We're kicking off the new year with a new (old) habit: reading. Good old fashioned page-turning. Every month we'll be picking a new book to read and share across our social channels. We'll be chatting about it in our Facebook Group. We'll be commenting here. It will be positively delightful. The more you read, the more you know. 

To kick it off this January we are starting Carmen Maria Machado's “Her Body and Other Parties," the author's debut book of short stories.   

A finalist for the National Book Award, the eight fables are a startling and at times unsettling cross between feminist fiction, as the stories deal with worlds in which women literally and metaphorically fade away, and science fiction. While unconnected most of the stories feature queer women. The first fable, "The Husband Stitch," will leave you scrambling to understanding and dying to read more.

By refusing to subscribe to one literary genre, Machado is begging us to ask for more. 

Here are some prompt questions to answer as you read: 

What do you think Machado's writing is saying about the current state of women in the world?

How do women in Machado's book take up space, both literally and figuratively? 

How do you see yourself in the stories?

Which tale most resonates with you and why?

What urban legends do the individual stories remind you of? How have they made you rethink your relationship to those legends?

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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