AVAA anyone?

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AVAA anyone?

1Heaven-Ali
jul 12, 2020, 8:30 am

For the last few years I have tried to juggle books in August, reading things for AVAA and #WITmonth. (New members AVAA is all Virago all August - we read vmc and Persephone books during this month - or VMC authors in other editions, we also count Dean Street Press books now too).

This August I will do the same, in fact I shall probably start my WITmonth reading next week. I already had lots of books by women in translation, but only one VMC I will not serve by Eveline Maahyere. So I consulted Cate (Blueroses) who is so wonderfully knowledgeable about VMCs and ended up buying four more VMCs from ebay. The listings all claim they are vmc so I shall be disappointed if they are the wrong editions, although I know edition doesn't matter for AVAA.

I bought, A Captive Spirit by Marina Tsvetaeva, Deborah by Esther Kreitman, The Other Woman by Colette and A Fine of Two hundred Francs by Elsa Triolet.

So, that's me all sorted. Who else is doing AVAA this August?

2bleuroses
jul 12, 2020, 3:06 pm

Glad to be of help, Ali. I forgot about Elsa Triolet! I don't usually participate in reading challenges because I pretty much get diverted every time. That said, A Fine of Two Hundred Francs looks so interesting as does reading about Elsa Triolet. What a fascinating woman. I have a copy of The Lives of Elsa Triolet by Lachlan MacMinnon that I might pair it with.

Ali, will you be heading up the AVAA thread this year?

3Heaven-Ali
Bewerkt: jul 12, 2020, 4:04 pm

>2 bleuroses: Umm. .. I could I suppose, what do I have to do exactly? 😊 Don't want to tread on anyone's toes though.

4LisaMorr
jul 13, 2020, 11:13 am

I think you could start a thread for it - I will definitely try to read a few Viragos and/or Persephones in August.

5Heaven-Ali
jul 13, 2020, 11:34 am

>4 LisaMorr: I think i could manage to start a thread for it - glad you will be joining in with AVAA Lisa.

6bleuroses
Bewerkt: jul 13, 2020, 12:50 pm

>3 Heaven-Ali: Heaven-Ali: Belva (rainpebble) used to moderate the AVAA thread but that was a few years ago. Karen (kaggsy) started last years' thread, so I think it's okay.

7Heaven-Ali
jul 13, 2020, 3:34 pm

>6 bleuroses: ah yes, now I remember, that's ok then. Thanks. I can't promise I will do such a good job, but I will start the thread just before 1st August and take it from there.

8LizzieD
jul 13, 2020, 11:52 pm

I generally manage to read one V in A, and I hope that this year won't be any different. Thank you for taking this on, Ali!
(Does anybody hear from Belva these days????) I miss her.

9kaggsy
jul 14, 2020, 9:37 am

I will join in too Ali. I have one Virago lined up and one Persephone if it ever arrives. So yes, let’s do it!

10LyzzyBee
jul 15, 2020, 4:38 am

I have the Elsa Triolet somewhere! I will be doing AVAA as part of my 20 Books of Summer project as always, I have a couple of Viragoes (though I've put one aside for Aus Lit Month in November!), some Persephones, a Dean St Press and a Women's Press book, plus I hope the new Angela Thirkells will arrive during the month so I can add in some of those. Really looking forward to it as ever!

11CDVicarage
jul 15, 2020, 6:27 am

I have many unread Viragos and Persephones and I always try to read one, or even some, during August.

12romain
jul 15, 2020, 11:15 am

Me too. I'll target some of my Persephones.

13kac522
Bewerkt: jul 20, 2020, 12:27 am

Tonight I took a peek in my neighborhood Little Free Library, and there were 4 Viragos! All E. H. Young, and all new to me:

The Curate's Wife
The Misses Mallett
Miss Mole
William

So I think I'll be forced to participate ;)

14Sakerfalcon
jul 20, 2020, 9:23 am

>13 kac522: Wow, that is a treasure trove indeed!

I will be joining in. AVAA is always one of my favourite reading projects! I have my first Dean Street Press titles to read this year, too.
Spam tomorrow, Alice, Henry and Table two

15bleuroses
Bewerkt: jul 20, 2020, 7:07 pm

>13 kac522: What a fabulous find, Kathy! Green Spine heaven!

16kac522
jul 20, 2020, 9:12 pm

17LyzzyBee
jul 22, 2020, 12:55 pm

Ooh exciting DSPs!

18spiralsheep
jul 22, 2020, 2:28 pm

I've got two greenies on my To Be Reread pile, although neither of them are VMCs but only Vs: Whole of a Morning Sky and Northanger Abbey.

While I was looking at those I also noticed two grey Women's Press science fiction novels that I don't think I've ever read (or I read them so long ago that I don't remember).

Apart from that all my mid-century middle-brow tbrs are by Elizabeth Cadell, and tbrereads are Margery Sharp.

19Sakerfalcon
jul 23, 2020, 9:41 am

>18 spiralsheep: I have so many of those Women's Press Science Fiction series waiting to be read! Maybe I will try a couple of them in August.

20spiralsheep
Bewerkt: jul 24, 2020, 5:15 am

>19 Sakerfalcon: I'd love to hear your thoughts. The Women's Press science fiction list was probably the best attempt to (re-)publish a definitive feminist speculative fiction collection at the time, and kept books in print that would otherwise have disappeared. Very much in the VMC spirit, albeit in a different genre.

I'm thinking my Grace Nichols, Jane Austen, Joanna Russ, and Jane (Dandi) Palmer, green and grey spines would be a notably contrasting collection of reads.

(Are touchstones not working today? ETA added manually /ETA)

21romain
jul 24, 2020, 11:00 am

I had nothing to read last night so went through my bookcases. Picked out Emmeline which looks worthy and boring but someone on here (Elaine?) said it was wonderful. So that will be my first read for AVAA and I will probably start it this week rather than waste time reading something else.

I am also looking at one Whipple and thinking about others such as Consequences by E M Delafield which I read the first few chapters of recently but never went back to. I also have two new Persephones by Elizabeth Von Arnim and Sylvia Townsend Warner both of whom are VMC authors at least...