Margaret Atwood Reading Month is hosted by Marcie at BuriedInPrint and myself, 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 Marcie’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.
See you November 1st!
Consumed by Ink 
You know, we booklovers need more months in the year. At the moment there is Russian Lit month at Vishy’s, German Lit month at Lizzy Sidal’s and now Margaret Atwood here! What’s a girl to do, when she wants to do them all and read other things as well?
I feel your pain, Lisa! There’s also Non-Fiction November and Novellas in November.
Have fun making your reading list! 🙂
Oh, dear: I didn’t know about Russian Lit month. Short stories and poems to the rescue?!
This looks absolutely wonderful. Thank you for hosting this, Naomi. I have read Handmaid’s Tale only just last year, and I just picked up The Testaments from the library, so I’ll participate in this if the timing works out. I’ve always wanted to read more of her, I have my eye on Alias Grace especially.
That’s great, Valorie! It’s good to know there are still readers out there who haven’t yet read The Testaments. (And maybe you’ll get a chance to fit Alias Grace in, too – it’s my favourite!)
What fortunate timing!
I’m in! I think I’ll get my copy of The Testaments soon as I’m number 2 on the list at the library. That’ll be my book for MARM. Thanks for hosting! Oh, and I’ll definitely be eating cake on the 18th!
Yay! An eat-alonger as well as a Read-alonger! 🙂
I think you two have the only photos on file for this part of the event. Hopefully others are inspired to cake-along too!
November’s looking insanely busy for me so I don’t know if I’ll be able to join in, but I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s posts!
It’s always good to have an audience to cheer us along! 🙂
This might be the year when I finally get round to reading Maddaddam!
MaddAddam is so good!
I feel like it’s been forever since they announced the TV-adaptation of O&C. Maybe by then we’ll be caught up with other Atwood viewing?
I don’t think I knew about that. Is there a timeline?
Here’s the link: https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/margaret-atwood-maddaddam-trilogy-series-paramount-tv-anonymous-content-1202675464/
(It looks like I can’t reply, in line, to the question you’ve posed below, so this is next-best.)
I’m excited! My two reads have been planned out for a few months now: Moral Disorder and The Robber Bride. I was lucky enough to get free copies of them. The first one a neighbour was giving away and the other came into the free bookshop where I volunteer. An 80th birthday is a great excuse for some cake 🙂
80’s a big one – it might call for a big cake!
It’s been too long since I read Robber Bride, but I read Moral Disorder a few years ago and remember liking it even more than I thought I would.
Excited to have you read with us again!
I might have joined you but I need a lot of warning for these sort of things, since I write my blog about a month ahead. I just read The Handmaid’s Tale again last year. I do want to read The Testaments, but I don’t think I can fit it in before then.
We’ll be happy to hear what you think of The Testaments when you get to it! And in the meantime, you can join in the cheering. 🙂
If you do this every year, maybe I can make a note for myself for next year. So far, I’ve just been participating in The 19XX Club (whatever year they pick), the Classics Club Spins, and Readers Imbibing Peril.
I’ll try to remember to remind you in advance next year!
Well, I just got The Testaments from the library, so maybe I’ll be participating after all.
Awesome!!
I like the way you’ve arranged your photo of the two books so that it looks like the Testaments gal is casting a look of concern on those earlier red-clad handmaids on the cover of your pocketbook!
What fun to hear what other readers are interested in exploring this year. It’s fortunate that she has such a backlist and a wide variety of interests, styles and forms, so that there’s something for every curious reader’s taste.
I might rewatch the first two seasons of Handmaid’s next month too…depends on how quickly the books read, I suppose! (And, yes, as Lisa mentioned, there are other reading events in November to keep in mind as well. A lovely problem to have: so many good things to read/do.)
Of course I arranged the books like that intentionally – I’m so glad you noticed! 😉
There’s already a lot of variety here in the comments. There really aren’t a whole lot of authors who can stand up to a month of reading every year!
Yeah I’d like to get to the Testaments in November — so that works for me! I read & posted a review about The Handmaid’s Tale on my site during August 2017. Luckily it’s not too long ago and hopefully I can remember that one ….
It’s great to have you join us! 🙂
Looking forward to it. I am planning on reading MaddAddam and Hagseed all being well.
Great to hear it, Ali! 🙂
Ta da! Two birds with one stone: Surfacing—a novella by Margaret Atwood for Novellas in November (#NovNov) and for Margaret Atwood Reading Month (#MARM) https://anzlitlovers.com/2019/11/01/surfacing-by-margaret-atwood-novellas-in-november-margaret-atwood-reading-month/
Awesome! 🙂