2022 CATWoman Planning Thread

CATWoman wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/CATWoman_2022

2022 CATWoman Schedule

January -- sallylou61 -- Biography/autobiography/memoir by women -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/337468
February -- Pamelad -- Women in Translation (Women authors and/or translators) -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/338730
March -- NinieB -- Women Pioneers -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/339601
April -- Jackie_K -- Women of Color -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/340278
May -- Pamelad -- Classics by Women -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/341195
June -- sallylou61 -- Books set in cities -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/341761
July -- LibraryCin -- Women in Science -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/342418
August -- susanna.fraser -- Children's/YA/Graphic Novels -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/342901
September -- DeltaQueen -- Women during War. -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/343533
October -- Robertgreaves -- Women and Crime -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/344175
November --DeltaQueen -- Issues as seen through women's eyes -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/345138#n7954169
December -- lsh63 -- Prize Winner by a Woman -- thread at https://www.librarything.com/topic/345774#n7975485

Newly suggested topics in 2021:
Influential/inspirational women
Poetry by women
Women who used male pen names
Women leaders in such fields as government, elected or appointed; CEOs of companies, etc.
Women in traditionally male jobs/fields
A book by a woman first published this century
A prize winner by a woman -- topic for December
A woman writer from your own country
Women during war: either as nurses, pilots, fighting, etc. or on the home front -- topic for September
Women pioneers: moving to unsettled land or in a particular field such as flying -- topic for March
Women in the home
Women in science -- topic for July
Women and Crime -- topic for October
Women in translation: Either works by women translated from other languages or works translated by women -- topic for February
Women in aviation
Issues as seen through the eyes of a woman (either fiction or non-fiction) such mental health, marriage, divorce, race, aging, religion, dealing with death, illness, rape, bullying etc. -- topic for November
Women who travel - with non-fiction as a travelogue or a story about women on a journey be it as a pioneer, a war bride, a fun road trip
Books Set in Cities, written by women -- topic for June
Series Written by Women

Topics from the 2017 WomanCAT:
Classics by women -- topic for May
Debut books
Genres
Biography/autobiography/memoir -- topic for January
Women in the arts
Professional women
Women of color -- topic for April
Nonfiction or historical fiction
Children's/YA/Graphic novels -- topic for August
Regional reading
LGBT/Feminist writing
Modern (post-1960) novels by women

How about Influential/inspirational women
Poetry by women
Women who used male pen names

Is this too specific:

Women in traditionally male jobs/fields

(Obviously that would be books about those women.)

>3 LibraryCin: No. Sounds good. Thanks for suggesting it.

A book first published this century
A prize winner
A woman writer from your own country

>5 pamelad:. Thanks for the suggestions. However, did you mean this for AuthorCAT or CATWoman?

>6 sallylou61: The CATWoman thread. Why do you ask?

Is this CAT for books about women rather than by women?

>7 pamelad: This is both about and by women. Ideally, all the books about women should be written by women since men and women would probably have very different views about the topic. However, we also have an AuthorCAT for 2022, and I'm assuming, maybe incorrectly, that we do not want to have much if any duplication between the two CATs. Your suggested topics sounded to me more like AuthorCAT topics. However, I listed them in the list of suggestions.

>8 sallylou61: Thanks. If there's duplication you can weed it out later.

Initially, I may have been stressing non-author topics too much. Judy of AuthorCAT and I have discussed our two CATS, and decided, although they are similar, it's fine to feature authors in CATWoman. People might have voted for it thinking it was more about writing by women.

>10 sallylou61: That's good. I'd voted for it assuming it was about writing by women.

>3 LibraryCin: Could you give some examples?

1)Perhaps it would come under women in traditionally male fields, but how about women criminals?

2) Women in translation? Either works by women translated from other languages or works translated by women?

>11 pamelad: I'm not sure how many books are on these topics, but women mechanics (or women in trades). I was also thinking women in the military. I'm sure there are more, but those are what I can think of off the top of my head. Maybe women farmers, as another option?

ETA: women pilots? There are probably lots more that people can think of.

ETA: >12 Robertgreaves: To include women criminals... is there a way we could rename it? I like adding it in as another option.

>12 Robertgreaves:, >13 LibraryCin: What about women and crime if we do not want to use women criminals?
For women pilots, I had them listed under both women during war and women pioneers (although we could certainly have women pilots as a separate category)
On second thought instead of using women pilots, why don't we use women in aviation (which would cover women navigators, mechanics, etc.

Thanks for these suggestions. Let's keep them coming -- and sign up for a topic you especially like.

Could I do Women and Crime in February?

Women writers of crime fiction, true crime and other crime-related topics e.g forensic medicine.

>15 pamelad: Great -- I will put you on the schedule

I will take Women Pioneers in February.

>17 NinieB: Thanks, Ninie, but, unfortunately, February is the only month which has already been taken. Are you willing to do another month?

>18 sallylou61: Sorry, I knew that, thought March, typed February. March, please!

>12 Robertgreaves: Looks like it's been separated out! But the crime one, I think, has plenty of options. I think my traditional male fields probably has fewer options.

>15 pamelad: I was thinking of women as the topic rather than the author - books about eg Myra Hindley or Rose West. Could we amend the subject so that it is not so author-centric?

>21 Robertgreaves: I have deliberately chosen an author-centric topic! As long as there are books about Myra Hindley and Rose West that are written by women, you can include them, but female criminals are not my focus.

ETA One of Your Own by Carole Ann Lee; Rose West: the making of a monster by Jane Carter Woodrow.

>21 Robertgreaves: Robert, I hadn't noticed that difference. I was hoping for women criminals, as well.

Maybe it can still be combined with my suggestion somehow, after all? Do you have any suggestions to rename it to include it with "Traditionally male dominated fields/jobs"?

>21 Robertgreaves:, >23 LibraryCin:. Do you want to add a topic Women criminals? The explanation for Women and crime would show the difference. Or, if we want to combine it with Women in traditionally male jobs/fields we should probably add including crime. If we don't specifically spell it out somewhere, I don't think crime will be recognized in fields/jobs.

I want this CATWoman to make it as a CAT. I have a feeling that it was not discussed enough before voting, and a lot of the same people voted for both AuthorCAT and CATWoman -- probably with different thoughts about CATWoman.

>23 LibraryCin: >24 sallylou61: When voting I was definitely under the impression the topic was books "by or about women" rather than "by and about women".

Be that as it may, I think Women and Crime could be inclusive enough as a topic, covering women as criminals, victims, investigators, whether in true crime or crime fiction.

>24 sallylou61:, >25 Robertgreaves: We are getting bogged down when it would be better to get on with allocating topics to months.

I've decided to change topics and would like to do Women in Translation in February.

Can I have "Woman During War" in September, please.

Is it OK to duplicate topics from 2017 or are we trying to avoid that?

>28 susanna.fraser: Fine to dulicate topics. 2017 was a long time ago reading-wise. So that people will see that we are using both sets of topics, I selected one from the 2017 list to host. If it is the topic you are wanted to host, let me know and I will pick something else.

I'll host a month on Women of Colour. How about April? (If anyone is desperate to do April I don't really mind all that much what month I do, as long as it's not in the summer).

>12 Robertgreaves: Would you like to do the Women and crime or Woman criminals or whatever you want to call it now that >26 pamelad: has chosen another topic? What month do you want?

I'll take Children's/YA/Graphic Novels for August.

How about a book by or about a first lady? It could be any country with "first ladies." It could be at any level where there are first ladies (for example, a U.S. state). This would allow people to read biographies, a children's book (Barbara Bush), mystery (Hillary Clinton), autobiography (Michelle Obama), etc. as well as some books where some first ladies are featured as characters (e.g. Abigail Adams). It could be a lot of fun to interpret this in your own way. I'd be willing to host in either April or May if this sounds like a good theme.

>33 thornton37814: This is mainly a US topic. Is there a way of expanding it to include other countries? First ladies aren't a big thing in Australia, for example.

>34 pamelad: I said it could be any country. I guess we could say wives of heads of state. I don't know what they are called in other places. I would think it could be the wife of a prime minister or whatever they are called.

>35 thornton37814: First ladies really are not such a big thing in other countries, whatever you call them. Could the topic be expanded to include female politicians?

ETA Julia Gillard is my idol.

>31 sallylou61: OK, put me down for July and Women and Crime

>30 Jackie_K:, >32 susanna.fraser:, >37 Robertgreaves:. Thanks to all of you.

>38 sallylou61: Can you put me down for August instead of October?

>33 thornton37814:. Thanks for volunteering to host. Would you be willing to change the topic to Women in Government? This could include women rulers such as queens, prime ministers, chancellors, governors, cabinet officers, legislators, judges, and wives of rulers including first ladies.
I'll save May for you until I hear from you. April has been taken.

>3 LibraryCin: Hi. You have been active in the discussion on this CAT. Would you like to host a month?

>37 Robertgreaves: Yay! I'm looking forward to that one.

>41 sallylou61: Let me take a look at what's still there. I was going to pop in and do Women and Crime if Robert didn't actually want to host, so I was waiting on his answer. :-)

Ok, how about I'll do "Women in Science" and I'll choose August.

Does anybody know where the somewhat bizarre touchstones on the right hand sidebar came from?

>44 LibraryCin: Thanks. I just noticed that in >39 susanna.fraser: that Susanna.fraser asked to switch from October to August. It's hard to keep everything straight when people change their minds about topics and months. I've saved your topic for you.

>46 sallylou61: Actually, I asked for August when I picked the topic back in >32 susanna.fraser:. I never requested October, so when I saw that it was listed that way I asked to have it corrected because it doesn’t fit my schedule.

>45 Robertgreaves: They are bracketed phrases in post >1 sallylou61:

>48 VivienneR: OIC, thanks

>46 sallylou61:, >47 susanna.fraser:. Sorry for listing you for the wrong month, Susanna. Don't know how I did that; you definitely originally asked for August and I had your topic listed as August on the suggestions list.

Cindy, do you have another month you could do?

>45 Robertgreaves: Sorry I got so much junk to the side; I was trying to somehow highlight the topics taken, etc. I've removed the junk. This is my first time at organizing a CAT, and, obviously have a lot to learn.

>50 sallylou61: Thank you for updating! I have this weird mental quirk where I'll sometimes misdate October and December documents when I'm listing the month numerically where I'll start October dates with 8 or December ones with 10 because I know "oct" means 8 and "dec" means 10, so I understand how that can happen. (I don't have the same issue with September and November, I think because there aren't as many common words with the "sept" and "nov" numeric associations.)

We have completed the themes for the AuthorCat and at the end it came down to two themes, we picked one and I thought the other one might work well here:

Issues as seen through the eyes of a woman (either fiction or non-fiction) Some of the issues we thought of were mental health, marriage, divorce, race, aging, religion, dealing with death, illness, rape, bullying etc.

I also had another idea:

Women who travel - with non-fiction as a travelogue or a story about women on a journey be it as a pioneer, a war bride, a fun road trip.

>52 DeltaQueen50:. Thanks for suggesting these two topics. I'll put them on the list above.

>40 sallylou61: I'm not interested in hosting a broader topic. I'll let someone else host.

>50 sallylou61: Ok, you can put me and Women in Science in October instead.

>54 thornton37814: Thanks for letting me know.

>55 LibraryCin: We now have May open. So the choices are May, June, October, November, and December. Do you still want October?

>57 sallylou61: Yes, October is still ok for me. Thanks!

Some CAT suggestions that didn't win, haven't been used as topics in other 2022 CATS and could fit in here are: ClassicsCAT (listed under 2017), CityCAT, SeriesCAT.

Classics Written by Women
Books Set in Cities, written by women
Series Written by Women

>59 pamelad:. Thanks Pam. I added the last two topics to the list. Classics by women was already on the list, being the first heading under the 2017 CATWoman.

I am already hosting a number of months for various Cats and Kits so what's one month more - you can put me down for November and the topic will be "Issues as seen through a woman's eye".

>61 DeltaQueen50: Yay!

I can do Classics in May (or June if someone else would like May).

>61 DeltaQueen50:. >63 pamelad:, . Thanks to both of you. I was beginning to think we might need to double up on months, but was waiting a bit longer to put out the call.

>64 sallylou61: I don't want to discourage anyone from hosting so if need be, I would be quite willing to give up one of my months to someone new. :)

I’ll do a Prize Winner by a woman in December.

>66 lsh63: Thanks a lot, Lisa. We now have a full slate of hosts. However, if anyone new wants a month, at least two of us who have two months would be glad to give up one of our slots

I will wait a day or two for any additional volunteers before having the wiki made. Are any of you experienced wiki makers?

>68 sallylou61: I can do it. It's easy to alter, so I'll start now.

>69 pamelad:. Thanks so much. You have really done a lot to help this CAT get started.

https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/CATWoman_2022

>70 sallylou61: Happy to help, and thank you for taking on this CAT organisation.

Thanks to everyone hosting, there are some very interesting topics for which I already have a book in mind. Looking forward to 2022!

I am new here, so please forgive the intrusion, as I am learning how this works.

In >1 sallylou61: and >12 Robertgreaves: the topic "Women in translation" was described as being about both translated books by women authors and books translated by women.

Yet the summary in the CATwoman thread refers only women authors in translation.

Should I thus infer that it has been decided to exclude works by women translators (for 2022)? And that maybe that field will be covered in another year?

>73 20thEagle:. Welcome. I hope that you enjoy this CAT. The women in translation can be either authors or translators or both. I've changed >1 sallylou61: to reflect that.

>73 20thEagle: I've already started making a list of books for February. It includes books written by women and translated by women, books written by men and translated by women, and books written by women and translated by men.

>75 pamelad: I remember reading about 6 months ago of some group of the great and the good planning to establish a literary prize for translations by women. Did anything ever come of that?

Because of family stuff, July is not going to be a good time for me to host and June is going to be distinctly iffy. Would anybody be willing to swap months?

>77 Robertgreaves: Would you like October? I can switch.

>78 LibraryCin: Yes, please

>79 Robertgreaves: Ok, I will plan for July instead!

>76 Robertgreaves: There's the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, but the women are the authors. The translators can be any gender. I couldn't find a suggestion of a prize for female translators.

>81 pamelad: I must have got hold of the wrong end of the stick, then. Sorry

>77 Robertgreaves:, >78 LibraryCin:. I have made the switch in >1 sallylou61:.

January thread is posted here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/337468

>74 sallylou61:, >75 pamelad:
Thank you both. My Internet access is intermittent, but I hope to be joining you in February.

I have read quite a few books written by men and translated by women, and vice versa, recently; I look forward to your suggestions for exploring the topic further.

I have Three Mothers from the library, so will be reading this for the biography category this month. Looking forward to a good year of reading for the themes.

The January thread is posted at https://www.librarything.com/topic/337468

Hi, just to let everyone know - it looks like I was scheduled to post July's thread.

I just got home from kidney stone surgery and spent the entire weekend in the hospital waiting for it. My intent had been to work on it over the weekend, then post it this week. I won't have time now to work on it until this upcoming weekend, now, so it will be posted a bit later. Sorry, all! It will come...

Oh my, I hope you're feeling okay now and you have no more of that kind of trouble. The weekend is fine with me.

>89 clue: Thank you! The stone is out, but there is still some lingering uncomfortable-ness (without going in to too much detail! LOL!). I'm hoping that will be done by this weekend.

Either way, I just have more time to work on these during weekends rather than during the week. Based on working from home today, I was able to do my entire work day without too much trouble, so I should be ok.

>88 LibraryCin: Ouch ouch ouch! Wishing you a gentle and quick recovery!

>91 Jackie_K: Thank you! It sounds like this is something you might have gone through at some point, as well. What an awful feeling...

>92 LibraryCin: Luckily I haven't, but I know enough people who have to know that it is very painful!

Still working on July's thread, but I hope to have it ready tonight. If not tonight, then it will be done and posted tomorrow (Sunday).

Ok, I didn't add much to what I already had, so it is now posted here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/342418

Oh no! Hope you have since recovered and no longer have any pain or discomfort.

>96 VivienneR: Thank you! There was a bit of lingering pain (but really only twinges here and there) until last week (so about a week post-surgery), but I am now done all the meds, and have not had any pain since Sunday or Monday.

I posted the December thread a few days early, it is posted at: https://www.librarything.com/topic/345774#n7975348

Thanks to everyone who participated in CATWoman this year. I hope you enjoyed your reading for it.

Special thanks to the hosts: Pamelad, NinieB, Jackie_K, LibraryCin, susanna.foster, DeltaQueen, Robertgreaves, and lsh63.

>99 sallylou61: Thank you very much for hosting the CAT.