Being a woman in her twenties in the world we live in now, I think the best thing a woman can be is informed. A well read woman can take down institutions and change lives. Every woman, especially at this delicate and influential age, should be well informed, well-read, and attentive to her surroundings. Reading these books can help you be just that, while entertaining you as well! I firmly believe that every woman should read these books, especially at this age and in this year.
1. "Dead Girls" by Alice Bolin
Don't let the title throw you off. This book is a collection of essays by Alice Bolin that address a number of issues, including the female role in crime and how women react to and are influenced by crime around them. Bolin discusses other iconic authors such as Joan Didion and James Baldwin. She discusses the unspoken obsession that is had with women who are murdered, raped, etc and the use of womens' bodies as props and objects in media. While it isn't a typical read as it isn't fictional, it is very informative and eye opening.
2. "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
Plath was ahead of in her time in writing a very real and honest depiction of mental illness, as well as a piece that truthfully depicted mental illness in women. This book also offers a look into how women's lives really were during the 1950s. We must know history or we are doomed to repeat it and every self respecting woman should be informed of the injustices toward women at this time
3. "The Handmaids Tale" by Margaret Atwood
We all knew it was coming and that this list would be incomplete without Atwood's classic that has recently shaken women and men alike to their cores.
The Book is set in a dystopian United States that has been overthrown and replaced the democracy with a theocracy. Women who are fertile and child bearing are made slaves ("handmaids") to wealthier families who are unable to give birth to children without assistance. This dystopia places women as a whole at the bottom of the food chain. It throws society back into old views and ways of living in which women were not allowed to work, read, or be independent without the permission of their husbands. This book perfectly depicts the importance of the roles of women in any society.
4. "We Should All Be Feminists" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Even if you don't agree with feminism, this book is a must read. It provided an updated definition of the term and focuses on inclusive feminism as a whole. Even if you don't agree with feminism, this novella does a good job of informing one about what feminism is.
5. "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones
This book was featured for Oprah's book club for 2018. It features the dynamics of a woman and man in a marriage as well as the strength of the women when her husband is sent to jail for an extended amount of time. It shows the power a woman can have and what she can influence on her own without the help of her husband or any man.
A good book can change your mind, change your beliefs, and/or change your life. I hope that these books can influence you just as they have influenced me.
