Last month, we compiled a list of books by Black authors for readers to enjoy during Black History Month. Now we’re doing the same thing in honor of Women’s History Month: here are 20 books written by women that should be on your bookshelf this month, from memoirs to motivation to stories, that have shaped contemporary literature. We also included recommendations from Holly Flynn, MSU's Outreach Librarian. Happy reading!
Fiction:
“Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott
“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
“Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng
“Firekeeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley
“Vladimir” by Julie May Jonas
“All Your Perfects” by Colleen Hoover
“My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Ottessa Moshfegh
“Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens
“The Mothers” by Brit Bennett
Nonfiction:
“Untamed” by Glennon Doyle
“We Should All Be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion
“Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body” by Roxane Gay
“My Body” by Emily Ratajkowski
“Know My Name” by Chanel Miller
“Make Trouble” by Cecile Richards
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Others:
“Passage” by Gwen Benaway
“A Really Good Brown Girl” by Marilyn Dumont
“Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson
“Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel
Lily’s Favorite: “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng
“Little Fires Everywhere” was a can’t-put-it-down book for me, and I found that it contained fascinating commentary on race and class through the lens of motherhood. Read if suburban family drama scratches an itch in your brain and if you’re interested in how femininity is represented differently between women of different ages and socioeconomic standings.
Miranda’s Favorite: “My Body” by Emily Ratajkowski
“My Body” is one of the most brilliant memoirs that I have read in the last year. From the moment I started reading, I was unable to put it down. An incredibly quick read, Ratajkowski takes the reader through her ongoing journey to understanding her femininity, sexuality and power. Her patriarchal bargains are those that all women can understand and find familiar. Through these essays, it’s clear that she has the stories to tell and the skills to tell them well. Her writing is provocative and vivid and her experiences are shocking but unexpectedly relatable. I urge everyone to read this book to start thinking about the rationalizations we all make when it comes to the objectification of women.
Holly Flynn’s Favorites: “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson, “Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel
Flynn is the Outreach Librarian at MSU Libraries. She recommends “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson, naming it one of the most important books of the century. The book warns about the environmental dangers of using pesticides, and includes study of robins dying at MSU in the 1950s. She also recommends “Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel. She said that MSU Libraries has the world’s largest collection of comics, including this comic’s graphic memoir.
