Spring break is coming up, and for some of us nerds, that means getting together some books to read on the beach all week! If that’s you, catch up on your feminist reads this spring break! Here are a few great ones I have read in class and on my own.
1. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
This book is actually more of an extended essay based off of lectures she gave at different colleges, so it’s a pretty quick read if you have a free weekend. Woolf asserts that in order for a woman to be successful, she must have her own space and means of income, which was a challenge in her time and is still a struggle for some women today.
2. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Many know Gilman from her beautiful and thought provoking short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” which is definitely something everyone should check out if you haven’t read it before. Herland examines a utopian society made up of women, and women only. (Sign me up, right?) It’s a world free of war and sexism. Then three men, Jeff, Terry and Van arrive. Check it out to see what happens to their world.
3. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
After becoming a Hulu series, this book has become very popular. The series is great and worth watching, but the book is wonderfully written and challenging. Offred, the main character, leads us through her journey in a dystopian world where women are valued based on their female functions and duties.
4. the witch doesn’t burn in this one by Amanda Lovelace
This book is a collection of poems that encourages women to persevere even though people will try to stifle women and their achievements.
5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
This semi-autobiographical novel follows the mental breakdown of the main character, Esther. She struggles with the double standards that women experience in a male-dominated society. This book is heavy, but one that everyone should read at some point.
6. “How It Feels to be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston
This is an essay published in 1928. It illustrates Hurston’s experience as an African American woman in the 20th century. It is not only wonderfully written, but extremely powerful and encouraging.
7. Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich
This book is a volume of poetry published in 1973. It takes place with a diver who goes below the surface to explore the wreckage of a ship. I have not gotten to read this yet, but have heard great things. It’s number one on my list!
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