Winter is long, and it keeps refusing to go away (blame the groundhog). But since you’ll be staying inside while it’s still dark and cold outside, might as well make the most out of it. Here are some books to help you gather your strength until you can emerge in Spring, well-read and eager to fight the patriarchy.
1. The Power by Naomi Alderman
In a modern society that feels a bit like an episode of Black Mirror, or, you know, the newest Purge movie, here’s a story that takes place in an alternate universe you might actually want to experience (at first). Alderman constructs a world that looks mostly like our current one, except for one very key difference: women have the power. A commentary on gender relations, this novel explores what happens when women discover they have the ability to generate electrical power that can be wielded to control and dominate men. Of course, when power such as this is involved, things go bad fast–meaning that women start treating men as they have been treated for centuries. Intelligent and biting, Alderman creates a universe that men would see as a terrifying dystopia, but, if the genders were reversed, would look exactly like the world we live in every day.
2. It’s Messy: Essays on Boys, Boobs, and Badass Women by Amanda de Cadenet
Amanda de Cadenet has had an extensive career, from hosting popular U.K. television shows to succeeding as a fashion photographer, but her new occupational title, author, may be her best yet, thanks to the extreme honesty in which she addresses issues such as sexual assault and unplanned pregnancies. She uses humor and the vulnerability of writing from personal experience to challenge the idea of the perfect woman, constructing instead a more realistic and relatable narrative of the “messy” yet “badass woman.” Though a mother of three and owner of her own company, de Cadenet is still, in her words, “just a woman who is looking for answers.” She is also a woman hopeful for the next generation, and she is here to spread her stories without the shame or secrecy normally attached to female experiences. Â
3. Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard Around the World by The Women’s March Organizers
Time is up on writing women out of the history books; now women are writing the history books. Dedicated to the “women, documented and undocumented: the daughters, the mothers, the caregivers, the workers, the trans warriors, the witches, the artists, the refugees, the leaders,” this book chronicles what led up to the iconic Women’s March through interviews with activists, artists, politicians, and protesters. A true story about resistance, this book is a testament to what happens when a group of women and activists join together to turn anger into action. Featuring essays from women such as Gloria Steinem, Roxane Gay, Elaine Welteroth, and America Ferrera, this vibrant book is an inspiring way to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the “protest heard around the world.”
4. Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
Though marketed as a dystopian novel, Zumas’ second book reveals a world that American politicians are desperately trying to make a reality. Inspired by actual proposals made by men in our government, Red Clocks details what happens when abortion is once again criminalized in the United States, sentencing women to jail time if they try to end their own pregnancies. It features a Pink Wall on the border of the U.S. and Canada and follows the daily lives four women who are each struggling for their own agency. More subtle than The Power or the iconic Handmaid’s Tale, this story will leave you with a quiet discomfort, a familiar chill, and picture of womanhood that begs to be heard.
5. F*cked: Being Sexually Explorative and Self-Confident in a World That’s Screwed by Corine Fisher and Krystyna Hutchinson
If you haven’t listened to comedians Corine Fisher and Krystyna Hutchinson’s podcast, Guys We F*cked, then what are you doing still reading this? Download their latest episode, get hooked, and then go buy their debut novel that continues the conversation about sex positivity and anti-slut-shaming (in the most enjoyable way). It tells you what you need to hear, no sugar-coating, about how to get the sex you deserve. This means discussions about why you need to stop faking an orgasm, how to get yourself out of an unsafe situation, and what the deal is with threesomes anyway. These women are done with the shame surrounding a woman’s sexuality, and they’re making sure the world knows it.
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