Two more writers added to “She Writes” event 9/30 at Women & Children First!

(Women & Children first, in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood, is hosting a “She Writes” event on 9/30.  This exciting news just appeared in my inbox today!)

Two Authors Added to the She Writes Event Line-Up!

“As if an event with Teri Coyne (The Last Bridge), Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Her Fearful Symmetry), Zoe Zolbrod (Currency) and Deborah Siegel (Sisterhood, Interuppted) weren’t enough, two more amazing authors have been added to this Ordinary Women: Extraordinary Heroines event. Author Amina Gautier (Best African American Fiction
2009 and 2010) and Emily Gray Tedrowe (Commuters) have also joined the line-up.

Some come out and celebrate the amazing work of all of these great female authors!  Coyne and these authors are all part of the ground-breaking web community She Writes.

This special reading will celebrate the extraordinary heroics of “ordinary” women; fresh female characters who are often flawed but willful protagonists who rely on intelligence, wit, and survival skills to find themselves or shake things up. She Writes is the leading online destination for women writers. Since June 2009, more than 10,000 women writers from more than 30 countries and all 50 states have signed on to share knowledge, support, and network.”

Check it out!

What are you reading? (Mollie B., Chicago, IL)

For the week of September 15, 2010: Mollie B., Chicago

Mollie B., what are you reading?

I am currently reading “Cleopatra’s Daughter” by Michelle Moran. I am only about 50 pages in right now but I am enjoying it a lot.

What made you decide to read it?

I borrowed this book from my boyfriend’s mother who had suggested it as a good read. I had been interested in the book before because I have always loved the story of Cleopatra. Not many modern-day people know that she actually had four children, one of which is the focus of this book. Kleopatra Selene is the daughter of Kleopatra VII and Mark Antony and she was brought to Rome as a spoil of war after the suicides of her parents. This book traces her journey from Alexandria in 30 BC to Rome in 25BC and how she had to make her own way out of the ashes of her parents’ ambition.

What was the last thing you read?

I recently finished reading “Still Alice” by Lisa Genova. This was a very interesting look into Alzheimer’s disease and how it can affect a person so profoundly. The protagonist, Alice, slowly loses her memory as the book goes on but finds more than she thought she would. It made me think a lot about my family and our experience with this disease and how it would affect someone like me who, like Alice, lives through my brain and language functions. A wonderful read that I would recommend to anyone wanting an honest look into a debilitating disease that is still misunderstood.

[If you want to be featured in "What are you reading?" just shoot me an email.]