Celebrate women’s month with these inspiring and provocative books

Of course, I’ll be reading books authored by women for Women’s Month! I’ll also be tackling some feminist works I haven’t gotten to yet.

Bad Feminist, Roxanne Gay (Nonfiction, criticism, feminism). A collection of essays that observe and criticize how different elements of media and society impact the way we grow into womanhood. I heard about this from the one and only Emma Watson — whose iconic role as Hermione and advocacies on feminism only solidified her position as an aspirational figure in my life. What? You mean you don’t Google her book recommendations?

Men Explain Things To Me, by Rebecca Solnit (Nonfiction, criticism, feminism). I’m expecting this to be an unforgiving essay on the errors that often happen in conversations between men and women. This is a recommendation from one of my dear friends, Pau. She and I harbor a shared resentment for mansplaining, so it makes sense that we’d gravitate to a title like this. Of course we would.

Dept of Speculation, Jenny Offill (Literary fiction, marriage). This book tackles all the challenges that accompany marriage through the pensive mind of a wife. This caught my eye because of a this sentence in its synopsis: “A beguiling rumination on the mysteries of intimacy, trust, faith, knowledge, and the condition of universal shipwreck that unites us all.” Nothing screams shared human experience quite like tragedy.

Her Body And Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado (Short stories, horror, fantasy, feminism). This book is a collection of short stories told in a wide array of genres that center on how women and the female body are skewed, used, misrepresented, and perceived by others and in varying circumstances. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look this up after seeing images of Audrey Hope from the Gossip Girl reboot reading this book. I didn’t watch it, but the original series was influential in my adolescence.

All My Puny Sorrows, Miriam Toews (Contemporary fiction, literary fiction). A story following the polarizing paths of two sisters, one of whom commits suicide to the demise of the other. My initial impression is that it seems similar to The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, which I enjoyed.

Writing Down The Bones, by Natalie Goldberg (Nonfiction, autobiography, writing and language). The first autobiography I read by a writer was Stephen King’s On Writing, which I absolutely adored — and this one seems to have a more practical approach into writing. I need to read more things like this.

Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion (Nonfiction, autobiography). I’m honestly not sure what to expect from this highly regarded piece of work by the late author, but the commentary on growing up in California resonates with me, as I grew up there, too. I expect this to be a difficult read since it’s a collection of rather personal philosophical insights.

The Book of Form and Emptiness, Ruth Ozeki (Literary fiction, magical realism). A boy named Benny who starts hearing the objects from his everyday life speak. It reminds me of how I used to imagine my backpack and its contents speaking to each other while I was away at my desk during school hours. I know, it’s weird. I’m weird. But this book implies I’m not the only one.

Severance, Ling Ma (Apocalyptic, science fiction, literary fiction). A millennial workaholic who misses a cataclysmic event. Said millennial considers blowing her only chance of survival to expose a man’s ulterior motives. Sign. Me. Up.

Let me know if any of these caught your eye, or share your thoughts if you’ve read any of these before!

If you liked this post, check out my list of 12 Amazing Books To Read for February!