The Feminist Fifty

Thanks so much to everyone who left recs on the women of color theme post! We've got quite a range of recs, and I'll leave that post open so feel free to add some more recs in the comments. You can see the general guidelines for leaving recs on that post, but now it's time for the second theme, which is...

Sexuality! Again, this is a broad category, so feel free to interpret however you like. You can rec non-fiction books about any aspect of sexuality, you can rec sex-positive memoirs by awesome women, you can rec erotic fiction and poetry, you can rec books about feminist takes on sexuality, books that look at sexuality from a queer or trans perspective, etc etc. Any questions, feel free to ask for clarification in comments.

Today kicks off three_weeks_for_dw, and thus our review fest here at feminist50! There aren't any specific rules or goals for the review fest: this is just an opportunity to get some content up on the comm and for all of us to challenge ourselves to read feminist, woman-centric, and woman-positive books. You choose what you read, you decide when to post a review. The only rule is that when you post a review for the fest, it needs to stay on DW only for three weeks.

Follow the usual guidelines for reviews found in the community FAQ, but please tag your review fest entries "three weeks for dreamwidth" and "review fest."

I'll be tagging entries on this community as usual, but using those tags signals your intent to keep the content on DW for three weeks, making it eligible for the fest. Thanks and I look forward to reading your reviews!

So! Things were pretty even in the poll between wanting a review fest and a themed book recs fest, and I see no reason why we can't do both. The review fest will give folks a chance to read the books they've had lying around or on their "to read" lists, while the recs fest gives those who don't have time to read something new (or those who want to do both!) a way to participate.

Here's how it will work:

I'll go ahead and open a post up soon for the review fest where you can set a goal for yourself in comments. You don't have to set a goal, but I always find that concrete goals are a good way to remind myself to participate in a challenge. It could be as simple as "read one book relevant to this community" or as specific as you want to make it. For example, I'm going to challenge myself to re-read one of my favorite feminist books so that I can write a review, and also to read a book of poetry by a female poet that I keep meaning to look through. You can start reading anytime you want, but reviews should be posted in this community starting April 26. You're also welcome to review books that you've already read if it was recently enough for you to write a review.

For the themed book recs fest, starting April 26 I'll be making posts to the community with a topic, say, "books by women of color." All you have to do to participate is comment with one or more book titles and authors. You can include a sentence or a few about why you're recommending the book, but you don't have to. I'll be live-updating the recs posts with your recs and I'll also post a master list at the end of the fest. I'll also make a theme suggestions post (the reason I'm not suggesting that you do your own theme posts is simply that it makes it easier for me to be the one doing the live-updating; I'll credit any suggested themes to the suggester).

I'll be linking to these fests in the three_weeks_for_dw comm. Remember that if you post a review or leave a recs list in the comm it needs to stay on DW for three weeks after you post. You're welcome to crosspost in your personal DW, just don't re-post on another journaling system or blog for three weeks.

I'm looking forward to it!