Publication year 1997
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Race, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity
Tags Race & Racism, Gender & Feminism, LGBTQ+, US History, Social Class, Women`s Studies, World History, Social Justice
Feminist Reads
Feminism is more than fighting for gender equity. It is about retelling the stories that define us, recognizing the place of woman in our shared history, now and into the future. This collection of study guides features fiction, nonfiction, and poetry all about women and their tales of triumph, pain, love, and everything in between.
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments
We Are Displaced
We Have Always Been Here
We the Women
What Do Women Want?
When Women Ran Fifth Avenue
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Where We Stand
Whisper Network
Wide Sargasso Sea
Wise Blood
wishes for sons
Woman in the Nineteenth Century
Woman on the Edge of Time
Women Talking
Women Who Run with the Wolves
Year of Yes
Zeitoun
Publication year 1997
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Race, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity
Tags Race & Racism, Gender & Feminism, LGBTQ+, US History, Social Class, Women`s Studies, World History, Social Justice
Publication year 2018
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Immigration, War, Community, Safety & Danger, Femininity, Politics & Government, Family, Education, Gender Identity, Fear, Grief, Memory, Perseverance, Conflict
Tags Politics & Government, Social Justice, World History, Immigration & Refugeeism, Gender & Feminism, Education, Biography
Publication year 2019
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Sexual Identity, Religion & Spirituality, Gender Identity, Community, Friendship, Family, Self Discovery, Conflict, Immigration
Tags Gender & Feminism, LGBTQ+, Immigration & Refugeeism, Religion & Spirituality, Biography
Publication year 2026
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Race, The Past, Nation, Politics & Government
Tags Biography, History of the Americas, Gender & Feminism
A vivid portrait of the unsung American women from 1776 to today who changed the course of history in their fight for freedom and helped shape a more perfect union“This terrific book reveals the central, though often hidden role that women have played at every stage of our country’s history.”—Doris Kearns GoodwinOver a decades-long, distinguished career, award-winning journalist Norah O’Donnell has made it her mission to shed light on untold women’s stories. Now, in honor of America’s 250th birthday, O’Donnell focuses that passion on the American heroines who helped change the course of history. We the Women presents a fresh look at American history through the eyes of women, introducing us to inspiring patriots who demanded that the country live up to the promises made 250 years ago in the Declaration of “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Since the signing of that document, the pressing question from women has Why don’t those unalienable rights apply to us? Through extensive research and interviews, as well as historical documents and old photos, O’Donnell curates a compelling portrait of these fierce fighters for freedom. From Mary Katherine Goddard, who printed the first signed Declaration of Independence, to the Forten family women, who were active in the abolition and suffrage movements and were considered the “Black Founders” of Philadelphia, to the first women who served in the armed forces even before they had the right to vote, O’Donnell brings these extraordinary women together for the first time, and in doing so writes the American story anew.... Read We the Women Summary
Publication year 2000
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Gender Identity, Sexual Identity
Tags Lyric Poem, Gender & Feminism, Relationships, Love & Sexuality
Publication year 2024
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Femininity, Gender Identity, Race, The Past, Marriage, Social Class, Economics, Science & Technology
Tags World History, Biography, Gender & Feminism
Publication year 1966
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age
Tags Classic Fiction, Coming of Age, Psychological Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Gender & Feminism, Parenting, American Literature, Post-War Era, Education, Education, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2000
Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction
Themes Gender Identity, Race, Social Class, Community, Economics, Justice
Tags Gender & Feminism, Race & Racism, Social Class, Social Justice, Politics & Government
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Teamwork, Social Class, Gender Identity, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Masculinity, Femininity
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Business & Economics, Bullying, Trauma & Abuse, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1966
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Gender Identity
Tags British Literature, Classic Fiction, The Lost Generation, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Postmodernism, Education, Education, World History
Wide Sargasso Sea (1966), Jean Rhys’s best-known novel, is a retelling that contemplates the life of Bertha Mason Rochester, a minor character in Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre (1847). Rhys made a career out of writing novels and short stories that contemplated the lives of unconventional women. She wrote and published most of her fiction in the 1930s, then went out of print for several decades. The rise of feminist and postcolonial literary studies brought... Read Wide Sargasso Sea Summary
Publication year 1952
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Gender Identity, Trust & Doubt
Tags Southern Gothic, Gender & Feminism, Religion & Spirituality, Christian, American Literature, Southern Literature, Gothic Literature, Classic Fiction
Wise Blood is Flannery O’Connor’s first novel, and it is concerned with the journey of a young man named Hazel Motes. At the beginning of the narrative, Motes is traveling to Taulkinham, Tennessee, after fighting for four years in World War II. Before his military service, Motes had always intended to become a preacher like his grandfather before him, but his war experiences cause Motes to become an anti-religious nihilist.After arriving in Taulkinham, Motes encounters a young... Read Wise Blood Summary
Publication year 1987
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Gender Identity, Coming of Age, Childhood & Youth, Love, Shame & Pride, Fear, Perseverance, Conflict, Hope, Justice, Equality, Power & Greed, Mothers
Tags Lyric Poem, Gender & Feminism
Publication year 1999
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Equality, Femininity, Gender Identity, Self Discovery, Nation
Tags American Literature, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Philosophy, Women`s Studies, US History, Transcendentalism
Publication year 1976
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Gender Identity, Justice, Future
Tags Gender & Feminism, Science Fiction, Classic Fiction, Fantasy
Woman on the Edge of Time is a 1976 utopian science fiction novel by Marge Piercy. Piercy is a poet, writer, and feminist activist, and the novel critiques racism, patriarchal gender roles, and medical abuse. The novel is set in the 1970s and follows Connie Ramos, an impoverished Mexican American woman who is visited by a time traveler from a utopian future. The book’s setting alternates between the psychiatric hospital where Connie is unjustly committed... Read Woman on the Edge of Time Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Community, Gender Identity
Tags Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, Historical Fiction, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
Miriam Toews’s Women Talking (2018) is a novel set in the fictional Mennonite colony of Molotschna. It follows a group of the colony’s women as they discuss how to respond to the discovery that many of their menfolk have been anesthetizing and raping them for years. The book is inspired by actual events that took place between 2005 and 2009 in a remote Mennonite colony in Bolivia. There, eight men were discovered to have been... Read Women Talking Summary
Publication year 1992
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Gender Identity
Tags Gender & Feminism, Women`s Studies, Philosophy, Philosophy, Psychology, Psychology, Fantasy, Self-Improvement, Religion & Spirituality
Women Who Run With the Wolves (1992) is the most well-known book by author Clarissa Pinkola Estés. It became a New York Times bestseller and appeared on the bestseller lists of USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, and Library Journal. Other books by the same author include The Gift of Story (1993), The Faithful Gardener (1996), and Untie the Strong Woman (2011). Estés has also recorded numerous audiobooks on related topics. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology... Read Women Who Run with the Wolves Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Regret, Femininity, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Race, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Equality, Fame
Tags Self-Improvement, Gender & Feminism, Memoir & Autobiography
Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person (2015) is a memoir by television writer and producer Shonda Rhimes. The book recounts the life changes that Rhimes made in 2014 when she committed herself to saying “yes” to opportunities and invitations. In 2013, Rhimes was immersed in both a successful career and a busy life, parenting three daughters. An off-hand comment by her older sister complaining... Read Year of Yes Summary
Publication year 2009
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Gender Identity
Tags Gender & Feminism, Natural Disaster, 9/11, Creative Nonfiction, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Biography, Politics & Government
Zeitoun is a nonfiction narrative recounting the trials and ordeals of the Zeitoun family during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Abdulrahman Zeitoun is a Syrian American who has built a successful business in New Orleans. With his wife, Kathy, an American who converted to Islam as an adult, and their children, Zeitoun feels a strong connection to his adopted city and country. He’s proud to be a builder and to help restore New Orleans in... Read Zeitoun Summary