I’m really bad at keeping New Year’s Resolutions. That being said, this year I’ve decided to make a conscious effort to read while I’m on the T and train, instead of my go-to option of scrolling through my phone. Since I’m on co-op this semester, I have quite a bit of commute time to make progress on my (ever endless) reading list. If you find yourself in the same situation, or if you’re just looking for a fun feminist book list to try for this month, below are five of my recent reads that I would highly recommend!
1. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
In Lean In, author Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, offers honest advice to all working women (and men) based on her own experiences. While I had read a lot about this book, I was surprised to learn while reading just how much family planning still leads to women leaving the workforce today.
My biggest takeaway: don’t turn down opportunities because you think they might be affected by your wanting to have children in a few years. Sandberg advises women to keep working, even if it means breaking even on childcare, because staying in the workforce is an investment in your future income. Sandberg often acknowledges in her book that her advice might not work for everyone, and that choosing to leave the workforce is an incredibly personal choice.
2. Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin
I hadn’t read Gretchen Rubin’s other books, including the Happiness Project, but I flew through Better Than Before and really enjoyed it. Rubin’s discussion of habits opened my eyes to a lot of my own tendencies, both positive and negative, and the ways in which I could improve my happiness through habit building. As most people know, my favorite book ever is The Secret, and I felt that this book actually complemented the teachings of The Secret very well through providing a structure with which to implement the teachings I had previously learned. This book left me feeling empowered and ready for positive change!
3. Dear Writer, Dear Actress
Although this book may not be considered a mainstream piece of feminist literature, I really enjoyed this compilation of love letters from Anton Chekhov (the playwright) to his wife Olga. Olga was an actress at the Moscow Art Theatre, and due to her profession she was often separated from her husband for most of the year. A woman living her own life due to an awesome career at the turn of the 20th century = SUPER feminist! It also made me laugh to read Olga’s letters complaining that her boyfriend-then-husband wasn’t writing her back fast enough…100 years later and women are STILL complaining about this! This is a beautiful winter read; Chekhov and Olga’s love for each other is beautifully evident from their hundreds of letter to each other. Perfect for the Valentine’s Day season!
4. Yes, Please by Amy Poehler
I love books by female comedians: Tina Fey, Chelsea Handler, and Rachel Dratch have all written wonderful reads. Amy Poehler’s book, of course, did not disappoint. I loved that Poehler broke up her essays with smaller “tidbit” reads, such as passages by her parents or Seth Meyers. Her honesty on the nagging feeling of never being sure of your success, whether that be in love or life or your career, was refreshing and incredibly comforting to someone who still doesn’t know exactly what they want to be. Amy’s book reassured me that even my greatest role models may not always feel like they have their life together, so it’s ok for me as a young college student to feel like that too.
5. I Am Nujood, Age 10, and Divorced by Nujood Ali & Delphine Minoui
Ok, ok, I have to be honest – I haven’t actually read this one yet. BUT it is at the top of my book list, and I wanted to be sure to include a couple books that wouldn’t be as mainstream as something by Amy Poehler or Tina Fey. I Am Nujood is the memoir of a young girl who, due to the lack of protections for young women and the strict cultural traditions of her community in Yemen, was married off by her father to a man three times her age. Remarkably – and unlike in most cases, unfortunately – Nujood obtained her freedom and has become an advocate for other young girls forced into similar situations. Equal access to personal freedoms, including the freedom to finish your education, control your own body, and choose who you do (or do not) marry, is exactly what feminism is all about. This heartbreaking tale of a young woman who achieved her own empowerment is next on my list.