In this month’s reading list, we share our recent reads about women who change the world without even realizing it. From first loves and secret lives to candid confessions and crystalline potential, these books capture the facets of being a multidimensional woman. Share these books with the women in your life – we did!
Featured image by Sophie Blackall
The Opposite of Loneliness
Marina Keegan
Marina was a wide-eyed 22-year-old, as promising as they can get, whose life was cut short because of a car accident. This book is a collection of literary pieces she had written over the years — a mix of both fiction and non-fiction — with essays that capture what it means to be a woman at the beginning of the best years of her life. Poignant, intelligent and quietly hopeful, I love Marina’s work because she doesn’t pretend to be anything other than confused and excited about making life happen.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Muriel Barbery
“When people walk by the concierge, all they see is a void.” Few of the residents of the exclusive 7 Rue de Grenelle think much of Madame Michel, their gruff and uncultured concierge. Little do they know that behind closed doors, Renee has cultivated an immense and intelligent passion for art, philosophy, and culture – at least until her life collides with those of a refined Japanese newcomer and a world-weary 12-year old resident. In this very French novel, we learn that no art can compare to the beauty of being recognized for who you truly are.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Mindy Kaling
What’s not to love about this woman? Reading her book will fill you with awe as she candidly talks about what it’s really like to be a woman in a man’s world. From being the only female writer among the staff at The Office to the true pains of being a hopeless romantic, Kaling writes with uncensored humor, sounding like the fun, silly best friend you’ve been waiting your whole life for.
The Chaperone
Laura Moriarty
Louise Brooks was a beautiful, reckless, and brazen star of the silent screen era – but this novel isn’t about her. Instead, it focuses on Cora Carlisle, a quiet and conservative Wichita-native sent to chaperone a 15-year old Louise during an unforgettable summer in New York City, 1922. Though Louise may sparkle and blaze like dynamite, Cora’s inner light only grows from the first page to the last, reminding us that not all revolutions need to happen with a bang.
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being A Woman
Nora Ephron
If Mindy is the voice of your fun best friend, Nora embodies your wise and funny aunt. In ‘I Feel Abut My Neck’, Nora talks about both the beauty and pain of getting older. It’s in this book that she writes one of her most iconic quotes: “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” Tell me that doesn’t make you feel like the sun.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Jenny Han
Lara Jean has spent a lifetime pouring her soul out to others: to her family that lost a mother too soon, to her sisters whom she puts first above all, and to the titular boys of this contemporary YA romance. Though the title may not imply it, this is a sweet tale that’s less about a boy crazy high schooler and more about a daydreamer with a heart of gold, who discovers just how closely true love and finding oneself go hand in hand.
