69 - Women's History Month - Books by women!

Episode 069: Books by Women

Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson and A Woman is No Man: A Novel by Etaf Rum

Our books this week are by women authors about women. Amie’s book, A Woman is No Man, by debut author Etaf Rum has won several awards: A New York Times bestseller • A Washington Post 10 Books to Read in March • One of Cosmopolitan’s Best Books by POC for 2019 • A Refinery 29 Best Book of the Month • The Millions Most Anticipated Books of 2019! The author, Etaf Rum, an Arab-American voice, takes us inside the lives of conservative Arab women living in America. Tami’s book Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson celebrates the 1930’s in Reno when it was known as the “Divorce Capita of the World”.

Start Here! Here’s a Great Video from YouTube about Reno and it’s Divorce Industry

Tami Read

Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson

Amie Read

A Woman is No Man by Etaf Uram

See our website for some great photos—described here (while you’re there sign up for our newsletter).  We thought it would be fun to add a few images of the North Virginia Street bridge: the original, the destruction of the more than a century old bridge, and the new contemporary bridge. Rumor has it (and a few confirmed sightings) that newly divorced women tossed their rings off of this bridge right after being granted a divorce.

Julia Claiborne Johnson's book also talks about the Divorce Ranches or Dude Ranches where divorce seekers resided for their 6 weeks of required residency. Here are a few pictures of people hanging out on the ranches! There are a couple of postcards too!

Books Mentioned

Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Half the Sky by Nicolas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn

Missoula by Jon Krakauer

Etaf Rum’s Books and Beans

Sites Mentioned - Around Reno – see website for photos!

We mentioned several places around Reno that Julia Claiborne Johnson mentioned in Better Luck Next Time - here are a few images: Top, left to right: Nevada Historical Society on the campus of the University of Nevada Reno, Parkers Western Wear (No longer in business), Pyramid Lake. Bottom, left to right: Reno’s First Airport, The Announcement of the Airmail Hangar being torn down to create the Washoe Golf Course, Lone Star Dude Ranch, Reno.

Media Mentioned 

Grand Designs on Netflix and Amazon Prime 

Escape to the Chateau on Peacock

Yellowstone on Peacock 

The Misfits Movie 

The Misfits is a 1961 American drama western film written by Arthur Miller, directed by John Huston, and starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift. The supporting cast features Thelma Ritter, Eli Wallach and Kevin McCarthy. The Misfits was the last completed film for both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. For Gable, the film was posthumously released, while Monroe died in 1962.

The plot centers on a newly divorced woman (Marilyn Monroe) and her time in Reno and Northern Nevada, spent with her friendly landlady Isabelle Steers (Thelma Ritter), an old school cowboy (Clark Gable), the cowboy's tow truck-driving and plane-flying friend (Eli Wallach) and their rodeo-riding, bronc-busting friend (Montgomery Clift) in Dayton, Nevada, and in the western Nevada desert in 1960. The Misfits was a commercial failure at the time of its 1961 release but received critical acclaim for its script and performances. Its reputation has shifted over the following years, and many critics now consider the film to be a masterpiece and one of the best films of the 1960s. (from wikipedia)

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