3 Books to Read This Spring Break

Whether you're escaping the dreary Chicago weather and spending spring break on some faraway beach, or returning home to an equally cold and disgusting climate (me), books that you can actually read for enjoyment (what a novelty!) are so important for your upcoming week off.

Personally, my ideal book to read for pleasure is one that I cannot put down, but also find substantive and meaningful. Here are some of my top recommendations!

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The Power , Naomi Alderman

Science fiction with a female empowerment twist. The Power is a novel set in a world where gender roles are reversed, and women hold all the authority. Women's power rests on their ability to release electrical jolts from their fingertips.

The book has two intertwining narratives: one is a historical account of the time when women across the world developed the power to release electricity and the other is an account of the experiences of five young women, 5,000 years later, who are navigating a rapidly changing matriarchal society. This may sound strange, but trust me, this book is so, so good.

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Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Americanah is the perfect blend of love story and an important conversation about race and immigration. Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love as high schoolers in Lagos, Nigeria, but go their separate ways in college; Ifemelu to study at Princeton, Obinze as an undocumented immigrant in London. Americanah tells both of their stories (which, spoiler alert, do overlap in the end).

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The Girls, Emma Cline

I could not put this book down. Literally, I read this cover to cover in one long sitting, it was that good. The Girls follows the story of Evie, who is persuaded into joining a cult similar to that of the Manson family. Inevitable drama and danger ensue.

Emma Cline is a beautiful writer and somehow perfectly captures the anxieties of being an adolescent girl, and in the process, sheds light on the ways in which cults capitalize on those anxieties for their own means and ends. Few other books are both bone-chillingly suspenseful and comfortingly relatable.

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Feminist Memoirs to Read this Winter

Sometimes it can be easy to forget that reading is not just the act of last-minute cramming 400 pages of Hobbes or Marx. This winter break, find some time in your schedule to read books that will inspire you, make you laugh, teach you about life and politics in the present day (and not 300 years ago), and most importantly, give you something to be happy about! For me, this takes shape through memoirs written by some of my favorite feminists. Here are my suggestions:

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Michelle Obama's Becoming

Obviously. Becoming is one of the best books I have ever read. Michelle Obama's memoir follows her life from childhood in the South Side all the way through her life post-White House. Each sentence is filled with meaning and is beautifully composed, providing insight on growth and transformation, the state of American politics and community, race in Chicago, and what it means to be a woman. I cannot recommend this book more.

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Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Simultaneously hilarious and so relatable, reading Mindy Kaling's memoir feels like you're talking to your best friend or wise-but-funny sister. With chapters ranging from unfortunate anecdotes in middle school to discussions on developing her career, I re-read this book whenever I want to laugh, lift my mood, and remind myself that everything will be ok–given that Mindy was a self-proclaimed "terrible intern," endured countless, relatable, embarrassing moments, and still ended up as a successful writer and actor. All things considered, I feel like I can have hope for my future!

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Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle reads more like a novel, with incredibly beautiful, detailed descriptions of Jeannette moving through childhood and into adulthood. Growing up, she and her siblings learned to take care of themselves as they moved from state to state with their free-spirited, often unemployed parents. Jeanette goes on to receive an elite education and work as a journalist, while her parents remain homeless. A story filled with trauma, but also many moments of beauty, nostalgia, and resilience.

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Angela Davis' An Autobiography

A funny and wise account of Davis' life, experiences and the important people that influenced her future as a political activist. In her autobiography, Davis shares an important account of race and politics in 1972, which stills feels necessary and relevant to read in today’s turbulent times.

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Get reading! Whether you want to feel politically charged, inspired to overcome personal obstacles, or just want to laugh and relate with a badass woman, these are all great options to distract you from your post-finals lull.

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What We can Learn From Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist

In her novel Bad Feminist, author Roxane Gay breaks down the many complicated, nuanced and honest sides of feminism, as well as her own experiences and life lessons on what being a feminist has meant to her. She takes on many voices— vulnerable, assertive, powerful, etc and through them, she delivers fresh, insightful ideas on gender, sexuality, race and more. One of my favorite chapters Gay writes on is titled "How we All Lose," which comments on sexual violence, an especially relevant and crucial topic we must talk about.

The chapter, "How We All Lose," interested me for its thorough analysis of several other texts and novels that attempt to highlight the meaning and future of feminism but neglect to address the issue at heart. In one part, Gay speaks on the subject of sexual violence in response to Hanna Rosin’s novel The End of Men. Rosin writes that “women today are far less likely to get murdered, raped, assaulted, or robbed than at any time in recent history” and a “2010 White House report on women and girls laid out the latest statistics straightforwardly, to the great irritation of many feminists.” To this, Gay comments that it is “hard to accept at face value that feminists would be irritated that there’s a decline in violence against women,” and notes the number of abuse and sexual violence cases that go unreported. Gay also writes that “Rosin is not wrong that life has improved in measurable ways for women, but she is wrong in suggesting that better is good enough. Better is not good enough… I cannot think of clearer evidence of how alive and well the patriarchy remains."

Especially today, it is important to consider Gay’s responses. With recent events concerning sexual abuse allegations against influential, powerful figures like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey and movements like #metoo, sparked by online protests, Gay’s argument against that of Rosin’s is significant in actually addressing sexual violence. With some news outlets finally detailing the abuse females in the entertainment and STEM industries face, it is important we leverage this information to show the change that needs to be done— to restore justice against higher ups like Weinstein and Spacey and shift the narrative about what women can or can’t do. 

It is important for men and women to understand the issue of sexual violence; to understand how its salience negatively affects our culture and society; to understand how by just ignoring this issue we feed into its toxicity and continuity. 

Feminist Fashion

Women need to stand with women. And what better way is there to show your support than through what you wear? Here, MODA Blog shares some of our favorite feminist-themed tees.

Reformation

For part of their "The Action Tees" collection, Reformation will donate $30 to Planned Parenthood with the purchase of this shirt. Buy here!

Otherwild

25% of these T-shirt proceeds will also go to Planned Parenthood. "Otherwild believes in an inclusive, expanded and fluid notion of gender expression, identities and feminisms. We support liberation, embrace our trans sisters, and call for the end of patriarchal ideology, domination, oppression and violence. We believe that 'The Future is Female' is the past, the present and the future, and is language that resonates." Buy here.

WildFang

Show off your wild side! 10% of profits from this product goes to PP & ACLU. Buy here.

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