On Tuesdays, I go to my local library to write. After I finish with my section for the night, I often browse the adult non-fiction shelf to see if there is anything intriguing that I might want to read. So far, I’ve had good luck, finding some very interesting books that I enjoyed a lot. By coincidence, all three had female authors.
This habit was interrupted briefly by the arrival of a book I purchased with a Christmas gift card. This book, too, is non-fiction and written by a woman.
I’ve recently read a couple of other books from the library that weren’t accidental finds. One was a book that was mentioned in an internet article, which I specifically requested and which had to be sent from another library branch. The other was from a Valentine’s Day event that our library system holds called “Blind Date with a Book” – you answer a few questions and a librarian picks out a book you might like. Without any particular design, both of these non-fiction books were written by women.
I noticed the trend around book three. I haven’t specifically set out to keep it going, and I haven’t rejected a possible book because it was written by a man, but I am curious to see how long it continues.
Tonight I stumbled across two more books that caught my eye while at the library. One was completely random – I went into the stacks to find a reference book for help with a writing question (a benefit of being in a library) and this book was face-out on the shelf. The other was on a display that I noticed as I was heading to the check out computers. I didn’t want to choose, and I can read two books in three weeks, so I checked them both out.
You have probably figured out where this is going, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. Both of the new books are non-fiction by female authors.
I’m kind of enjoying this trend, now that I think about it. 🙂
In case you’re curious, here are the books I’ve read so far in 2018:
Spies in the Family by Eva Dillon (library find)
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore (library find)
Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder by Claudia Kalb (ordered)
Daring to Drive by Manal al-Sharif (library find)
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson (blind date)
Little Girls in Pretty Boxes by Joan Ryan (requested)
And I just picked up Bonk by Mary Roach (shelf) and Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt (display).