100 Best Feminism Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

We Should All Be Feminists

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

5.0

What does “feminism” mean today? That is the question at the heart of We Should All Be Feminists, a personal, eloquently-argued essay—adapted from her much-viewed TEDx talk of the same name—by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the award-winning author of Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun.

With humor and levity, here Adichie offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century—one

2

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

4.9

Before The Testaments, there was The Handmaid’s Tale: an instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from “the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction” (New York Times).

The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the

Recommended by Daniel Pink, Emma Watson, Catherine Mayer, and 3 others.

Catherine Mayer

Atwood takes all the hard information about gender inequality that she sees around her and then turns it up a few notches. [source]

Cliff Bleszinski

@HandmaidsOnHulu Done. Love the show, book is a classic, can't wait for season 2. [source]

Grady Booch

I read this several years ago but — much like Orwell’s 1984 — it seems particularly relevant given our current political morass. [source]

3

Men Explain Things to Me

Rebecca Solnit

4.8

Preview Summary

In her comic, scathing essay “Men Explain Things to Me,” Rebecca Solnit took on what often goes wrong in conversations between men and women. She wrote about men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don’t, about why this arises, and how this aspect of the gender wars works, airing some of her own hilariously awful encounters.

She ends on a serious note— because the ultimate

Recommended by Chelsea Handler.

Chelsea Handler

Goes deep with statistics, personal stories, and others’ accounts of how brutal this world can be for women, the history of how we've been treated, and what it will take to change the conversation: MEN. We need them to be as outraged as we are and join our fight. [source]

4

Bad Feminist

Roxane Gay

4.7

Pink is my favorite color. I used to say my favorite color was black to be cool, but it is pink—all shades of pink. If I have an accessory, it is probably pink. I read Vogue, and I’m not doing it ironically, though it might seem that way. I once live-tweeted the September issue.

In these funny and insightful essays, Roxane Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman of color while

Recommended by Irina Nica.

Irina Nica

It’s hard to pick an all-time favorite because, as time goes by and I grow older, my reading list becomes more “mature” and I find myself interested in new things. I probably have a personal favorite book for each stage of my life. Right now I’m absolutely blown away by everything Roxane Gay wrote, especially Bad Feminist. [source]

5

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

4.7

From the best-selling author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists comes a powerful new statement about feminism today--written as a letter to a friend.

A few years ago, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie received a letter from a dear friend from childhood, asking her how to raise her baby girl as a feminist. Dear Ijeawele is Adichie's letter of response.

Here are fifteen invaluable suggestions--compe

6

The Second Sex

Simone de Beauvoir, Constance Borde, Sheila Malovany-Chevallier

4.6

Newly translated and unabridged in English for the first time, and brilliantly introduced by Judith Thurman, Simone de Beauvoir’s masterpiece weaves together history, philosophy, economics, biology, and a host of other disciplines to analyze the Western notion of “woman” and to explore the power of sexuality.

Sixty years after its initial publication, The Second Sex is still as eye-opening and pert

Recommended by Arianna Huffington, Belinda Jack, Erica Jong, and 1 others.

Arianna Huffington

Founder/The Huffington Post

Great Thrive Questionnaire by @smlafleur, founder of M.M.LaFleur. On the book that changed her life, The Second Sex: "it changed my entire perception about what it means to be a woman, and it may be the unconscious reason behind why I started my company." https://t.co/tudVOb28J2 [source]

Belinda Jack

In making a distinction between sex and gender she drew attention to how much of what women had to contend with was actually something that society imposes. [source]

Erica Jong

The French literary world is incredibly sexist and here was one of their darlings pointing out how much they discriminate. [source]

7

The Feminine Mystique

Betty Friedan, Gail Collins, Anna Quindlen

4.6

Landmark, groundbreaking, classic—these adjectives barely do justice to the pioneering vision and lasting impact of The Feminine Mystique. Published in 1963, it gave a pitch-perfect description of “the problem that has no name”: the insidious beliefs and institutions that undermined women’s confidence in their intellectual capabilities and kept them in the home. Writing in a time when the average

Recommended by David Maraniss.

David Maraniss

There is always that tension between family and career. Hillary’s life represents that. Betty Friedan’s book explains it. [source]

8

Milk and Honey

Rupi Kaur

4.6

Preview Summary

Milk and Honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. About the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity.

The book is divided into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose. Deals with a different pain. Heals a different heartache. Milk and Honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because ther

9

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Sheryl Sandberg

4.5

Preview Summary

Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious deb

Recommended by Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, and 13 others.

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder/Facebook

For the past five years, I've sat at a desk next to Sheryl and I've learned something from her almost every day. She has a remarkable intelligence that can cut through complex processes and find solutions to the hardest problems. Lean In combines Sheryl's ability to synthesize information with her understanding of how to get the best out of people. The book is smart and honest and funny. Her words will help all readers - especially men - to become better and more effective leaders. [source]

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

Honest and brave... The new manifesto for women in the workplace. [source]

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

If you loved Sheryl Sandberg's incredible TED talk on why we have too few women leaders, or simply believe as I do that we need equality in the boardroom, then this book is for you. As Facebook's COO, Sheryl Sandberg has first-hand experience of why having more women in leadership roles is good for business as well as society. Lean In is essential reading for anyone interested in righting the injustice of this inequality. [source]

10

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf

4.5

A Room of One's Own is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf. First published on the 24th of October, 1929, the essay was based on a series of lectures she delivered at Newnham College and Girton College, two women's colleges at Cambridge University in October 1928. While this extended essay in fact employs a fictional narrator and narrative to explore women both as writers of and characters in fict

11

Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics

bell hooks

4.5

What is feminism? In this short, accessible primer, bell hooks explores the nature of feminism and its positive promise to eliminate sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. With her characteristic clarity and directness, hooks encourages readers to see how feminism can touch and change their lives--to see that feminism is for everybody.

Recommended by Emma Watson.

12

The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath

4.5

Sylvia Plath's shocking, realistic, and intensely emotional novel about a woman falling into the grip of insanity.

Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. In her acclaimed and enduring masterwork, Sylvia Plath brilliantly draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes palp

Recommended by Bryony Gordon, The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form), and Tim Kendall.

Bryony Gordon

As a teenage girl, you have to read The Bell Jar. It’s a rite of passage. [source]

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)

One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 [source]

Tim Kendall

Despite its subject matter, The Bell Jar is often a very funny novel. Perhaps we miss it because the pall of Plath’s biography descends across the whole work and reputation. But The Bell Jar is viciously funny. There are people still alive today who won’t talk about it because they were so badly hurt by Plath’s portrayal of them. [source]

13

Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

Clarissa Pinkola Estés

4.5

Within every woman there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. Her name is Wild Woman, but she is an endangered species. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D., Jungian analyst and cantadora storyteller shows how women's vitality can be restored through what she calls "psychic archeological digs" into the ruins of the femal

Recommended by Emma Watson and Irina Botnari.

Irina Botnari

I’m reading more books at the same time. Guilty. Some of them are Tools of Titans - Tim Ferriss, My Berlin Child – Anne Wiazemsky, Women who Run with the Wolves - Clarissa Pinkola Estés. Tim is full of lessons to learn, remember & implement, I’ll see what the rest of the books will unfold. [source]

14

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

Caroline Criado Perez

4.5

Preview Summary

Imagine a world where your phone is too big for your hand, where your doctor prescribes a drug that is wrong for your body, where in a car accident you are 47% more likely to be seriously injured, where every week the countless hours of work you do are not recognised or valued. If any of this sounds familiar, chances are that you're a woman.

Invisible Women shows us how, in a world largely built fo

Recommended by Adam Wagner, Asher Wolf, Caitlin Moran, and 9 others.

Adam Wagner

@CCriadoPerez @MumsnetTowers I love this - the book, Poppy, the mug - it's so well composed! [source]

Asher Wolf

Tell me your best thing today. Mine was an amazing book and greeting card arrived in the post from the wonderful @MmeEmmeline https://t.co/GpEs2lg037 [source]

Caitlin Moran

@CCriadoPerez mate, I bow in admiration. it's an AMAZING, game-changing book. [source]

15

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

Audre Lorde, Cheryl Clarke

4.5

Presenting the essential writings of black lesbian poet and feminist writer Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider celebrates an influential voice in twentieth-century literature. In this charged collection of fifteen essays and speeches, Lorde takes on sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, and propounds social difference as a vehicle for action and change. Her prose is incisive, unflinching, and l

Recommended by Bianca Belair.

Bianca Belair

For #BHM I will be sharing some of my favorite books by Black Authors 26th Book: Sister Outsider By: Audre Lorde My first time reading anything by Audre Lorde. I am now really looking forward to reading more of her poems/writings. What she writes is important & timeless. https://t.co/dUDMcaAAbx [source]

16

The Color Purple

Alice Walker

4.5

The Color Purple is a classic. With over a million copies sold in the UK alone, it is hailed as one of the all-time 'greats' of literature, inspiring generations of readers.

Set in the deep American South between the wars, it is the tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation. Raped repeatedly by the man she calls 'father', she has two children taken away from her, is separa

Recommended by Emma Watson.

17

How to Be a Woman

Caitlin Moran

4.5

Though they have the vote and the Pill and haven't been burned as witches since 1727, life isn't exactly a stroll down the catwalk for modern women. They are beset by uncertainties and questions: Why are they supposed to get Brazilians? Why do bras hurt? Why the incessant talk about babies? And do men secretly hate them? Caitlin Moran interweaves provocative observations on women's lives with laug

Recommended by Emma Watson and Amanda Palmer.

Amanda Palmer

The new feminist manifesto. [source]

18

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

Malala Yousafzai

4.4

Preview Summary

I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while ri

Recommended by Adrienne Kisner.

Adrienne Kisner

Malala’s story of triumph is a battle cry for girls (and boys) everywhere. Education can set you free. [source]

19

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn

4.4

From two of our most fiercely moral voices, a passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world.

With Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as our guides, we undertake an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet the extraordinary women struggling there, among them a Cambodian teenager sold

Recommended by Emma Watson, Julia Enthoven, Mia Farrow, and 2 others.

Julia Enthoven

As for non-fiction, Half the Sky (about crimes against women, especially in the developing world) and Whatever it Takes (about the Harlem Children’s Zone and the work of Geoffrey Canada) both changed my world-view enormously, and I thought they were both super compelling. [source]

Mia Farrow

Women in so much of the world are doing so much of the labour without having any of the rights or reaping their share of the profits. [source]

Pierre Ferrari

One of the most powerful books I've ever read on #GenderEquality is Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by @NickKristof & @WuDunn: https://t.co/uj5rfxlmZm. Let's do more to support women in our daily lives! #WomenWednesday #SDGs [source]

20

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman

Lindy West

4.4

Coming of age in a culture that demands women be as small, quiet, and compliant as possible--like a porcelain dove that will also have sex with you--writer and humorist Lindy West quickly discovered that she was anything but.

From a painfully shy childhood in which she tried, unsuccessfully, to hide her big body and even bigger opinions; to her public war with stand-up comedians over rape jokes; t

Recommended by Jessica Hische, Matt Mcgorry, and Shannon Coulter.

Matt Mcgorry

"Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman" by Lindy West @TheLindyWest # Lovvvvveeedddd, loved, loved, loved this book!!! West is a truly remarkable writer and her stories are beautifully poignant while dosed with her… https://t.co/nzJtXtOGTn [source]

Shannon Coulter

@JennLHaglund @tomi_adeyemi I love that feeling! Just finished the audiobook version of Shrill by Lindy West after _years_ of meaning to read it and that's the exact feeling it gave me. Give me your book recommendations! [source]

21

Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

4.4

Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented li

Recommended by Barack Obama, Angelica Ross, and Julia Enthoven.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

As 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved. It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors – some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before. Here’s my best of 2018 list. [source]

Angelica Ross

@WarnerMediaGrp @tressiemcphd @Lupita_Nyongo @DanaiGurira LOVE THIS BOOK! Can’t wait for this!!!! [source]

Julia Enthoven

For non-business, I’ve loved so many different books that it’s hard to pick a favorite. Recently, I’ve enjoyed The Art of Fielding and Americanah, and I love classics like A Farewell to Arms and Lord of the Flies. [source]

22

Women, Race, and Class

Angela Y. Davis

4.4

A powerful study of the women's movement in the U.S. from abolitionist days to the present that demonstrates how it has always been hampered by the racist and classist biases of its leaders.

Recommended by Bianca Belair.

Bianca Belair

For #BlackHistoryMonth I will be sharing some of my favorite books by Black Authors 3rd Book: Women Race & Class By: Angela Y. Davis EYE-OPENING about the intersection b/w women, race, & class Some Topics: The Abolitionist, Feminist, Women’s Suffrage Movement, etc. https://t.co/RvlOadp7oU [source]

23

Becoming

Michelle Obama

4.4

Preview Summary

In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and aro

Recommended by Barack Obama, Piers Morgan, Mary Burkey, and 3 others.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

Of course, @MichelleObama’s my wife, so I’m a little biased here. But she also happens to be brilliant, funny, wise – one of a kind. This book tells her quintessentially American story. I love it because it faithfully reflects the woman I have loved for so long. [source]

Piers Morgan

Congrats to @MichelleObama on sensational sales of her new book #Becoming. I always take people as I find them & when I met her at the White House, she was a delightfully warm, friendly & genuine lady. A great First Lady & now a best-selling author. https://t.co/nlSUHI01SM [source]

Mary Burkey

This is a case where you have to hear Michelle Obama read her story. It’s her story and she puts her whole emotional self into it. [source]

24

The Beauty Myth

Naomi Wolf

4.4

The bestselling classic that redefined our view of the relationship between beauty and female identity. In today's world, women have more power, legal recognition, and professional success than ever before. Alongside the evident progress of the women's movement, however, writer and journalist Naomi Wolf is troubled by a different kind of social control, which, she argues, may prove just as restric

25

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism

bell hooks

4.4

A groundbreaking work of feminist history and theory analyzing the complex relations between various forms of oppression. Ain't I a Woman examines the impact of sexism on black women during slavery, the historic devaluation of black womanhood, black male sexism, racism within the recent women's movement, and black women's involvement with feminism.

Recommended by Emma Watson.

26

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

4.3

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in

Recommended by Richard Branson, Bianca Belair, and Julia Enthoven.

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Bianca Belair

For #BlackHistoryMonth I will be sharing some of my favorite books by Black Authors 5th Book: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings By: Maya Angelou Another autobiography classic that will be hard to not find on any must- read book list! https://t.co/mGRG76lLRn [source]

Julia Enthoven

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is beautifully written, and I really enjoy the voice of the protagonist and think it’s sad and fascinating to read about her time in history. [source]

27

My Life on the Road

Gloria Steinem

4.3

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - ONE OF O: THE OPRAH MAGAZINE'S TEN FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR - NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Harper's Bazaar - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Publishers Weekly

Gloria Steinem--writer, activist, organizer, and inspiring leader--now tells a story she has never told before, a candid account of her life as a traveler, a listener, and a catalyst for change. Includes

Recommended by Emma Watson and Karlie Kloss.

Karlie Kloss

Not only does this book depict the author's commitment to feminism and fighting for women’s rights, but it also shows us the value of listening to and learning from others. [source]

28

The Vagina Monologues

Eve Ensler

4.3

I decided to talk to women about their vaginas, to do vagina interviews, which became vagina monologues...At first women were reluctant to talk. They were a little shy. But once they got going, you couldn't stop them. Women secretly love to talk about their vaginas. They get very excited, mainly because no one's ever asked them before.

Recommended by Emma Watson.

29

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

4.3

Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard.

But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Roc

Recommended by Audrey Penn, John Sutherland, Lucy Atkins, and 2 others.

Audrey Penn

My next one is Jane Eyre. She was orphaned and sent to a very rich aunt, who had her own very selfish children. Jane Eyre was not the perfect child and she was sent to live in a girls’ school. She made one friend, but unfortunately the little girl died, so she had to toughen up. She grew up there and learned everything she needed to know about teaching. She was a very good artist, she played a little piano, she learned French. When she got older she became the governess for a little French girl who was the ward of a man who lived in a manor. They fell in love, but it turned out that he had a wife, who was insane and lived in the attic. So Jane Eyre ran away and found out she had an uncle who had left her a great deal of money. But she couldn’t get the man out of her mind, so she went back. She found out that after she left, the man’s wife had set the place on fire. The wife had died in the fire, and it had blinded him. They were still very much in love and they married. And they lived happily ever after. [source]

John Sutherland

There is an interesting debate … that the real heroine of Jane Eyre is not the plain little governess but the mad woman in the attic, Bertha Mason [source]

Lucy Atkins

I think Charlotte Brontë’s most accomplished book is Villette. It’s probably a better book, it’s tighter and more sophisticated in some ways. But there’s something about Jane Eyre that is just deeply emotionally compelling for me. [source]

30

The Testaments (The Handmaid's Tale, #2)

Margaret Atwood

4.3

In this brilliant sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, acclaimed author Margaret Atwood answers the questions that have tantalized readers for decades.

When the van door slammed on Offred's future at the end of The Handmaid's Tale, readers had no way of telling what lay ahead for her--freedom, prison or death.

With The Testaments, the wait is over.

Margaret Atwood's sequel picks up the story more than fift

Recommended by Guy Kawasaki, Mary Burkey, and Peter Florence.

Guy Kawasaki

Author & Entrepreneur

I love @MargaretAtwood’s message and appreciate her efforts to prevent the end of the world. Her latest book is The Testaments, sequel to The Handmaid's Tale. 📕 Read it and spread its message to help prevent Making America Gilead again. PODCAST 🎧 https://t.co/9wBq98MWf0 https://t.co/W950dsLLN6 [source]

Mary Burkey

Obviously the book is totally fascinating as a print book. What happened with the audiobook is that because of the Netflix adaptation, a lot of the actors who were in the Netflix program were used for the audiobook production. [source]

Peter Florence

It is a completely standalone, independent novel. If you read The Handmaid’s Tale, it will satisfy some of your need for understanding what happened next. If you haven’t—and incredibly, there are people who haven’t read it—it just gives you an extremely savage and exhilarating look at contemporary life and its most alarming manifestations. [source]

31

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body

Roxane Gay

4.3

From the New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist: a searingly honest memoir of food, weight, self-image, and learning how to feed your hunger while taking care of yourself.

“I ate and ate and ate in the hopes that if I made myself big, my body would be safe. I buried the girl I was because she ran into all kinds of trouble. I tried to erase every memory of her, but she is still there, som

Recommended by Brene Brown.

Brene Brown

This book will take your breath away with its truth-telling. A searingly honest memoir of food, weight, self-image, and learning how to feed your hunger while taking care of yourself. [source]

32

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World

Melinda Gates

4.3

A debut from Forbes' third most powerful woman in the world, Melinda Gates, a timely and necessary call to action for women's empowerment.

For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission. Her goal, as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has been to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become incr

Recommended by Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, and 6 others.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

In her book, Melinda tells the stories of the inspiring people she’s met through her work all over the world, digs into the data, and powerfully illustrates issues that need our attention―from child marriage to gender inequity in the workplace. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

I would say this even if I weren’t married to the author: The Moment of Lift is a terrific read. Melinda opens up about her personal journey from private citizen to public advocate. You see how she pushed our foundation to focus more on women’s empowerment. She shares insights about our marriage, the path we took to become equals in our work, and how she has helped me grow as a father and husband. But to me, what is really impressive about the book is the way Melinda combines her mastery of data with her ability to tell powerful stories about individual women she has met. In an especially memorable passage about how she handles seeing people in desperate circumstances, she writes: “All of us have to let our hearts break; it’s the price of being present to someone who is suffering.” Your heart will break more than once when you read this book. But more often, you will be enlightened and inspired. [source]

Reid Hoffman

CEO/LinkedIn

In her instructive and inspiring book #TheMomentOfLift, @melindagates explains why effective "delivery systems" are key to achieving massive impact, and what the secret is to creating them. https://t.co/UBOXhZxFp8 https://t.co/eHeNHurocx [source]

33

All About Love: New Visions

bell hooks

4.3

Preview Summary

All About Love offers radical new ways to think about love by showing its interconnectedness in our private and public lives. In eleven concise chapters, hooks explains how our everyday notions of what it means to give and receive love often fail us, and how these ideals are established in early childhood. She offers a rethinking of self-love (without narcissism) that will bring peace and compassi

Recommended by Emma Watson, Are You Valet, Juliana Castro, and 1 others.

Are You Valet

Love this book https://t.co/BRuxfaWaq3 [source]

Juliana Castro

@the_jennitaur @jessicahelfand @jiatolentino 8. All about love by Bell Hooks. Essay. The first book I read this year, after a recommendation of an already then ex. Heartbreaking, but good for those open to the challenge. A book about psychology, self-respect, feminism, and care. https://t.co/99xi6w9ZPl [source]

Skye C Cleary

hooks argues that love can be transformative, both individually and socially, but we’re not taught to love well, we’re not taught what love is, and we’re not talking about love in any meaningful way. [source]

34

The Power

Naomi Alderman

4.3

In The Power the world is a recognisable place: there's a rich Nigerian kid who lounges around the family pool; a foster girl whose religious parents hide their true nature; a local American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But something vital has changed, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power - they can cause ag

35

Everyday Sexism

Laura Bates

4.3

In 2012 after being sexually harassed on London public transport Laura Bates, a young journalist, started a project called Everyday Sexism to collect stories for a piece she was writing on the issue. Astounded by the response she received and the wide range of stories that came pouring in from all over the world, she quickly realised that the situation was far worse than she'd initially thought. E

36

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture

Roxane Gay, Brandon Taylor, et al

4.3

Cultural critic and bestselling author Roxane Gay has edited a collection of essays that explore what it means to live in a world where women are frequently belittled and harassed due to their gender, and offers a call to arms insisting that "not that bad" must no longer be good enough.

37

Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference

Cordelia Fine

4.3

It’s the twenty-first century, and although we tried to rear unisex children--boys who play with dolls and girls who like trucks--we failed. Even though the glass ceiling is cracked, most women stay comfortably beneath it, and everywhere we hear about vitally important “hardwired” differences between male and female brains. The neuroscience we read about in magazines, newspaper articles, books, an

Recommended by Nicholas Epley.

Nicholas Epley

Cornelia’s book is a rigorous walk through the scientific literature that presents the facts about gender differences. She blows up a lot of the popular books which posited that ‘men are from Mars and women are from Venus’ and described the male and female brain as fundamentally different. Cordelia’s book puts the real and relatively small differences between men and women into perspective. [source]

38

Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center

bell hooks

4.3

When Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center was first published, it was welcomed and praised by feminist thinkers who wanted a new vision. Even so, individual readers frequently found the theory "unsettling" or "provocative." Today, the blueprint for feminist movement presented in the book remains as provocative and relevant as ever. Written in hooks's characteristic direct style, Feminist Theory

Recommended by Emma Watson and Matt Mcgorry.

Matt Mcgorry

"Feminist Theory: From Margin To Center" by bell hooks # bell hooks is my favorite author. This book is definitely a must-read for any one interested in better understanding feminism. # Initially, my understanding… https://t.co/LLnX2IWtp4 [source]

39

Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity

Judith Butler

4.3

Since its publication in 1990, Gender Trouble has become one of the key works of contemporary feminist theory, and an essential work for anyone interested in the study of gender, queer theory, or the politics of sexuality in culture. This is the text where Judith Butler began to advance the ideas that would go on to take life as "performativity theory," as well as some of the first articulations o

40

Women & Power: A Manifesto

Mary Beard

4.3

At long last, Mary Beard addresses in one brave book the misogynists and trolls who mercilessly attack and demean women the world over, including, very often, Mary herself. In Women & Power, she traces the origins of this misogyny to its ancient roots, examining the pitfalls of gender and the ways that history has mistreated strong women since time immemorial. As far back as Homer’s Odyssey, Beard

41

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

Margot Lee Shetterly

4.3

Preview Summary

Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South and the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America’s space program—and whose contributions have been unheralded, until now.

Before John Glenn orbited the Earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of professionals worked as “Human Computers,” cal

42

The Sun and Her Flowers

Rupi Kaur

4.2

Preview Summary

Hand Signed by Rupi Kaur. Exclusive Certificate of Authenticity (COA) is included. First Print - First Edition Hardcover. The Sun and Her Flowers Hardcover (No Signed Copy sticker on cover). A vibrant and transcendent journey about growth and healing. From Rupi Kaur, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of milk and honey, comes her long-awaited second collection of poetry. Ancestry and honorin

43

Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger

Rebecca Traister

4.2

In the year 2018, it seems as if women’s anger has suddenly erupted into the public conversation. But long before Pantsuit Nation, before the Women’s March, and before the #MeToo movement, women’s anger was not only politically catalytic—but politically problematic. The story of female fury and its cultural significance demonstrates the long history of bitter resentment that has enshrouded women’s

Recommended by Elizabeth Day and Melody Joy Kramer.

Elizabeth Day

Her thesis is that the patriarchal society that we’ve been living in for millennia is not well served by women being in touch with their anger – because anger, in Traister’s eyes and in my own eyes, can be an enormous force for change. [source]

Melody Joy Kramer

@RockShrimp @rtraister I think it would be more of a data person collecting these from feeds....it feels like a university project. (But hello @rtraister I love your recent book and worked with your dad in the rare books library in college and he always talked about you!) [source]

44

Know My Name

Chanel Miller

4.2

The riveting, powerful memoir of the woman whose statement to Brock Turner gave voice to millions of survivors.

She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford's campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went

Recommended by Charlie Brinkhurstcuff, Laura I. Gómez, Marian Keyes, and 1 others.

Charlie Brinkhurstcuff

Chanel Miller's book is breathtaking and painful [source]

Laura I. Gómez

Finished Chanel Miller's book. My eyes and soil are still raw from emotion. What a powerful memoir. [source]

Marian Keyes

Oh! So GREAT! If you're able, PLEASE read her powerful book. https://t.co/3itlgrS7Mz [source]

45

The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women

Jessica Valent

4.2

The United States is obsessed with virginity — from the media to schools to government agencies. In The Purity Myth Jessica Valenti argues that the country’s intense focus on chastity is damaging to young women. Through in-depth cultural and social analysis, Valenti reveals that powerful messaging on both extremes — ranging from abstinence curriculum to Girls Gone Wild infomercials — place a young

46

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft, Miriam Brody

4.2

Writing in an age when the call for the rights of man had brought revolution to America and France, Mary Wollstonecraft produced her own declaration of female independence in 1792. Passionate and forthright, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman attacked the prevailing view of docile, decorative femininity, and instead laid out the principles of emancipation: an equal education for girls and boys,

47

The Complete Persepolis (Persepolis, #1-4)

Marjane Satrapi

4.2

Here, in one volume: Marjane Satrapi's best-selling, internationally acclaimed graphic memoir.

Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the tria

Recommended by Emma Watson.

48

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color

Cherrie Moraga, Gloria Anzaldua, Toni Cade Bambara

4.2

This groundbreaking collection reflects an uncompromised definition of feminism by women of color. Through personal essays, criticism, interviews, testimonials, poetry, and visual art, the collection explores, as coeditor Cherríe Moraga writes, “the complex confluence of identities—race, class, gender, and sexuality—systemic to women of color oppression and liberation.”

49

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

Francesca Cavallo; Elena Favilli

4.2

'The feminist bedtime story book you'll wish you had growing up' Stylist

What if the princess didn't marry Prince Charming but instead went on to be an astronaut? What if the jealous step sisters were supportive and kind? And what if the queen was the one really in charge of the kingdom? Illustrated by sixty female artists from every corner of the globe, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls introduce

Recommended by Zoe Greaves.

Zoe Greaves

Rosa Parks, Maria Callas, Amelia Earhart. The range is amazing. It’s spectacular. I wish I had had this book when I was a child. In terms of female role models, it’s wonderful. I took this on holiday over the summer and my 14-year old niece was reading it to my 8-year old daughter and they just couldn’t stop. They were sharing the stories, they’d read one to each other and we’d be regaled with facts. ‘Did you know?’ Or ‘This chemist did this and this astrophysicist did that.’ They’re beautifully potted mini biographies, perfectly phrased. [source]

50

The Princess Saves Herself in this One (Women are Some Kind of Magic, #1)

Amanda Lovelace and ladybookmad

4.2

"Ah, life- the thing that happens to us while we're off somewhere else blowing on dandelions & wishing ourselves into the pages of our favorite fairy tales."

A poetry collection divided into four different parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, & you. the princess, the damsel, & the queen piece together the life of the author in three stages, while you serves as a note to the reader & all of h

51

Bossypants

Tina Fey

4.2

Tina Fey is one of of the world's greatest comic writers and performers. Here she reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected - you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

Recommended by Sheryl Sandberg.

Sheryl Sandberg

COO/Facebook

I absolutely loved Tina Fey's "Bossypants" and didn't want it to end. It's hilarious as well as important. Not only was I laughing on every page, but I was nodding along, highlighting and dog-earing like crazy. … It is so, so good. As a young girl, I was labeled bossy, too, so as a former - O.K., current - bossypants, I am grateful to Tina for being outspoken, unapologetic and hysterically funny. [source]

52

The Awakening

Kate Chopin

4.2

When first published in 1899, The Awakening shocked readers with its honest treatment of female marital infidelity. Audiences accustomed to the pieties of late Victorian romantic fiction were taken aback by Chopin's daring portrayal of a woman trapped in a stifling marriage, who seeks and finds passionate physical love outside the confines of her domestic situation.

Aside from its unusually frank t

53

Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape

Jaclyn Friedman, Jessica Valenti

4.2

In this groundbreaking new look at rape edited by writer and activist Jaclyn Friedman and Full Frontal Feminism and He’s A Stud, She’s A Slut author Jessica Valenti, the way we view rape in our culture is finally dismantled and replaced with a genuine understanding and respect for female sexual pleasure. Feminist, political, and activist writers alike will present their ideas for a paradigm shift

54

All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation

Rebecca Traister

4.2

A nuanced investigation into the sexual, economic, and emotional lives of women in America. In a provocative, groundbreaking work, National Magazine Award finalist Rebecca Traister, “the most brilliant voice on feminism in the country” (Anne Lamott), traces the history of unmarried and late-married women in America who, through social, political, and economic means, have radically shaped our natio

55

Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger

Soraya Chemaly

4.2

A transformative book urging twenty-first century-women to embrace their anger and harness it as a tool for lasting personal and societal change.

Women are angry, and it isn’t hard to figure out why.

We are underpaid and overworked. Too sensitive, or not sensitive enough. Too dowdy or too made-up. Too big or too thin. Sluts or prudes. We are harassed, told we are asking for it, and asked if it would

Recommended by Abir Ghattas, April Wensel, Bidisha, and 1 others.

Abir Ghattas

That moment when @schemaly likes your posts! @Jafrasha & I started #HammamTalks a women talk-show inspired by Soraya Chemaly's work and her great book "Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger". https://t.co/D5PFRdfvMR [source]

April Wensel

Compassion can be fierce! Women’s anger can be a powerful force for good. “Anger is the emotion that best protects us against danger, unfairness, and injustice…” For more on this, check out @GreaterGoodSC’s article about the book Rage Becomes Her. https://t.co/SIwBbm7mmF [source]

Bidisha

This is an invigorating, witty, inspiring book which reclaims women’s anger and energy for the next round of feminist activism in the 21st century. [source]

56

The Argonauts

Maggie Nelson

4.2

A timely and genre-bending memoir that offers fresh and fierce reflections on motherhood, desire, identity and feminism.

At the centre of The Argonauts is the love story between Maggie Nelson and the artist Harry Dodge, who is fluidly gendered. As Nelson undergoes the transformations of pregnancy, she explores the challenges and complexities of mothering and queer family making.

Writing in the tradi

Recommended by Emma Watson, Daegan Miller, and Katie Kitamura.

Daegan Miller

It is, at heart, a long discussion of relationship: how we relate to others. [source]

Katie Kitamura

Nelson’s relationship doesn’t fit into neat categories, and she forcefully critiques the binaries of our society. [source]

57

Asking for It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture and What We Can Do about It

Kate Harding

4.2

Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrest. Congressman Todd Akin’s “legitimate” gaffe. The alleged rape crew of Steubenville, Ohio. Sexual violence has been so prominent in recent years that the feminist term “rape culture” has finally entered the mainstream. But what, exactly, is it? And how do we change it?

In Asking for It, Kate Harding answers those questions in the same blunt, bullshit-free voice that’

58

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

Robin J. DiAngelo

4.2

Preview Summary

The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.

Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt and by behaviors including argumentation and

Recommended by Elizabeth C. Mclaughlin, Marshall Kirkpatrick, and Todd Nesloney.

Elizabeth C. Mclaughlin

I've recommended the book White Fragility on here many times, and this interview is a great place to start. If you're a white person who believes you're not racist, please read this article. And then go read the book. https://t.co/S5plH3wS5m [source]

Marshall Kirkpatrick

@jhagel This is a great book btw! [source]

Todd Nesloney

@SarahSuggs13 I love that book, have spoken with the author, and did an entire staff book study. Again, had you even tried to see my work that I do, you'd have learned that. You seek to divide and that is it. Great lesson for our students. [source]

59

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement

Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey

4.2

From the Pulitzer-prize winning reporters who broke the news of Harvey Weinstein's sexual harassment and abuse for the New York Times, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the thrilling untold story of their investigation and its consequences for the #MeToo movement.

On October 5, 2017, the New York Times published an article by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey--and then the world changed. For months Kantor a

Recommended by Nigella Lawson, Arianna Ciccone, Cindy Gallop, and 9 others.

Nigella Lawson

Prompted by a @jonronson tweet, I’ve been listing to the audio-book version of #SheSaid by @jodikantor and @mega2e, and I just want to tell you it is brilliant. [source]

Arianna Ciccone

'She Said' is the best book about journalism I have ever read. Here are its best lessons for journalists. https://t.co/40HmRx0sDi via @thisisinsider [source]

Cindy Gallop

Everybody, @jodikantor @mega2e's book is a MUST-READ - buy it here: https://t.co/hfSoCVs2Yp I'm ordering copies to be delivered to @adage @adweek @CampaignLiveUS @campaignmag @thedrum because this is THE investigative roadmap for how you expose the Weinsteins of the ad industry https://t.co/uoIWEHSajQ [source]

60

Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity

Julia Serano

4.2

In the updated second edition of Whipping Girl, Julia Serano, a transsexual woman whose supremely intelligent writing reflects her diverse background as a lesbian transgender activist and professional biologist, shares her powerful experiences and observation-both pre- and post-transition-to reveal the ways in which fear, suspicion and dismissiveness toward femininity shape our societal attitudes

Recommended by Kate Bornstein.

Kate Bornstein

This is the first analysis that strongly ties the male-to-female transgender experience to misogyny. It goes beyond the individual narrative into a political analysis from a transwoman point of view. Julia called me out for my failure to point out the fact that trans misogyny is evident, in that transsexual women most often bear the brunt of the mainstream – or meanstream – media’s obsession with and demonisation of trans. [source]

61

Moxie

Jennifer Mathieu

4.2

It's time to fight like a girl!

Vivian Carter is fed up. Fed up with her high school teachers who think the football team can do no wrong. Fed up with sexist dress codes, hallway harassment and gross comments from guys during class. But most of all, Viv Carter is fed up with always following the rules.

Viv's mum was a tough-as-nails, punk rock Riot Grrrl in the '90s, and now Viv takes a page from he

Recommended by Adrienne Kisner.

Adrienne Kisner

This book is about a girl confronting the accepted sexism in her school is poignant, funny, and sneaks in rebellious inspiration where you least expect it. [source]

62

Full Frontal Feminism

Jessica Valenti

4.2

Feminism isn't dead. It just isn't very cool anymore. Enter Full Frontal Feminism, a book that embodies the forward-looking messages that author Jessica Valenti propagated as founder of the popular website, Feministing.com.

This revised edition includes a new foreword by Valenti, reflecting upon what’s happened in the five years since Full Frontal Feminism was originally published. With new openers

63

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Irin Carmon

4.2

You can't spell truth without Ruth.
Only Ruth Bader Ginsburg can judge me.
The Ruth will set you free.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg never asked for fame—she was just trying to make the world a little better and a little freer. But along the way, the feminist pioneer's searing dissents and steely strength have inspired millions. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, cr

64

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race

Reni Eddo-Lodge

4.1

In 2014, award-winning journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote about her frustration with the way that discussions of race and racism in Britain were being led by those who weren't affected by it. She posted a piece on her blog, entitled: 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race' that led to this book.

Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance,

65

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Alison Bechdel

4.1

Preview Summary

In this graphic memoir, Alison Bechdel charts her fraught relationship with her late father.

Distant and exacting, Bruce Bechdel was an English teacher and director of the town funeral home, which Alison and her family referred to as the Fun Home. It was not until college that Alison, who had recently come out as a lesbian, discovered that her father was also gay. A few weeks after this revelation,

Recommended by Hillary Chute.

Hillary Chute

Alison has a strip that’s been running for a long time called Dykes to Watch Out For, but this is an autobiographical book. ‘Fun Home’ is short for the funeral home Alison’s dad ran when she was a child. It’s a book that blew me away and continues to blow me away every time I read it – and I must have read it five or six times by now: probably the best book I’ve read in the past ten years in any genre or form. It’s an incredibly crafted book in which the chapters are not chronological but thematic, and each chapter is keyed to a book that her father loved. So it’s not a book about what happened to her father, a closeted gay man who committed suicide a few months after Alison herself came out when she was 19. It’s about looking through a family archive to try and get a sense of her father’s particularity. [source]

66

Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women

Susan Faludi

4.1

Skillfully Probing the Attack on Women’s Rights

“Opting-out,” “security moms,” “desperate housewives,” “the new baby fever”—the trend stories of 2006 leave no doubt that American women are still being barraged by the same backlash messages that Susan Faludi brilliantly exposed in her 1991 bestselling book of revelations. Now, the book that reignited the feminist movement is back in a fifteenth anni

Recommended by Doug Rossinow.

Doug Rossinow

For the portrait of Randall Terry and Operation Rescue, the militant anti-abortion group that he organized, alone, the book is worth reading. [source]

67

The Witches Are Coming

Lindy West

4.1

In this wickedly funny cultural critique, the author of the critically acclaimed memoir and Hulu series Shrill exposes misogyny in the #MeToo era.

THIS IS A WITCH HUNT.
WE’RE WITCHES,
AND WE’RE HUNTING YOU.

From the moment powerful men started falling to the #MeToo movement, the lamentations began: this is feminism gone too far, this is injustice, this is a witch hunt. In The Witches Are Coming, fireb

68

The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle #4)

Ursula K. Le Guin and Brian Attebery

4.1

A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose - and change - their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encount

Recommended by Adam Savage, Adam Roberts, Adam Roberts, and 2 others.

Adam Savage

An impressive and powerful experience. [source]

Adam Roberts

Ursula Le Guin may be the writer I most admire. The Left Hand of Darkness, published in 1969, may be her best novel….The Left Hand of Darkness is often discussed, and indeed taught, as a machine for thinking about gender, and it performs that function admirably. But there is much more to it than that. There is a rather dangerous gender-essentialism in the assumption that Le Guin, being female, must have subordinated her aesthetic project to feminist proselytising. Le Guin’s writing is always much more balanced than that. Indeed, that balance as such forms one of her major concerns. [source]

Adam Roberts

Ursula Le Guin may be the writer I most admire. The Left Hand of Darkness, published in 1969, may be her best novel….The Left Hand of Darkness is often discussed, and indeed taught, as a machine for thinking about gender, and it performs that function admirably. But there is much more to it than that. There is a rather dangerous gender-essentialism in the assumption that Le Guin, being female, must have subordinated her aesthetic project to feminist proselytising. Le Guin’s writing is always much more balanced than that. Indeed, that balance as such forms one of her major concerns. [source]

69

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

Angela Carter

4.1

Angela Carter was a storytelling sorceress, the literary godmother of such contemporary masters of supernatural fiction as Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell, Audrey Niffenegger, J. K. Rowling, and Kelly Link, who introduces this edition of Carter's most celebrated book, published for the seventy-fifth anniversary of her birth.

In The Bloody Chamber - which includes the story that is the basis of Neil Jor

Recommended by Emma Watson and Jack Zipes.

Jack Zipes

Yes. Angela Carter played a very important role in my life because I was born in 1937, a few years before she was born, and although we didn’t grow up together, we both grew up in a world where sexism was out in the open. There was no critique of the type of sexism that I experienced when I grew up, and I think the same is true for her. And we both experienced what a lot of people called the second wave of feminism in the 20th century. [source]

70

The Yellow Wall-Paper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Elaine Hedges

4.1

‘It is stripped off - the paper - in great patches . . . The colour is repellent . . . In the places where it isn’t faded and where the sun is just so - I can see a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure, that seems to skulk about . . .’

Based on the author’s own experiences, 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is the chilling tale of a woman driven to the brink of insanity by the ‘rest cure’ prescribed af

71

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

4.1

Best known for the 1892 title story of this collection, a harrowing tale of a woman's descent into madness, Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote more than 200 other short stories. Seven of her finest are reprinted here.

Written from a feminist perspective, often focusing on the inferior status accorded to women by society, the tales include "turned," an ironic story with a startling twist, in which a hus

72

Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture

Ariel Levy

4.1

Meet the Female Chauvinist Pig – the new brand of "empowered woman" who embraces "raunch culture" wherever she finds it. In her groundbreaking book, New York magazine writer Ariel Levy argues that, if male chauvinist pigs of years past thought of women as pieces of meat, Female Chauvinist Pigs of today are doing them one better, making sex objects of other women – and of themselves. Irresistibly w

73

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Auste

4.1

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780679783268

Since its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud

Recommended by Meg Rosoff.

Meg Rosoff

It’s a coming-of-age story, because she throws aside her prejudices but also sees the house and realises that she could be quite comfortable and maybe realises how important that is. [source]

74

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

4.1

A beautiful unabridged 150th Anniversary Edition with 200 original illustrations and a Foreword by Alice L. George entitled "Why Little Women Endures 150 Years Later."

Little Women was originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. This edition contains both volumes. It follows the lives of the four March sisters--Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy-- from childhood to womanhood and is loosely based on th

Recommended by Amy Chua, Anne Thériault, Jay Kleinberg, and 1 others.

Amy Chua

Marmee is a character that really resonates for me. She’s obviously not Chinese, but she believes that integrity and hard work are the most important things in life. She holds her daughters to very high standards. She doesn’t sugarcoat much. She also reveals to her rebellious daughter Jo, the star of the book and a character loosely modeled on Louisa May Alcott herself, that she had a bad temper too when she was younger. That’s exactly what I did with my own daughter Louisa…….The kinds of mistakes that Marmee allows her daughters to make are very similar to the kinds of mistakes that I allow my daughters to make. [source]

Anne Thériault

@mmarmoset I love that book so much, and then I got to see Patty Smith perform the year I read it, and she made a Little Women reference during the show, and my heart overflowed [source]

Jay Kleinberg

Nancy Drew is another series which follows in those footsteps. The book is all led by her. I think if one looks in the magazine literature it would be hard to find a similar character at that time. These were stories initially published in a magazine and then bound together as a book. [source]

75

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston

4.1

Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person -- no mean feat for a black woman in the '30s. Janie's quest for identity takes her through three marriages and into a journey back to her roots.

Recommended by Farah Jasmine Griffin.

Farah Jasmine Griffin

Hurston gives us one of the first true love stories in African American writing. [source]

76

Her Body and Other Parties

Carmen Maria Machado

4.1

In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the

Recommended by Eva Victor.

Eva Victor

@jourdayen BEST BOOK [source]

77

The Female Eunuch

Germaine Greer

4.1

The clarion call to change that galvanized a generation.When Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch was first published it created a shock wave of recognition in women, one that could be felt around the world. It went on to become an international bestseller, translated into more than twelve languages, and a landmark in the history of the women's movement. Positing that sexual liberation is the key to

Recommended by Erica Jong.

Erica Jong

When I read Germaine Greer back in 1971, I was just delighted, because here, suddenly, was somebody saying all the things we felt in our bones but didn’t dare say. [source]

78

Yes Please

Amy Poehler

4.1

In Amy Poehler’s highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.

79

Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation

Silvia Federici

4.1

Caliban and the Witch is a history of the body in the transition to capitalism. Moving from the peasant revolts of the late Middle Ages to the witch-hunts and the rise of mechanical philosophy, Federici investigates the capitalist rationalization of social reproduction. She shows how the battle against the rebel body and the conflict between body and mind are essential conditions for the developme

80

Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl

Carrie Brownstein

4.1

From a leader of feminist punk music at the dawn of the riot-grrrl era, a candid and deeply personal look at life in rock and roll.

Before Carrie Brownstein codeveloped and starred in the wildly popular TV comedy Portlandia, she was already an icon to young women for her role as a musician in the feminist punk band Sleater-Kinney. The band was a key part of the early riot- grrrl and indie rock sce

Recommended by Emma Watson.

81

The Mother of All Questions

Rebecca Solnit

4.1

In this follow-up to Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit offers commentary on women who refuse to be silenced, misogynistic violence, the fragile masculinity of the literary canon, the gender binary, the recent history of rape jokes, and much more.

82

The Geek Feminist Revolution

Kameron Hurley

4.1

A powerful collection of essays on feminism, geek culture, and a writer’s journey, from one of the most important new voices in genre.

The Geek Feminist Revolution is a collection of essays by double Hugo Award-winning essayist and science fiction and fantasy novelist Kameron Hurley.

The book collects dozens of Hurley’s essays on feminism, geek culture, and her experiences and insights as a genre wr

83

Cunt: A Declaration of Independence

Inga Muscio, Betty Dodson

4.1

An ancient title of respect for women, the word cunt long ago veered off this noble path. Inga Muscio traces the road from honor to expletive, giving women the motivation and tools to claim cunt as a positive and powerful force in their lives. In this fully revised edition, she explores, with candidness and humor, such traditional feminist issues as birth control, sexuality, jealousy between women

84

Difficult Women

Roxane Gay

4.1

Award-winning author and powerhouse talent Roxane Gay burst onto the scene with An Untamed State—which earned rave reviews and was selected as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post, NPR, the Boston Globe, and Kirkus—and her New York Times bestselling essay collection Bad Feminist (Harper Perennial). Gay returns with Difficult Women, a collection of stories of rare force and beau

85

Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment

Patricia Hill Collins

4.0

In spite of the double burden of racial and gender discrimination, African-American women have developed a rich intellectual tradition that is not widely known. In Black Feminist Thought, Patricia Hill Collins explores the words and ideas of Black feminist intellectuals as well as those African-American women outside academe. She provides an interpretive framework for the work of such prominent

86

Girl, Woman, Other

Bernardine Evaristo

4.0

From one of Britain's most celebrated writers of color, Girl, Woman, Other is a magnificent portrayal of the intersections of identity and a moving and hopeful story of an interconnected group of Black British women that paints a vivid portrait of the state of post-Brexit Britain, as well as looking back to the legacy of Britain's colonial history in Africa and the Caribbean.

The twelve central cha

Recommended by Nicola Sturgeon, Peter Florence, and Trisha Greenhalgh.

Nicola Sturgeon

@HannahB4LiviMP And what a present...best book of 2019 IMO [source]

Peter Florence

I cannot imagine anyone not enjoying this novel. As an author she possesses a prolific voice; she’s got 12 voices, all of which are distinct and engaging and vulnerable in different ways and utterly compelling. [source]

Trisha Greenhalgh

This is a great book. https://t.co/iOLKPuiUsc [source]

87

Eloquent Rage

Brittney Cooper

4.0

An Emma Watson Our Shared Shelf Selection for November/December 2018 -NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2018/ MENTIONED BY: The New York Public Library- Mashable - The Atlantic - Bustle - The Root - Politico Magazine (What the 2020 Candidates Are Reading This Summer) - NPR - Fast Company (10 Best Books for Battling Your Sexist Workplace)- The Guardian (Top 10 Books About Angry Women)

Rebecca Solnit, The

88

Sex Object: A Memoir

Jessica Valenti

4.0

Author and Guardian US columnist Jessica Valenti has been leading the national conversation on gender and politics for over a decade. Now, in a darkly funny and bracing memoir, Valenti explores the toll that sexism takes from the every day to the existential.

Sex Object explores the painful, funny, embarrassing, and sometimes illegal moments that shaped Valenti’s adolescence and young adulthood in

Recommended by Bre Pettis.

Bre Pettis

In a world where there are countless critics sitting in their underwear being ghastly human beings on the internet, Valenti rises above it, names it, and bring all the ugliness into the light. [source]

89

Circe

Madeline Miller

4.0

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banis

Recommended by Jacqui Pretty and Jason Kottke.

Jacqui Pretty

When it comes to fiction, there are so many to choose from! Some books I've loved in the past year include Circe by Madeline Miller. [source]

Jason Kottke

Another contemporary reinterpretation of Greek mythology from the perspective of a woman. I’m 3/4s of the way through Circe right now and I might like it even more than The Odyssey. [source]

90

King Kong Théorie

Despentes

4.0

J’écris de chez les moches, pour les moches, les frigides, les mal baisées, les imbaisables, toutes les exclues du grand marché à la bonne meuf, aussi bien que pour les hommes qui n’ont pas envie d’être protecteurs, ceux qui voudraient l’être mais ne savent pas s’y prendre, ceux qui ne sont pas ambitieux, ni compétitifs, ni bien membrés.
Parce que l’idéal de la femme blanche séduisante qu’on nous b

91

Feminists Don't Wear Pink and Other Lies: Amazing Women on What the F-Word Means to Them

Scarlett Curtis

4.0

What does the F word mean to you? The must-read book for 2018. Follow @feminists on Instagram for updates.

A collection of writing from extraordinary women, from Hollywood actresses to teenage activists, each telling the story of their personal relationship with feminism, this book explores what it means to be a woman from every point of view.

Often funny, sometimes surprising, and always inspiring,

Recommended by Girl Up.

Girl Up

One of our favorite #girlheroes is @scarcurtis, the writer of Feminists Don't Wear Pink and Other Lies! ✨ We love her commitment to the gender equality movement and how she makes us rethink our definition of feminism 🎀 Her book is a must-read! 📚 https://t.co/x88eOI92QL https://t.co/By1vrcRcnC [source]

92

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name

Audre Lorde

4.0

ZAMI is a fast-moving chronicle. From the author's vivid childhood memories in Harlem to her coming of age in the late 1950s, the nature of Audre Lorde's work is cyclical. It especially relates the linkage of women who have shaped her . . . Lorde brings into play her craft of lush description and characterization. It keeps unfolding page after page.
--Off Our Backs

93

Sexual Politics

Kate Millett

4.0

Identifying patriarchy as a socially conditioned belief system masquerading as nature, the author demonstrates how its attitudes and systems penetrate literature, philosophy, psychology, and politics. Her work rocked the foundations of the literary canon by castigating time-honored classics for their use of sex to degrade women.

94

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More

Janet Mock

4.0

In 2011, Marie Claire magazine published a profile of Janet Mock in which she stepped forward for the first time as a trans woman. Those twenty-three hundred words were life-altering for the People.com editor, turning her into an influential and outspoken public figure and a desperately needed voice for an often voiceless community. In these pages, she offers a bold and inspiring perspective on be

95

The She Book

Tanya Markul

4.0

The She Book is a collection of 114 poems, prose, and quotes written for you. Because this is your year to live the life of your dreams, to heal, to witness, to be the one who queens. Once a silent star in the sky, lost, alone and unnoticed, she began to dream her life awake.

Crafting together the power of words and womanhood, writer Tanya Markul has written a completely unique poetry collection f

96

Mrs. Dalloway

Virginia Woolf

4.0

In this vivid portrait of one day in a woman's life, Clarissa Dalloway is preoccupied with the last-minute details of party preparation while in her mind she is much more than a perfect society hostess. As she readies her house, she is flooded with far-away remembrances. And, met with the realities of the present, Clarissa reexamines the choices she has made, hesitantly looking ahead to growing ol

Recommended by Charles Fernyhough and Maria Sveland.

Charles Fernyhough

Woolf is interested in the intersections between minds. She’s trying to show how minds bleed into each other. [source]

Maria Sveland

It’s one of the saddest books I’ve ever read. I could really identify with Clarissa, this empty, poor person who is going out to find some flowers for a party. At the same moment, we are following her out into the beautiful morning as the story starts. It’s clear very soon that Clarissa is a woman who has lost her soul among all the duties and conventions of a boring marriage. That loss is so overwhelming and confusing that she loses contact even with her own body. She describes feeling young, but at the same time really old. I don’t know why I identified with her so strongly. [source]

97

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1)

Marjane Satrapi

4.0

A New York Times Notable Book
A Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year”
A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller

Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthro

Recommended by Pooneh Ghoddoosi.

Pooneh Ghoddoosi

I read the book and it was great, but more people saw the film because it was nominated for an Academy Award. And after seeing the movie, so many people I knew came up to me and told me that they thought it was exactly the story of my life. And not just me, but most of my Iranian friends had the same feeling of “Oh God, that could have been me, I could have written that book – it could have been the story of my life and my family, and that’s exactly how I felt in high school.” [source]

98

Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life

Emily Nagoski

4.0

An essential exploration of why and how women’s sexuality works—based on groundbreaking research and brain science—that will radically transform your sex life into one filled with confidence and joy.

Researchers have spent the last decade trying to develop a “pink pill” for women to function like Viagra does for men. So where is it? Well, for reasons this book makes crystal clear, that pill will ne

Recommended by Susan Quilliam.

Susan Quilliam

It’s one of the best books ever written, in my view, for guiding women in particular through the minefield of their sexuality in today’s world. [source]

99

Mom & Me & Mom

Maya Angelou

4.0

For the first time, Angelou reveals the triumphs and struggles of being the daughter of Vivian Baxter, an indomitable spirit whose petite size belied her larger-than-life presence—a presence absent during much of Angelou’s early life. When her marriage began to crumble, Vivian famously sent three-year-old Maya and her older brother away from their California home to live with their grandmother in

Recommended by Emma Watson.

100

Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism

Daisy Hernández and Bushra Rehman

4.0

Newly revised and updated, this landmark anthology offers gripping portraits of American life as seen through the eyes of young women of color
It has been decades since women of color first turned feminism upside down, exposing the feminist movement as exclusive, white, and unaware of the concerns and issues of women of color from around the globe. Since then, key social movements have risen, inclu