#MARM 2020 Wrap-Up

In this November 2020, the third Margaret Atwood Reading Month unfolded with participants from many places, some reading her for the first time, many returning to her work to try new and backlisted works, others exploring other #MARM content online (interviews, films, TV, etc.).

In the National Geographic atlas, in which the world map folds out into three sections, you could find #MARM participants on each segment of the map this year, from North America to South Asia, from Europe to Australia.

We are reading from the earlier days of MA’s career, with her first novel The Edible Woman, to the most recent publication, her collection of poems, Dearly. (Danielle at A Work in Progress started at the beginning and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings read one of Dearly’s poems while Stefanie waited impatiently for her library copy to arrive.)

Ali at HeavenAli read Surfacing.

Wad at the Australian Legend, Reese at Typings, and Marcie re/read Cat’s Eye.

Short stories were well represented, with Mel at The Reading Life dipping into Dancing Girls with “The Man from Mars”, Rebecca at BookishBeck reading Wilderness Tips and Ali reading a later collection, Moral Disorder.

Laila and Naomi baked and savored treats on the 18th for the author’s 81st birthday. (Marcie ate a cookie and considered fetching a single candle out of the cabinet for a photo, but, then, ate the cookie candle-less gesturing the half-eaten cookie in the direction of the Annex before gulping the remainder.)

Ali featured Margaret Atwood (and her personal collection) on her birthday too. And Rebecca attended part of the CWWA Mini-Symposium online.

Karen (after some consideration) read MA’s tricksy non-fiction volume about writing, originally published as Negotiating with the Dead, but reissued with other titles since, to lure dedicated readers into purchasing multiple copies. This seems to be the sole non-fiction selection for this year (unless some of you are still reading).

Ali managed to get in one more book, just under the wire: MaddAddam

The most popular choice for 2020 is clearly The Penelopiad, read by Brona, Cathy, and Mel. And I know several of you expressed other #MARM intentions, or have started to read (or have wedged the book into your busy stack) late, so just let us know if we’ve missed a link or if you post after November 30.

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My last update for MARM 2020… Plot twist!

Last week, I only had one square to go in the fourth row (TV episode) – easy, right?

Well, I didn’t get to it. But then I realized I could mark off the “review” square in the first column for Hag-Seed, which only left one more in that column: ‘Draw or make something inspired by Margaret Atwood.’

So here it is… inspired by The Edible Woman!

Time to start planning for next year! 

Margaret Atwood Reading Month is hosted here and by Marcie at Buried in Print and inspired by decades of reading Margaret Atwood’s words. From November 1st to November 30th, we invite you to join and plan! (Next year, November 18th will be Margaret Atwood’s 82nd birthday. Another month to celebrate with books, quotes, cookies and cake!)

Check out Marcie’s wrap-up post!

And, in case you missed it… Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and Week 4

16 thoughts on “#MARM 2020 Wrap-Up”

  7. buriedinprint says:
    Reply

    Now, when I go into the crisper I think of CanLit. When are you going to do your next vegetable-inspired bookreview? 😀

    • Naomi says:
      Reply

      Haha! Me too! I used the leeks last night, though.
      Hmm… maybe it could become a thing. Although, most book titles are not nearly so easy to work with!

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