Earlier this week, Emma Watson announced the launch of a feminist book club called Our Shared Shelf. The actress and United Nations women goodwill ambassador shared a photo on Twitter (embedded above) with the first read for the group: My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a new selection will be made on a monthly basis. Thus far, more than 78,000 people have joined this group. Some of the celebrity participants include actress Sophia Bush, soccer star Abby Wambach, and filmmaker Lena Dunham. At this point in time, it is not known if singer Taylor Swift or author J.K. Rowling will also take part.
Over at the Goodreads page for Our Shared Shelf, Watson revealed the origins behind this venture: “As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading as many books and essays about equality as I can get my hands on. There is so much amazing stuff out there! Funny, inspiring, sad, thought-provoking, empowering! I’ve been discovering so much that, at times, I’ve felt like my head was about to explode…I decided to start a Feminist book club, as I want to share what I’m learning and hear your thoughts too.”
Click here to listen to Watson’s HeForShe campaign speech. (via People)
Emma Watson has decided to launch a feminist book club. The actress and United Nations women goodwill ambassador posted a message on Twitter asking for help on figuring out a name for it.
Here’s more from The Guardian: “After suggestions including ‘Wats Up Fems’, ‘Watson Your Shelf’ and ‘Hermione’s Army’, Watson announced today that she ‘absolutely loved’ Twitter user @emilyfabb’s suggestion: ‘Our Shared Shelf’ and foreshadowed further information about the book club was still to come. Twitter’s response has been enthusiastic: alongside punters, retired American footballer Abby Wambach, actor Sophia Bush, and singer Kate Voegele have all tweeted they would take part in the club, with Watson agreeing to ask Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and singer Taylor Swift to join in.”
Wambach, a world-renowned soccer champion, might have given Watson the inaugural title for the book club: My Life On the Road by Gloria Steinem. Steinem herself tweeted back at Bush, Watson, and Wamback with this proposition: “After we do this digitally we’ll have to do this in person!”
Click on this link to listen to Watson’s HeForShe campaign speech. (via USA Today)
Abby Wambach, a world-renowned soccer champion, has signed a deal with two HarperCollins imprints. She (pictured, via) plans to write a memoir entitled Forward.
Dey Street Books plans to release the adult version of Wambach’s book. HarperCollins Children’s Books intends to publish a young reader’s edition.
According to the press release, Julia Cheiffetz, an executive editor at Dey Street Books, and Alyson Day, a senior editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books, negotiated this acquisition with Dan Levy, a vice president at Wasserman Media Group. Both of these books will come out in Fall 2016.
“You have to keep the fun alive — if you are not enjoying it,
what’s the point?” — Joy Fawcett.
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Like a lot of folks these days, I’m loving the story of the American Women’s World Cup soccer team. My family took time out from a gorgeous, lakeside day to watch the USA Women defeat Brazil in one of the great comebacks in the history of American sports. Yesterday I ditched work to catch glimpses of the USA victory over France in the Semifinals. This Sunday, the USA takes on Japan in the Finals, and I’ll be glued to the screen, rooting for this team.
Back in 1999, I packaged a book for Scholastic titled, Meet the Women of American Soccer: An Inside Look at America’s Team. By “packaged,” I mean that I functioned as a mini-publisher. I was given a budget, worked as an editor, hired a writer (Wayne Coffey), a designer (Michael Malone), and through a publishing arrangement enjoyed full use of the photos taken by Michael Stahlschmidt.
That was a team for the ages, an inspiring collection of charming, talented, intelligent young women: Mia Hamm, Carla Overbeck, Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly, Tiffeny Milbrett, Shannon MacMillan, Michelle Akers, Joy Fawcett, Brandi Chastain, Briana Scurry, and more. I loved the way the book turned out. There were limitations, of course. The book was only 48 pages, and designed as a photo essay with ever-so-brief profiles of key players. I came to respect these women so much, and in the process, from the safety of my desk, maybe developed a slight crush on #13, Kristine Lilly.
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Didn’t you hear? Athletic is the new skinny.
In a sports-minded family — both my wife and I coach, and our kids participate in many sports — we sometimes despair over the state of youth sports. At times we’ve felt discouraged and disheartened, and have questioned why we bother. Are we wrong to spend so much time on sports with our children? Each year we see more insanity, more mean-spirtedness, and it gives us pause. Have we done our kids a disservice by putting too much emphasis (time, energy, passion, money) into their sports activities? To be clear, we aren’t delusional about their talents. We don’t look at our kids as the next Derek Jeter, the next Mia Hamm. But we all enjoy sports, love to play, love to be on teams, love the games. We believe in being busy, being healthy and strong, inside and out.
And then there’s a team like the 2011 USA Women’s World Cup team, that celebrates the beauty and possibility of sport, and we fall in love all over again. Go USA, good luck on Sunday. We’ll be rooting for you, Christie Rampone, Sha
