A description of the YOU GO GIRL BOOKBOX
The box will contain books featuring women. It is not necessarily a "Women's Rights" bookbox, but some of that will be included. The books focus on women who have accomplished things, have been strong or brave, or women who can't because of where they are from or other circumstances. The books can be fact or fiction. There are biographical works, novels, short story collections, classics, true crime and others. I want all participants to feel like they can use their own judgement about what belongs in the box, but I do not want any Harlequinesque romance novels. I will be sending this box out January 14.

This is to be included and kept in the You Go Girl bookbox. Writing in it is totally optional, though it would be very appreciated. Some ideas for what to write follow:
-A story about yourself or somone else, fact or fiction, especially one that somehow relates to the box theme.
-A list of what you took out of the box and why
-A list of what you put in the box and why
-Thoughts and feelings about the theme of the box as in what being a woman, feminist, mother, wife, daughter, or ect. means to you.
-An explanation about why you felt compelled to join the box
-Doodlings, musings, expressions, really anything you want to write is fine with me.

This will also be used as a place to on bookcrossing to record what you are putting in and taking out of the box. I will start a list here of what I have included. The next person will put in here what they have taken out and what they put in.
I will also include a list of participants in shipping order with a note marking where the box currently is.
I hope everyone enjoys this box!!!

Shipping Order
Guinaveve = Ohio
Algoan = Indiana
tabby-cat-owner = Arizona
sweetsangria = Oregon
calvarez4 = California
Jenm = Connecticut
geishabird = Canada
Judester = New york
Apolonia = Massachusetts
Cordelia-anne = Georgia
Jillmari3 = Florida
onecypress = Tennessee
Guinaveve = Ohio

I am shipping out these books:
*The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
*Zlata's Diary A Child's Life in Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic
*Having Our Say The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years by Delanys
*That Takes Ovaries by Rivka Solomon
*Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
*Sojourner Truth Ain't I a Woman? by McKissack
*Mismeasure of Woman by Carol Tavris
*Princess A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean P. Sasson
*Women's Right by Janet Stevenson
*The Dangerous Husband by Jane Shapiro
*An Experiment In Love by Hilary Mantel
*I Don't Know How She Does It Allison Pearson
*The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel
*Daddy's Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark
*The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
*Getting In Touch With Your Inner Bitch by Elizabeth Hilts
*Girls on the Verge by Vendela Vida
*Cruel Sacrifice by Aphrodite Jones
*The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
*Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
*You Go Girl Journal THIS STAYS WITH THE BOX

I think I wrote in the journal that all books recieved in the box and all books sent need to be journaled, but I thought about it and if you only want to journal the ones that you take out and put in, that is fine. Either way.
There should always be 21 books in the box when it is recieved and when it is shipped out.
I would like to see each person keep the box for no more than 2 weeks. I understand things come up and you may go over a few days, but try to keep it only 2 weeks, that way everyone after you can enjoy it too. PM me with any questions.
I hope everyone enjoys my first bookbox. I have enjoyed putting it together.

RELEASE NOTES:

Enjoy!

What fun... my first book box. Thanks for including me! I've scribbled a little in the journal and am getting the box ready to move along to the next person.

I will be keeping "Ain't I A Woman" by Sojourner Truth, "I Don't Know How She Does It" by Allison Pearson, and "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden. All of these sound very interesting, especially Sojourner Truth's story and Memoirs of a Geisha - I love to read about situations that I'd never know of otherwise. There is a book among the collection ("Princess" by Jean P. Sasson) that I've already read and is a great example... it describes the life of a Saudi princess... trust me, I'll never be one, so it was fascinating to read about one.

I will be adding to the box "Monika: A German Immigrant to Texas, 1845" by Ursula Kramer (Ms. Kramer is a friend of my grandmother), "The Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger (a fun and sort of sad look into the New York fashion scene), and "Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words" - this one is about a woman that walked across the United States for peace... for 28 years.

I should be shipping this box out early next week barring any unforseen snow storms!

What a wonderful bookbox of very thoughtfully chosen books. I am taking the following books out of the box:
--Peace Pilgrim--Her life and works in her own words
--That Takes Ovaries--bold female and their brazen acts edited by Rivka Solomon
--Girls on the Verge--Debutante Dips, Drive-ups, and Other Initiations by Vendela Vida
--Monika--A German Immigrant to Texas, 1845 by Ursula Kramer
--Getting in Touch With Your Inner Bitch by Elizabeth Hilts
--An Experiment in Love by Hillary Mantel
--Princess--A True Story of LIfe Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean P. Sasson

If anyone that receives this bookbox in the future is interested in any of these books, please PM me and I will send it to you as soon as I've finished reading it. I will, of course, make it a priority to read this book so that you don't have to wait months for it as Mount TBR is getting larger.

The books that I am putting into this box are:

--The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
--Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher
--The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
--O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
--Irish Girls About Town by Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly & 13 more Irish women authors
--A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
--Kristin Lavransdatter-BookI--The Bridal Wreath by Sigrid Undset
--Kristin Lavransdatter-Book II--The Mistress of Husaby by Sigrid Undset
--Kristin Lavransdatter-BookIII--The Cross by Sigrid Undset

I considered the three Kristin Lavransdatter books to be one book although registered separately. So, I replaced one book that I took out of the box with the three Kristin Lavransdatter books. The bookbox now contains 24 books, but if you take the Kristin Lavransdatter books out of the box, you may replace them with only one book which will then bring the bookbox back down to 22 books again.

Rosamunde Pilcher is one of my favorite authors. I really love reading her books. I feel like I have gone to England or Scotland or Cornwall for an extended visit after reading one of her books. I can't wait to go to England in person someday.

-BOX NOW CONTAINS-
*The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
*Zlata's Diary A Child's Life in Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic
*Having Our Say The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years by Delanys
*Mismeasure of Woman by Carol Tavris
*Women's Right by Janet Stevenson
*The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel
*Daddy's Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark
*The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
*Cruel Sacrifice by Aphrodite Jones
*The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
*Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
Kristin Lavransdatter-BookI--The Bridal Wreath by Sigrid Undset
Kristin Lavransdatter-Book II--The Mistress of Husaby by Sigrid Undset
Kristin Lavransdatter-BookIII--The Cross by Sigrid Undset
The Red Tent- Anita Diamant
Lives of Girls and Women- Alice Munro
*You Go Girl Journal THIS STAYS WITH THE BOX

I hope everyone is enjoying the box.

The shipping order has been altered slightly.
Shipping Order
Guinaveve = Ohio
Algoan = Indiana
tabby-cat-owner = Arizona
sweetsangria = Oregon
calvarez4 = California
Jenm = Connecticut
geishabird = Canada
Judester = New york
Apolonia = Massachusetts
Cordelia-anne = Georgia
onecypress = Tennessee
Guinaveve = Ohio

Thanks!!!

This journal was a great addition to a fun bookbox!

Books I have taken out of bookbox:
*The dangerous husband- Jane Shapiro
*Irish girls about town-Maeve Binchy & other authors

They both looked like good reads to me.

Books I am adding to bookbox:
*The Red Tent- Anita Diamant
*Lives of Girls and Women- Alice Munro

Both books are about women and written by women. They were also passed on to me from other bookcrossers, so I would like to keep them moving.

RELEASE NOTES:

sent to calvarez4 today!

This arrived safely on my doorstep this afternoon :) I've already started reading bits and pieces of some of the books. Awkwardly enough, though, the books I had saved to place in the bookbox (The Red Tent, The Handmaid's Tale, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and Zlata's Diary) are all already included (isn't that bizarre??), so I will spend the next couple of days digging through my bookshelves, and seeing what else would be appropriate to include!

Guinaveve, I LOVE the topic of this bookbox. More from me soon.

I wanted to give an update regarding my Bookbox progress :)

So far, I have taken out "The Red Tent" (Anita Diamant) and sent it to Ellis917, to fulfill a wish on her wishlist. In its place, I have put in "Find Me" by Rosie O'Donnell, which I finished last night. The book is part-memoir, part-self exploration, and I think it very much fits within the parameters of this bookbox.

This morning, I also took out "Cruel Sacrifice" (Aphrodite Jones) and replaced it with "Lady Oracle" (Margaret Atwood) -- which I haven't read, but I got a copy for myself as well :) Atwood is my favorite author (I was delighted to see a copy of The Handmaid's Tale already in the bookbox!), and she is the quintessential feminist author!

edit: I also read "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, because I've been wanting to do so forever! I have re-released it back into the bookbox, so it can continue its travels. Such an important work of classic feminism.

RELEASE NOTES:

Thank you, Guinaveve, for a wonderful bookbox. I am now sending it along to Jenm in Connecticut.

edit: The delivery confirmation number for the box is 0304 1560 0007 7952 7774.

The box now contains:
*The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
*Zlata's Diary A Child's Life in Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic
*Having Our Say The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years by Delanys
*Mismeasure of Woman by Carol Tavris
*Women's Right by Janet Stevenson
*The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel
*Daddy's Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark
*The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
*The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
*Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
Kristin Lavransdatter-BookI--The Bridal Wreath by Sigrid Undset
Kristin Lavransdatter-Book II--The Mistress of Husaby by Sigrid Undset
Kristin Lavransdatter-BookIII--The Cross by Sigrid Undset
Lives of Girls and Women- Alice Munro
Find Me by Rosie O'Donnell
Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
*You Go Girl Journal THIS STAYS WITH THE BOX

I hope everyone is enjoying the box!

I got the bookbox in the mail. I'm still deciding what I'm going to take and what I'll put in. I'll edit this entry once I've made up my mind.

Edited 4/4/05:

The books I took:
* The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman
* Lives of Girls & Women - Alice Munro
* Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli
* Women's Rights - Janet Stevenson
* Lady Oracle - Margaret Atwood
* Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

The books I put in:
* Harem - Dora Ley Mossanen
* Sixteen Pleasures - Robert Hellenga
* Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
* All the President's Women - Peter Hay
* Edible Woman - Margaret Atwood
* Slut! - Leora Tanenbaum

RELEASE NOTES:

Yippee! It's here!

Box arrived safely today. I've browsed through the books a bit -- what a great selection! -- and will spend a few days deciding what to take out and what to put in...I'm also eager to see what you've all written in the journal. What fun!

I'll check back in again soon...

Okay! I've sorted it all out now. Again, what a great selection of books you've put together, ladies; a super variety to choose from.

I am taking out:

-- No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith: I keep hearing about this series but really didn't know much about it until I picked this up out of the box. I've started reading it already and am really enjoying it! I know I'm going to want to read the rest of the books now...sigh, Mt. TBR grows and grows...

-- The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. Lucky me -- this book is on my wish list. I've really come to appreciate Margaret Atwood over the past couple of years. Another nice Canadian girl...

-- The Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga. Looks unusual and interesting, and these traits always make a book attractive to me.

-- The three 'Kristin Lavransdatter' novels by Sigrid Undset. Again, they intrigue me and hey, anyone who won a Nobel Prize for Literature has to be worth checking out, right?

I am putting in:

-- The Radiant Way by Margaret Drabble. She's one of my favourite writers and this was the first of her books I read. She's a fabulous, skillful storyteller and creates particularly interesting female characters.

-- The Diviners by Margaret Laurence. Named as the greatest Canadian novel of all time a few years ago, it's a powerful story of a fiercely independent woman.

-- The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Published in 1899, this is an early feminist novel considered quite shocking in its day! A poignant tale.

-- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. I just finished this yesterday and knew I had to put it in the box. A wonderful story of women, their courage and their wisdom.

-- Ariel by Sylvia Plath. I think she's one of the most exciting, brilliant poets of the 20th century.

-- The Miracle Worker by William Gibson. Dramatic interpretation of the relationship between Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. Powerful stuff.

This has been a lot of fun. I hope my selections are welcome ones to those still to receive the box. I had read several of the books which were in the box already and think everyone has made some great choices.

I'll re-package everything up and go to the post office this Saturday. Happy travelling, box!

Box was sent off to Judester yesterday...

received in the mail today .. was ready for it, so I sat down on this rainy Saturday afternoon and sorted through what had arrived and what I wanted to add ... and enjoyed the journal too! Ladies, thanks for sharing your lives :)

I have removed:
Harem - Dora Levy Mossanen
The Devil Wears Prada - Laren Weisberger
O Pioneers! - Willa Cather
The Awakening - kate Chopin
Coming Home - Rosamunde Pilcher
The Diviners - Margaret Laurence

I have added:
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austin
O Pioneers! - Willa Cather (I know it seems crazy, but I have kept the paperback and added a hardcover that has already bookcrossed )
Bonds of Womanhood - Nancy Cott
Telling Travels - Mary Suzanne Schriber
Almanac of American Women in the 20th Century
Daughter of Fortune - Isabel Allende
Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding

And I will mail it out on Monday to the next person!

I am taking out
Slut: Growing up female with a bad reputation by Leora Tanenbaum
Telling Travels: Selected writings by Nineteenth-Century American Women Abroad
Having our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 years by Sarah and Elizabeth Delaney
Almanac of American Women in the 20th Century by Judith Freeman Clark

I'm adding:
Princess: A true story of life behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson
BellaDonna: A Novel of Revenge by Karen Moline
The Fat Girl's Guide to Life by Wendy Shanker
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Great Theme, Excellent Bookbox! I am going to try to get to the post office today to send to Cordelia-Anne.

I've just started appreciating this journal. It came with 23 books in the *You Go Girl* book box. This is my first experience of a bookcrossing book box and I'm deeply touched. I feel I've gained new sisters. Each of the participants in the book box has shared from her heart in this journal. What grace! I've written about myself a little and I've taken three books out of the book box to contemplate just now. Anne Frank's beautiful *Diary of a Young Girl,* a dear, deeply important old friend, *Zlata's Diary* and Sylvia Plath's *Ariel.* Thank you sisters! I hope that the journal can circulate back to you after the book box is done so you can see all that your sharing about yourselves and your thoughts have inspired. I feel very honored to be among you in these pages.

RELEASE NOTES:

At last friends, I'm sending this wonderful bookbox on its way. Forgive me for taking so long. I've taken:
Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter;
Sylvia Plath's Ariel;
Sasson's Princess;
Isabel Allende's Daugher of Fortune;
Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl;
Zlata's Diary, Zlata Filipovic ;
Margaret Atwood's The Edible Woman;
and All the President's Ladies, Peter Hay.

I've added:
Revelations:Diaries of Women, a beautiful anthology;
Revelations Journal (to go with the book for inspiration);
Lucy Goosey Journal (a carry around journal for fun);
Virginia Woolf's A Writer's Diary;
Angela Carter's essays, Nothing Sacred;
Beryl Markham's account of her life in early aviation, West With the Night;
Sharyn McCrumb's If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him I'd Be Out of Prison by Now;
Eudora Welty's The Optimist's Daugher;
Catherine Marshall's Christy;
As an addition to the wonderful scholarly work, The Bonds of Womanhood, an anthology of the poetry of Anne Bradstreet (she was of a different era than the women here but I always see her as a voice of New England);
Nancy Milford's Biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Savage Beauty;
First Fig, a collection of Millay poems:
and the Dover Anthology, Women's Wit and Wisdom.

The next stop is Lake Worth Florida. Thank you for all the books you've given me and all that you've shared of yourselves in this journal. Please keep in touch through my bookshelf and Happy bookcrossing.

Yey! ~ I've been SO eagerly anticipating the arrival of this box! Cordelia-Anne wrote that it was on its way, and I've been waiting for the mail truck ever since . .

It arrived today, in great condition (despite the storm it came through!). I was NOT disappointed by the contents or the heartfelt journal included with it . . I read that first, relishing the stories contained with each turn of a page. You all are FANTASTIC! Your stories, and the honesty with which you shared them really touched me. Cordelia-Anne, I loved your inclusion of the Zebra post-card and Poem -- you are a gifted writer, and I thank you for sharing that part of yourself (of course I will leave everything in the journal just as it came to me).

I've already gone through the contents (I told you . .I was waiting for this!), and have selected what books I'd like, and added what ones I saved to share:

The contents were as follows:

The Fat Girl’s Guide to Life
Belladonna
O Pioneers
Daddy’s Little Girl
Bridget Jone’s Diary
Mismeasure of Woman
Nothing Sacred
The Bonds of Womanhood
To my husband and other Poems
First Fig and other Poems
Savage Beauty: the life of Edna St. Vincent Millay
Women’s Wit and Wisdom
Pride & Prejudice
The Optimist’s Daughter
Revelations: Diaries of Women
Loosey Goosey Journal
Blank Journal
West with the Night
A Writer’s Diary
If I’d killed him when I met him ..
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
A Woman of Independant Means
The Mammoth Hunters
The Shell Seekers
The Miracle Worker
Find Me
The Radiant Way
Christy
You Go Girl Journal

I am removing to keep:

Revelations: Diaries of Women
First Fig and other Poems
Savage Beauty
West With the Night
The Optimist’s Daughter
Find Me
Pride and Prejudice

I have selected and added:

The Rice Mother
Peace Pilgrim (again)
The Kitchen God’s Wife
The Concubine’s Children
The Red Tent (again)
Chocolate Journal (picture on the cover is of a mother and daughter spooning chocolate to their cat)
Teeny tiny pale green/pink fabric journal

I could tell what care was put into the contents of both the journal and box, and think this was a terrific experience as my first Bookcrossing Box. I could see the special lengths one BCer went to, even tying the books she added with ribbons (C.A.), I copied her idea, and ribboned my own.

I will be adding to the journal in the next couple of days, and let you know when it will be on it's way (I'm sure by early next week).

Thanks again, Guinaveve, and everyone else who participated in such a lovely way!!

Jillmari3

Mailed the box to Onecyrpess yesterday . . hope she enjoys it as much as I did!

Jillmari3

OK...THE BOOKBOX HAS LANDED IN TENNESSEE! There is alot of stuff in here...I'm sure I will find something I can't live without. I'll report back when I am ready to send the box back to its home.
Cypress

Hi again...I have chosen a couple of books and added a couple. The contents now are:
Reviving Ophelia
The Womans Comfort book
O, Pioneers!
The Miracle Worker
The Shell Seekers
The Red Tent
The Rice Mother
The Kitchen God's Wife
Peace Pilgrim
Christy
Fried Green Tomatoes
The Bonds of Womanhood
A Writer's Diary
The Concubine's Children
The Fat Girl's Guide to Life
Belladonna
To My Husband....
Nothing Sacred
The Mismeasure of a Woman
The Radiant Way
Daddy's Little Girl
The Mammoth Hunters
If I'd Killed HIm....
3 blank books/journals
You-Go-Girl Journal

The journal has been my absolute favorite part of this experience...thankyou to all who participated. It was wonderful to share with you!
Sheila (onecypress)

Edited to add- Click the picture on the left to see a larger version of the box and contents upon return.
I am so excited that the box is home. I wanted to let everyone know, I haven't even gone through the box yet. I will journal again after I have read the journal and looked through the box.
I think it is so great that all of these strangers can ship a box around and actually receive it back at the end. It really says something positive about the characters of most people in the world that out of all these people can participant and no one just kept it for them self. In fact, I have now received 2 of these boxes back that I started out.
Thank you to everyone who participated. This was the first box I sent out (the other I sent out second, but came back first), and I was very impressed with how everyone kept the box going in a timely manner, the kind words about the contents, and the overall interest and attention paid to the box. I plan on doing another box similar, probably around autumn time, and intend to give all of you who participated this time first dibs on a place in the participant list. This will give everyone a chance to read all the journal entries made, especially if you are at the beginning of the list this time. I will PM all of you to gauge your interest when the time comes.
I am off to read the journal!
will journal again later
THANKS

I appreciate all of the work put into this box by the participants and the addition of stickers, postcards, poems, ribbons, ect. My daughter wanted the ribbon in her hair upon seeing it, so I took a picture which is included at left. Click on it to see a bigger version.
I loved reading this journal. I was so touched to see everyone sharing a part of themselves in here. I am so glad I included this journal as it has been the best part of the whole box for me. I have gotten lots of feedback from other participants of this box saying similiar things regarding the journal.
I was very pleased with the selection of books coming back to me in the box and received very few back that I had placed in the box myself. Later tonight I am going to work on journalling all of the books that came to me in the box. I can't wait to delve in and read them.

Thanks ladies!!!