Duration: 1st March – 31st March
Number of books: 7
Hosted by:Crazy Challenge Connection

What would the world be like today if the strong women of years past hadn’t had the courage or the motivation to explore new horizons? International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year. It commemorates the movement for women’s rights. Here is a small sampling of women who have been instrumental in improving the world in some way.

1. Sappho – One of the first known female writers, she lived around 570 BCE. Plato referred to Sappho as one of the great 10 poets. She is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung and accompanied by a lyre. Most of her poetry is now lost, and what exists has survived only in fragmentary form, except for one complete poem – the “Ode to Aphrodite.”
* Read a book of poetry (must be at least 150 pages) – or – a book with a one-word title. – Masques by Patricia Briggs

2. Florence Nightingale – As a British nurse serving in the Crimean War in the 1850’s, Florence Nightingale was instrumental in changing the role and perception of the nursing profession. Her dedication won widespread admiration and led to a significant improvement in the treatment of wounded soldiers.
* Read a book with a main character who is a nurse (no other medical professional) – or – a book with WAR on its main GR genre page. – The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

3. Amelia Earhart – An early American aviation pioneer and author, she is most known for being the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She also set many other records and wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences. During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937, Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean.
* Read a book in which a character disappears (is abducted, gets lost, etc.) – or – a book with a character who is a pilot (male or female). – Through the Tiger’s Eye by Kerrie O’Connor

4. Sacagawea – A member of the Lemhi Shoshone tribe, she and her trader husband Toussaint Charbonneau met Lewis and Clark while the explorers visited among the Mandan and Hidatsa tribes of North Dakota. She served as an interpreter and a guide. With her help, the newly acquired territories of the West were explored and mapped, a crucial step in maintaining the United States’ claim to them.
* Read a book with a Native American character – or – a book set in a state bordering the Missouri River in western U.S. (Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, or Missouri).

5. Eleanor Roosevelt – She was the wife and political aide of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt. In her own right Eleanor made a significant contribution to the field of human rights, a topic she campaigned upon throughout her life. As head of the U.N. human rights commission she helped to draft the 1948 U.N. declaration of human rights.
* Read a book written by or about a first lady of the United States (either fiction or non-fiction) – or – a book with a character who is a politician or government official of some kind.

6. Sophie Scholl – A member of the German anti-Nazi resistance, Scholl was a German student and political activist within the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany. She was convicted of high treason after being found distributing anti-war leaflets at the University of Munich with her brother, Hans. As a result, they were both executed by guillotine.
* Read a book where the author’s first AND last name start with the same letter – or – a book set in Germany.

7. Jane Goodall – Dame Jane Morris Goodall is a British primatologist and anthropologist. Considered to be the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her over 55-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees since she first went to Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania in 1960.
* Read a book with the total number of pages containing repeated numbers together (255 would work, 343 and 191 would not – tell us how many pages) – or – a book with a wild animal on the cover (show us the cover). Bonus if it’s a chimpanzee. – The Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance edited by Trisha Telep (577 pp)