I have been reading this for a bit now, in small increments. But I just ran across a quote that reminds me of bookcrossing, so...from page 69

"'I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sens of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages some one long gone has called my attention to.' - Bibliophile Helen Hanff, on the joys of second-hand books, from 84, Charing Cross Road"

anyway, isn't that sort of what bookcrossing is about, only instead of writing in the margins (though I occasionally find I do that too) we jot a journal entry or three, and pass the book on.

I finally finished this. I read it slowly, at intervals. It is a book about many women authors. Women who changed the world as they knew it. Rebels. Thinkers. I enjoyed many of the stories, but some of them were a little dull.

This book contains a series of biographical profiles of women writers from ancient times to the late 20th-century. (The book was published in 2000 when J.K. Rowling had only published 3 Harry Potter books). The book is arranged by topic: First Ladies of Literature, about women who broke the mold and became the first of some type of literature; Ink in Their Veins, about women related to famous men; Mystics and Madwomen, my least favorite section, suggesting that women writers are all a little crazy; Banned, Blacklisted and Arrested, self-explanatory; Prolific Pens, writers who have published a multitude of books; Salonists and Culture Makers and finally Women Whose Books are Loved Too Much (adored authors).

The writing style is very casual. There are no footnotes or citations but a bibliography is included in the end. It's obvious the author was only somewhat familiar with certain authors given the simplicity and minor errors in the profiles. The profiles are more casual than a wikipedia entry but similar in length and information. What the editor does very well is include women writers who are more obscure because of time period or subject matter. There are a number of Queer women profiled here as well.

I would recommend this book to non-literature majors as a starting place to locate new potential favorite writers.

6/1/07 - I have been carrying this book around in my file bag at work for the majority of this past school year, reading a few pages at a time here & there, when I have a few minutes to spare. Well, it took me a while, but I did make it through the whole thing, and the timing was pretty good, as I finished it this week, and school also ended this week. It's a very nice resource for giving the reader a brief glimpse into some of the world's most innovative women writers -- some I was pretty familiar with, some I had heard of but really didn't know much about, and many I had never heard of at all. It seems like a perfect book for any active BookCrosser. :')

Fun overview of women who changed the world through writing and reading!

Karah gave me this as a present several years ago.

This was a book I found hard to read non-stop. There was so much interesting information about each of the authors that I had to take more time than usual while reading it.
The bad editing was annoying and distracting.
I enjoyed the quotes at the end of each author section. I especially liked the one from Emily Bronte:

I'll walk where my own nature would be leading:
It vexes me to choose another guide.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4...

The best part was reading about women in the Dark and Middle ages who managed to read and write despite many obstacles in their way.

I didn't anticipate that this book would be a collection of biographical sketches. Nonetheless, I count it as joyous blessing. I learned more of women from antiquity and the recent centuries. I hadn't learned of Enheduanna, Aphra Behn, Kathleen Raine, Grazia Deledda, Lucy Terry Prince,Barbara Tuchman, Jane Welsh Carlyle, and Meret Oppenheim. I had seen the name Enheduanna in a textbook on Mesopotamia during a history course.

This book presents legendary women in an accessible fashion. Many times, legends have their humanity snatched from them on the printed page. A reader empathizes with these women.

Mini-bios and bits of poetry and prose from some of the best women authors. This gave me more books to add to my list.

I won this at our Dec book club meeting. Really excited to read it!

Cute. Highlight books of women authors from the first female author to today.

Interesting survey of the reading preferences of famous women in history.