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 black and white photo of a white teenage girl sitting with her back to the camera and Love Shouldn't Hurt written in black ink across her back

“What Kind of Girl” Flips the Teen Domestic Violence YA Narrative on Its Head

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
February 4, 2020 at 3:27pm
High school is still high school and teenagers still struggle to understand how abuse happens. Read more »
Party of Two, a blue book cover that features an illustration of a couple sitting together at a table

BitchReads: 27 Novels Feminists Should Read in 2020

by Evette Dionne
February 3, 2020 at 5:04pm
We’ve already published our most-anticipated lists of nonfiction and young-adult books, but this one, featuring 27 adult novels, is special. Read more »
Donald Sutherland as President Coriolanus Snow, an elderly white man sitting behind a desk with a crown sitting on top of it, in The Hunger Games

Snow Thank You: “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” Can’t Redeem a Villain

by s.e. smith
January 29, 2020 at 4:38pm
Redemption has to be earned; attempting to retcon it through a perilous backstory is always a dicey proposition. Read more »
a Black woman and a white woman sit together on a TV set

We Were Seeds: 10 Stories to Read to Understand the “American Dirt” Controversy

by Evette Dionne
January 27, 2020 at 6:16pm
Latinx writers (and those who support them) are being incredibly vocal about the harm this book has caused. Read more »
A group of teenage girls holding spray paint on a purple book cover.

BitchReads: 13 Graphic Novels Feminists Should Read in 2020

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
January 22, 2020 at 1:35pm
Whether you’re on the search for a light and fun read, or a heavy and political one, you’ll find a graphic novel worth reading in 2020. Read more »
a side-by-side collage of three books: A Black Women’s History of the United States, Whiter, and Wandering in Strange Lands

BitchReads: 17 Nonfiction Books Feminists Should Read in 2020

by Evette Dionne
January 10, 2020 at 2:36pm
Well-researched and well-written nonfiction books, like the 17 on this list, leave us with more information than we came in with. Read more »
Peggy Orenstein, a white woman with short, blond, curly hair, poses for the camera

“Boys & Sex” is Groundbreaking, But Leaves Gaps for Queer Boys

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
January 10, 2020 at 8:51am
Boys & Sex is a timely and relevant read in our current political and cultural context. Read more »
a side-by-side collage of three books: When You Were Everything, Felix Ever After, and The Voting Booth

BitchReads: 25 YA Novels Feminists Should Read in 2020

by Rachel Strolle
January 7, 2020 at 3:07pm
2020 has some of the most exciting and vibrant YA new releases. Read more »
a side-by-side collage of three books: I Don't Want to Die Poor, Hood Feminism, and Wow, No Thank You

BitchReads: 9 Essay Collections Feminists Should Read in 2020

by Evette Dionne
January 6, 2020 at 1:40pm
Writing an essay collection requires an enhanced level of self-interrogation as well as an ability to weave myriad ideas together through a single theme. Read more »
a side-by-side collage of three books: The Dragons, the Giant, the Women, All Boys Aren't Blue, and Fairest

BitchReads: 17 Memoirs Feminists Should Read in 2020

by Evette Dionne
January 3, 2020 at 5:59pm
Tapping into a person’s unique experience and seeing the world through their eyes for a few hundred pages can expand our individual worldview. Read more »

Pages

Best of Bitch

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 »

Hot Under the Bonnet: The Cooptation of Amish Culture in Mass-Market Fiction

a blue and white illustration of a woman in Amish attire standing next to a fan and a chicken
by Audrey deCoursey
Spring 2014 • Maps & Legends
Dubbed “Amish romance novels,” “Amish fiction,” or the more waggish “bonnet rippers,” these novels just one entry point into the varying images of Amish communities in U.S. popular culture. Read more »

Black Girls Hunger for Heroes, Too: A Black Feminist Conversation on Fantasy Fiction for Teens

by Zetta Elliott
December 17, 2013 at 3:19pm
What happens when two great black women fiction writers get together to talk about race in young adult literature? That's exactly what happens... Read more »

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 »