Difficult Women | 
so-soI'm not a big fan collections of short stories, so I'm not surprised that I was not really into this one. Some of the stories were good, some were weird, and some I did not care for. However, there were some stories that were hard to read due to the topics (e.g. rape). So trigger warnings before reading this one.
#authoramonth @Soubhiville #bookspin
pickI had no idea until I had this in my hot little hands that it was short stories. I always assumed it was essays. Side note that the ebook has additional stories in it that do not appear in the original print version. I love this author. This didn't disappoint.
#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
#BookSpin @TheAromaofBooks
so-soIve read some of Gay‘s nonfiction in the past and enjoyed it so I opted for some of her fiction — but maybe I should have stayed with her nonfiction. Some of these stories worked for me but the majority didn‘t, and collected together, some felt repetitive and confusing. 🤷🏻♀️ Perhaps the confusion was the intent.
#AuthorAMonth
bailedI thought the book was about badass women labeled “difficult.” After reading the 1st story I hesitated to continue. The author chose to start with a story about child sexual abuse, seeming to say, “If you can‘t stomach this story then just give up now.” Some trigger warnings would‘ve helped. After 4 stories I bailed for my own mental health. What made these women difficult? The common thread seemed to be “women who were screwed over by men.”
I know our phones listen to us because I started my #AuthorAMonth pick today and was served this Ad on Insta 🤣🤷🏻♀️
pickI love Roxane Gay and her writing. I thought this was a really interesting and diverse collection of short stories. She really captures a lot about being a woman and so much heart behind so many different scenarios of being a woman. I didn‘t love all the stories, but most of them really sucked me in and kept my interest. This is a darker book, but definitely worth reading!
We just had an awesome book discussion with Roxane Gay, organized by the @FeministBookClub
February‘s book is The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love and there will be a member‘s only discussion with the author, Sonya Renee Taylor.
If you are interested, you can use the code LUCHI to get 15% off your box.
pickCompleted this anthology of short stories, cuddled with our dog, while it was snowing outside (first snow of the season). TW- sexual assault, domestic abuse.
All the stories feature ‘difficult women‘ but shows how they became or why they are difficult. The protagonists come from various backgrounds; the stories vary in length & genres showing Gay‘s brilliance. I can say that every reader will finds parts of themselves in at least one story
My first read of Roxane Gay's 💖
(Don't mind the cinnamon floating in my coffee 😂)
For sure! A few faves (I have backlist to work through on some of these but new works automatically go on the TBR!):
Roxane Gay
Jasmine Guillory
Justina Ireland
Helen Hoang
Cherie Dimaline
Stephen Graham Jones
Tiffany D. Jackson
Samantha Irby
Kiley Reid
Brit Bennett
Carmen Maria Machado
#integrateyourshelf
A collection of short stories about, well, difficult women and the lives they lead. Some are truly disturbing and others sadly seem like the average woman‘s life. I‘m glad I‘m reading this but it is a bit depressing, especially in this year when everything is going wrong already. As always, though, Roxane Gay is a phenomenal author.
pickI DEVOURED my reread of this book. So glad to have a physical copy again. Baby Arm is an all-time favorite short story. The last three stories in the collection are long and my least favorites, so I‘m always left with an aftertaste, but the preceding 18 are so great, I have to give this 4.5⭐️
Excited for the Feminist Book Club Box discussion later this month.
Really long day already, but my Feminist Book Club Box came! 🎉🥳📚 I have a hardcover copy of DW in storage, but I‘m glad to have it back in my collection for now. Also very excited for the discussion with Roxane!
There‘s a cute calendar, chocolate-covered hazelnuts, grapefruit-scented soap, and this gorgeous green and gold washi tape, too. I‘m glad to be supporting small businesses with some of my book-buying 💵.
Two book-related services I‘ve signed-up for this year are MyTBR ( on the recommendation of @MallenNC ) & Roxane Gay‘s newsletter, The Audacity.
I‘m excited to see which books my bibliologist selects for me — & Roxane Gay is insightful, passionate, eloquent, & witty...so I‘ve no doubt the latter was a sound purchase.
https://mytbr.co
https://audacity.substack.com/p/the-audacity-begins-on-january-11th
pickDefinitely a tough read but I appreciate Gay's honesty both in the topics themselves and the feelings that come with those topics. Standout stories include Open Marriage and Noble Things.
Just wanted to share my reading tracker here. I have more photos on my IG (dearb00kshelves)
Also I started Difficult Women by Roxane Gay this morning. I'm trying to squeeze in one more read before the month ends. Anyone else?
pickThis was not an easy read because many of the stories dealt with rape and sexual abuse and they did not hold back, but they were so well written and evocative. These are not bedtime stories, but they are important and should be heard. The last one made me weep.
pickThe writing in this collection is achingly beautiful. The stories oscillating between gritty realism and abstract surrealism. This read takes time though, the stories are heavy (dealing with sexual violence, abuse, and grief) and the reader needs some time to digest and recover. While a difficult read, Difficult Women is well worth it.
pickFilled with flawed and imperfect women, Roxane Gay's short story collection makes readers face up to what society considers a difficult woman. Tw: sexual assault, rape, violence, pedophilia. It's not easy to read these, but anyone familiar with her work knows that already. Definitely a collection that makes you think. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
"It was a dark, ugly thing to see such greed cloaked in false good." - The Sacrifice of Darkness
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I Loved this incredible set of short stories, I hope she continues to write short stories because she is incredible
pickReally loved these short stories about all kinds of women on the verge. I love the way she writes about trauma and survival.
pickI have so many feelings about this book I don‘t even know where to start. 10/10, I‘m Amazon priming a copy ASAP bc I need to be able to read this over and over.
Constance Grady, writing for Vox, says it better than I can: “Taken together, the stories celebrate the condition of being difficult in the face of a world that is determined to hurt you. Because it is only the dead girls, Gay concludes in the title story, who are never called difficult.”
Snow has been falling for several hours and the absence of sound as fresh flakes fall to the ground is seductive (from Bone Density)
On this super hot, muggy day, Roxane Gay made me miss the snow. I know that sound-or lack of-like the back of my hand. Mmmm winter ❤️
pickThis is a powerful collection of stories/portraits of women. They are raw and candid and Roxane Gay doesn‘t mince words or avert her eyes. Women shouldn‘t have to hide the things that happen to them, and I feel like this collection helps bring them into the light. #LitsyAtoZ
“Peter would prefer to have sex every day. Hanna would prefer to never have sex with Peter again, not because she‘s frigid but because she finds it difficult to become aroused by a perpetually unemployed man.” —I almost spit out my latte...
Roxanne Gay has launched an online magazine. Read more about it here: https://gay.medium.com/
#roxannegay #writers
pickThis book is every bit as good as Roxane Gay‘s other work and you need to read it. Period.
#BlitsyHistoryMonth #BHM @ladyneverwhere thank you so much. Excited to read all these. The post card is beautiful
bailedDifficult woman by Roxane Gay.
I'll admit I hated that book!
The subjects were far too close to home and I didn't want to relive all that again.
This book is a did not finish for me.
#blackauthors #blackhistorymonth #femaleauthors
#currentlyReading Difficult woman by Roxane Gay.
The first story was what did I just read? 😕
The second story was What the f**k! 😮
The rest of the book I'm down for whatevers coming although there will be many more WTF moments! 🤦📚♀️
#femenist #femenistread #wtf #femaleauthor
#blackhistorymonth #readblackauthors 💞
Because I can never follow the rules *exactly* or exercise self-restraint, here are a bunch more picks for “authors who define [my] literary taste”:
Maggie Stiefvater
Lindy West
Rainbow Rowell
Roxane Gay
Jesmyn Ward
Cat Valente
Patricia Lockwood
Shirley Jackson
Lev Grossman
#fivefavorites #iwasnevergoodatmath
She once told a boyfriend about these considerations and he said, “You are completely out of your mind.” She told a new friend at work and she said, “Honey, you‘re not crazy. You‘re a woman.”
panQuite disappointing. I loved her novel & recent memoir. But this collection fell really flat. I‘ve always hated when a 2-3 page piece is called a ‘short story‘ — no, that‘s an anecdote, a scene. Not a story. Way too many super short pieces that said nothing. Some cliched characters, few that were unique. Also TOO MUCH SEX I know it‘s different for me being ace, but still, good lord. A few stories were strong but mostly this was a big miss. 2/5 ⭐️
pickI really liked this #newyearwhodis pick. Gay can make worlds and characters feel real in only a few pages, and some of her imagery is incredibly striking. A lot of the themes and language got repetitive though and I ended up not loving it as much as I thought I was going to. I also don't know if I'll be in a rush to read her other fiction, I'm not sure I could stomach the violence in long form.
@monalyisha
There sure is a whole lot of sex in these stories. Sigh. 😒😒😒
(Sorry for the amateur photo combining 🤷🏻♀️)
This book. I've never read any of Roxanne Gay's books before ( I know, I know #badfeminist). But I've always loved her articles and listening to her give interviews. So far this book is only deepening my appreciation for her. @monalyisha was right in warning me what a tough read it is, but so far it's my favorite thing I've read this year.
#newyearwhodis
Short stories. Not my usual, but part of this year's reading goals = being open to new forms and perspectives. Plus, I loved Bad Feminist so I figured this would be good.
pickThis collection is like Damn! I‘m not sure whether this is my favorite short story collection or whether Fortune Smiles is. This book just touches my heart. 5⭐️
If you‘re on Twitter, follow her @ rgay. She has a great account.
#MonthofRereads
Today is the first day of Fall! It‘s easily my favorite time of year with cooler weather, Halloween, and leaves changing. 🍁This year I‘m going to try to read a short story (at least one) every day to get down my tbr. #Fallintoshortstories
Also that lump on the left is my dog snuggling under the blanket 😁
