Margaret Atwood Reading Month is hosted by Naomi at Consumed by Ink and Marcie at BuriedInPrint and inspired by decades of reading Margaret Atwood’s words: journalism and fiction, poetry and comics.
From November 1, 2019 through November 30, 2019 we’ll be reading Margaret Atwood, and we invite you to join. (On the 18th, Margaret Atwood celebrates her 80th birthday and quietly we’ll be celebrating along with her, by reading her work. That also might be an excellent reason for cake!)
Want to join in the celebration? It’s easy. Just read one thing by Margaret Atwood or one hundred things (well, poems add up). Something. Anything. Printed page or audiobook: whatever tickles your fancy.
Post about it where you love to bookchat and then leave your link to that post in a comment below – here or on Naomi’s site. Either on this page or, as the month unfolds, on one of the event posts yet-to-come. We will curate the content and share at the end of the event.
Looking for more structure? This year we are going to focus on the worlds of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments. So we are planning weekly posts on our own sites as follows:
Week One: November 1, 2019
The Handmaid’s Tale (no spoilers)
Week Two: November 8, 2019
The Handmaid’s Tale (spoilery)
Week Three: November 15, 2019
The Testaments (no spoilers)
Week Four: November 22, 2019
The Testaments (spoilery)
Week Five: November 29, 2019
Handmaid’s and Testaments Together (spoilery)
We first discovered Margaret Atwood through her writing, so we do want to make that the core of our reading month celebration.
But there are so many platforms for her work now: videos, mini-series, TV series, films, theatre, podcasts, choral works. So once you’ve read something, if you’re inspired to watch/listen/attend something: feel free to share those experiences as well.
Looking for inspiration? Visit the author’s own site, or check out last year’s roundup post.
Browse our previous posts on Margaret Atwood: Alias Grace(M); Alias Grace (N); The Circle Game (M); The Door (M); Hag-Seed (M); The Handmaid’s Tale (M); The Heart Goes Last (M); The Heart Goes Last (N); Illustrated Children’s Tales (N); Maddaddam (M); Moral Disorder (N); Morning in the Burned House (N); Negotiating with the Dead (M); Oryx and Crake (M); The Penelopiad (M); Stone Mattress (M); Stone Mattress (N); The Year of the Flood (M)
So if you’ve never read one of her books and are looking for a comfortable nook to try? Here’s an opportunity.
And if you’ve read them all and are looking for a reason to reread? This could be it.
Or if you’re curious about something of hers you’ve never tried (maybe her essays or children’s books)? Why not now.
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Wahoo! I’m halfway through the Testaments as I write, so I will be able to contribute this year 🙂
Perfect! We could hardly resist the opportunity to focus on this one. So much scope for good discussions: politics, environment, bodies, sisterhood…woot!
Excited to follow along with you guys on this! Turns out I read The Testaments a few weeks too soon 🙂
No worries: you’ll remember it, I’m sure, and have the experience of your book group (that’s what you read it for, wasn’t it) to back your comments! You’re too busy Wordfesting.
haha yes very true. I actually read it for this podcast i”m starting-to be launched soooonnn!!!
That sounds exciting: good luck with that – new ventures are always time consuming and equal parts frustration and thrills!
I will certainly be joining in, though I read The Testaments when it first came out. So, I am thinking I might read MaddAddam and The Hagseed if I don’t get distracted by other things. Looking forward to all the Margaret Atwood love.
I’m sure you’ll still remember quite enough to comment on The Testaments; it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be the kind of story that slips away quickly after reading. Whatever you choose to read will be just great. And I well understand the risk of distraction – there are a lot of events in November (perhaps anticipating December, which holds less reading for many people).
For an 80th birthday, I’m thinking the cake needs to be big!
I’m so curious to see what you’ll come up with!
I’ll join in, too. It’ll probably be Cat’s Eye or Survival, both of which I own & haven’t read.
Survival seems like such a summer read to me (but I think BookishBeck read it last November?) but Cat’s Eye would suit my idea of a November read perfectly…complete with ravine visits in this city!
What? The dangers of the Canadian wilderness isn’t the sort of thing I would want to read as winter’s coming in? What?
Survival would do double duty with Nonfiction November, but I suspect it will be Cat’s Eye…
LOL No, no, no: I read that as Surfacing rather than Survival. Survival would be a great choice! It’s all winter winter winter there!
I’m working on NFN too. Such a LOT Of reading. :-/
Sorry to sidestep your particular theme, though I will eagerly read both of you on your reactions to re-reading Handmaid’s and then reading the sequel. My two MARM reads have been planned out for a few months now: Moral Disorder and The Robber Bride. I’m excited!
Please do! I remembered that you had picked up TRB during the year and had the event in mind even then; I’m glad you’re sticking with your plan. The idea of a theme is just for those who are looking for that kind of experience – it could very well be that Naomi and I are reading this pair just the two of us (as you’ve noted elsewhere, we’d be reading The Testaments for the Shadow Giller anyhow).
Well, I will try! I don’t know if I’ll get to Handmaid and Testaments, but I still have unread Atwood on my shelves, so you never know! 😀
I get it! I’ve just read the first three pages of my 1930 book – it’s hard to plan sometimes and even when one has notice (you and Simon are great with your planning) there is always a seemingly endless TBR to negotiate with! I bet you could find an essay or two (like your Woolf idea)…
Sounds good! Time for a Handmaid’s Tale reread, and to do it together, wonderful!
It’s time for me, too! 🙂