Books

10 Essential Books About Writing

An illustration shows a person with brown skin and brown hair with a pencil in their mouth, bookshelves with blue, purple, yellow, and pink book covers behind them, and a laptop in front of them.
by Nylah Burton
April 6, 2022 at 12:07pm
Must-read titles for writers include works by Elena Ferrante, Akwaeke Emezi, Meg Wolitzer, Yoko Ogawa, and more.
a young woman with light skin and long, black hair leans her head against the wall with her eyes closed

Which Millennials Get to Be Burned Out?

by Nicole Froio
September 22, 2020 at 9:00am
Can’t Even manages to gather research on the specificities of white, middle-class millennial burnout, but it fails to provide a truly structural and historical view of the issue of work and millennials. Read more »
Simon (left) and Ethan (right) sitting in chairs and talking to each other

Loud and Queer: The Problem with Demanding Queer Visibility

by Marina Watanabe
September 18, 2020 at 12:53pm
We need to find alternative templates for talking about queer representation. Read more »
Two hands reaching for each other with a sky in the background.

“Who I Was With Her” Explores Queer Grief and Loneliness

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
September 15, 2020 at 8:55am
Nita Tyndall surveys what it’s like to grieve in silence. Read more »
A mostly closed laptop with rainbow colors glowing from its screen.

Queer Pressure: #OwnVoices and What We Demand of Queer Authors

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
September 14, 2020 at 11:19am
Reading is about learning and reflecting, not reaching out and making demands. Read more »
A photo of Angela Chen, who has white-blond hair, glasses, and red lipstick and wears a dark green dress.

Dethroning Romance: Angela Chen Archives the Evolution of Asexuality

by Julie Kliegman
September 8, 2020 at 8:58am
“I write about how asexuality has become a sexual identity, but it can also be thought of as just a way of living that doesn’t center sex.” Read more »
A Black woman sits on a bench and reads a book. Her hair is in long braids, she’s wearing a dress, and she’s smiling.

BitchReads: 13 YA Books Feminists Should Read in September

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
September 2, 2020 at 10:25am
Welcome to our inaugural YA monthly BitchReads list! Read more »
collage image of young stylish women—one brown, white, and Black—hanging outside with varying expressions ranging from serious to playful

All Together Now: Novels Fight the Myth of the Mean Girl

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
September 2, 2020 at 9:00am
These new YA protagonists aren’t afraid of their power or the power that their confidence might instill in readers. Read more »
a stone statue depicts a couple not getting along

Unraveling the Tragedy of Heterosexuality

by Fiona Bell
September 1, 2020 at 9:03am
Mutual dislike and violence are not an unfortunate bug in the heteropatriarchal system; they’re fundamental to it. Read more »
a Black woman with a black afro looks at the camera, covered under a red, orange, and deep purple filter

To Be Young, Messy, and Black: “Luster” Depicts Millennial Black Girl Angst

by Vanessa Willoughby
August 27, 2020 at 10:00am
Edie refuses to practice tokenism to secure financial, personal, creative, and romantic stability. Read more »
a brown-skinned woman wearing a hijab leans over as she reads a book

BitchReads: 15 Books Feminists Should Read in August

by Evette Dionne
August 25, 2020 at 12:00pm
We’re late, we know. Read more »

Pages

Best of Bitch

Mock & Awe: Janet Mock on Truth-Telling, Community Building, and Writing the Story She Had Been Waiting for Her Whole Life

Janet Mock, a transgender Hawaiian woman with curly, brown hair, smiles
by Tina Vasquez
Spring 2014 • Maps & Legends
“Redefining Realness” is written with astounding honesty and heart. Read more »

Eat, Pray, Spend: Priv-Lit and the New, Enlightened American Dream

Elizabeth Gilbert, a white woman wearing a navy blue jumpsuit, leans forward and holds hand with and Oprah Winfrey, a Black woman wearing a gray cardigan and jeans
by Joshunda Sanders
Summer 2010 • Action
Even as reports on joblessness, economic recovery, and home foreclosures suggest that no one is immune to risk during this recession, the popularity of women’s wellness media has persisted and, indeed, grown stronger.  Read more »

Demanding the Impossible: Walidah Imarisha Talks About Science Fiction and Social Change

by Kristian Williams
April 13, 2015 at 2:23pm
Before she was a poet, journalist, documentary filmmaker, anti-prison activist, and college instructor, Walidah Imarisha was fascinated... Read more »

A Look at How Media Writes Women of Color

by Victoria Law
November 17, 2014 at 5:07pm
Nearly every Saturday morning, feminists of color hold Twitter discussions taking a deeper look at issues, such as gender violence. It’s the... Read more »