews of 2019-2020 releases. Send to me by Sunday, September 6th and she’ll edit them so they can run on the site. Welcome to send before that date as well! Typical review is 600-800 words. (Contact: jreadersense@gmail.com)
2) Pace, Amore, Libri (https://paceamorelibri.wordpress.com/): Rachel has agreed to host shorter bits about WIT books published in any year on her blog! We’ll be doing a collective piece: people can contribute 6 sentences per title, 2 titles maximum per person, and we’ll run them as a big recommendations post together. Deadline for this will also be Sunday, September 6th. (Contact: jreadersense@gmail.com)
I’m SO excited to see what you guys come up with!
P.S. Trans women are women ❤
Oh this is an interesting development! I was just going to finish the Neopolitan novels for WIT so that wouldn’t qualify. But then I suppose I do have my own “platform” anyway 🙂
I hope you read The Perfect Nanny, I want to hear what yout think.
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IT IS INDEED. My blog is going places! I’ll try my best remember you when I’m famous.
Ohh interesting, I’ll try to prioritize that then. Did you like it?
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Mmmmm I had some issues!! I read it in one sitting, en route from Toronto to Edmonton, and it did make the flight seem short.
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Ooh ok, I can live with that!
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I really liked Disoriental! I found it quite a dense read (because I know nothing about the history of modern Iran) but hugely rewarding.
The Perfect Nanny (Lullaby in the UK) was so hyped when I read it a few years ago but I’ve forgotten everything about it now 😦
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Oh good to know it’s on the dense side – I also know nothing about modern Iran so I imagine a lot of googling is in store for me. I’m looking forward to it though!
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Yay for WITmonth!
Ooh, Out 👀 I read it years ago and still remember some scenes so vividly!
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I’ve had a copy on my shelf for LITERAL YEARS, I think it may finally be time…
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Ooh, this looks fun! I don’t know that I’ll follow the readathon specifically but I am looking forward to reading some translated works by women in August, and I’ll enjoy seeing those recommendations on your page! Disoriental is on my shelf also, I’d love to get to it and I’d love to see your thoughts! Happy WIT reading 🙂
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Ooh yay I can’t wait to see what you pick up! Happy WIT reading to you too!
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This is still so exciting! I own The Perfect Nanny in German, so if you pick it up I will try so as well – but as always, I am super bad at reading physical books at the moment.
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Ooh yes we should try to buddy read that, if the stars align. I imagine it will be a quick one!
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Ooh I’m tempted to join in with WIT month after I’m finished my current reads. I’ve got a couple of novels (including My Brilliant Friend) that have been sitting on my shelves for ages that fit the bill. No more excuses for not reading them!
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Yessss do it! Excited to see what you pick up!
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Out is great fun and I quite enjoyed The Perfect Nanny (or Lullaby as it was called here) but not as much as others.
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I’ve had Out on my shelf for years! I’ve heard mixed things about The Perfect Nanny/Lullaby but it seems like a quick enough read that my interest is still piqued.
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It’s interesting and worth reading for sure. Enjoy!
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I love this event so, so much and have you to thank for introducing me to it! 🙂
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Ahhh yayyy I can’t wait to see what you pick up! I think I’ve gotten 100% of my nonfiction WIT recs from you!
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