The 20 Most Inspiring Books from the Last 10 Years
That Every Woman Should Read
I am woman, hear me roar!
Oh yes, I am wise, but it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price, but look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong
I am invincible
I AM WOMAN!
~Lyrics from “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy
Women are strong, sexy, intelligent, resourceful, nurturing,
intuitive and resilient. Sometimes being all of these things (and more) comes
at a price. As women there are times when we become depleted and we need to be
inspired, rejuvenated and our fire needs reigniting.
Reading is one of the most empowering things any person can do
for themselves. A good book–I mean a really good book–can touch your soul, heal
your heart and stir your creative juices.
Below is a list of 20 books that every woman should read. They
will inspire, educate, transform and bring back your roar!
1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I had to begin with this epic and well penned story. To be more
exact, this isn’t just a book, it is an emotional journey.
Katniss, this book’s title character, epitomizes Helen Reddy’s
anthem for women. As a protagonist, she exhibits strength during her weakness.
She is outwardly fearless while inwardly she is petrified. She is you in hero
form. You may have seen the movie but the movie is vastly inferior to this work
of art by Suzanne Collins. This book is a timeless classic. You will cheer and
cry. You will walk away inspired.
2. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
This New York Times bestseller is set in the 1970’s and is
described as being, “A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and
longing…[it] is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait,
uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and
husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.” It
is a story that shows how to survive loss and tragedy without losing yourself.
3. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Bad Feminist is as a sharp and funny funny collection of
essays that provide an accurate look at the ways in which our culture consumes
us and snatches our identity. Roxane Gay takes us on her journey and describes
life from the lens of a black a woman. She comments on trends and recent events
and how they have effected feminism. In the end, this book is really an
inspiring call-to-action and highlights areas in which we as women need to do
better.
4. The Goldfinch by Donna Tart
The New York Times describes “The Goldfinch” as “a
rarity that comes along perhaps half a dozen times per decade, a smartly
written literary novel that connects with the heart as well as the mind…. You
keep waiting for the wheels to fall off, but in the case of “The Goldfinch,”
they never do.”
This is a historical fiction story that recounts the experiences
of a young boy loses his mother in a terrorist attack at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City. This story is perfect for women as it explores
the meaning and purpose of art as well as love, friendship, and the pain of
loss.
5. The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire
Shipman
This New York Times Bestseller is a practical guide for helping
women gain and maintain self-confidence. The principles in this book are based
on time tested research on gender, behavior, cognition and genetics.
6. Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
Set in the 1950s, Boy, Snow, Bird opens on the
Lower East Side of New York City, with a young white woman named Boy Novak
running away from her violent father. She finds her self in Massachusetts where
she meets a widower, a jewelry craftsman, Arturo Whitman, in Flax Hill, Mass.
They marry and she becomes obsessed with her new stepdaughter, Snow.
This novel is a remake if not hugely reminiscent of the famous
fairy-tale, Snow White. The interesting twist in this novel is that Boy’s
husband is a very light-skinned black man, who “passes” as white. This novel
poetically discusses the the themes of color and race relations, self-love and
acceptance wrapped in the familiarity of a well-known tale.
7. Knowing Your Value: Women, Money and Getting What
You’re Worth by Mika Brzezinski
This New York Times bestseller is a collection of interviews
from the world’s most successful business women. This book uses the stories and
success of other women to show you how to thrive in your career and financially
and understand your self-worth as a woman.
8. Drink by Ann Dowsett Johnston
Drink is part research reporting and part memoir that delves
into the realities of the rising rates of women alcoholics. This book looks at
the psychological and social pressures extreme and risky drinking behaviors has
had on women in general. This book, while addressing alcoholism in women, is a
picture of how society can shape and manipulate the behavior of an entire
species.
9. The Financial Fast by Michelle Singletary
The 21-Day Financial Fast, written by award-winning writer
and The Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary, challenges women to look
at finances differently. For twenty-one days, participants will put away their
credit cards and buy only the barest essentials. The challenge is designed to
not only change how you view and manage your money but also why you do what you
do. Michelle challenges you take an introspective look at your relationship
with money. It will end your dysfunctional relationship with money.
10. The Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
This book is the ultimate motivational tool. Once you put it
down, you will feel inspired to tackle that project, write your book, open a
bakery or change careers. Elizabeth Gilbert is the award winning author of the
wildly popular Eat, Pray, Love. She is all about unlocking your
creativity and living fearlessly.
11. The Life Boat by Charlotte Rogan
This is a poignant novel is a gritty, naked look at what being a
survivor really means. This book opens with a newly married couple being ripped
apart by a horrible accident at sea and only half of the couple survives. This
book follows the perils of what the survivors must do in order to survive. It
shows the inner strength that lies within all of us. But it also shows that we
are all capable of being horrible sadists.
12. I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This by Kate
White
Kate White, who is also the author of Why Good Girls
Don’t Get Ahead…But Gutsy Girls Do, has written another wise, witty
and straight-shooting career guide for women. In this book, Kate inspires women
to chase their career goals–no matter how lofty. She serves as a champion for
high- achieving career- driven women.
13. Ask For It: How Women Can Use Negotiation To Get
What They Really Want by Linda Babock and Sarah Laschever
This book tackles and explains the art of negotiation from a
woman’s point of view. Negotiations look and flow differently for women in the
workforce and this book gives a four-phased approach to negotiations. It is
designed to teach women how to maximize their bargaining power and how to
silence their negative inner self-talk. You will become a more confident and
powerful go-getter.
14. Swamplandia by Karen Russell
Karen Russell has struck gold with her first novel. This tale
about a girl’s courageous effort to preserve her grieving family’s way of life,
is infused “with humor and gothic whimsy.” The New York Time’s praises
Russell’s “exuberantly inventive language and her vivid portrait of a heroine
who is wise beyond her years.”
15. Becoming Wise: An Inquiry Into the Mystery and Art
of Living by Krista Tippett
This book is a culmination of wisdom gained from years spent
interviewing scientists, philosophers, theologians, activists and poets on her
award winning NPR podcast. She has taken all that she has learned, condensed
and distilled it down to create a “master class on living.” This book
encourages and instructs women how to live, love and exists on their own terms.
16. The Immortal Life of Henerietta Lacks by
Rebecca Skloot
Described by NPR as “a remarkable feat of investigative
journalism and a moving work of narrative nonfiction that reads with the
vividness and urgency of fiction. It also raises sometimes uncomfortable
questions with no clear-cut answers about whether people should be remunerated
for their physical, genetic contributions to research and about the role of
profit in science.” This book will cause you to think and it may just cause a
shift in your worldview.
17. Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others
and Start Caring For Yourself by Melody Beattie
This wildly popular, Amazon best-seller is what every woman
needs to shake loose of codependency and to have healthy, drama-free
relationships. Through a series of interactive activities and funny anecdotes,
Melody Beattie, walks you through her simple and direct approach that leads to
a path of independence, wholeness and satisfaction.
18. Bossypants by Tina Fey
Who doesn’t love Tina Fey? And this is all Tina Fey. This book
is a light yet deeply insightful easy read. In this memoir of sorts, Tina takes
us into her life and dishes the “tea” on what it’s like to be a woman in the
male dominated comedy business. Expertly told, this book is full of the witt
and humor you’ve come to expect from Fey but it is also a heroic tale of a
woman who found success in the face of numerous obstacles.
19. Better Than before by Gretchen Reuben
This book is written by the New York Times’ bestselling author
of The Happiness Project. This book is all about helping you
to change by addressing your habits. She offers women a methodical approach to
recognizing and changing dysfunctional behaviors, attitudes and habits that
sabotage their success and rob them of happiness. She shows women how to tackle
their number one enemy: herself.
20. Come To The Edge: A Love Story by Christina
Haag
Every woman loves a good love story and Haag definitely delivers
with this book. Christina details her five year romance with John F. Kennedy
Jr. The Washington Post says that Haag’s story “lyrically and precisely
recaptures the frenetic ecstasy of early love.” This book shows how true love
surpasses wealth, status and fame. We all desire to love and be loved
passionately and Haag expertly captures and exposes this all encompassing love
in this well written story.
http://www.lifehack.org/586297/the-20-most-inspiring-books-from-the-last-10-years-that-every-woman-should-read
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