The Year of Reading Women So Far
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Hey y’all. Earlier this year, we shared our 2019 goal of reading 50 books, with 80% of those coming from women authors. In that piece, we promised highlights, so that’s what this article is about. Rather than devoting 50 articles to our take on these books, we thought a sort of curated listicle was a better approach. To be honest, we’re a little behind our 50 book goal. BUT, we’ve read these seven amazing books and 86% are by women authors. Not a bad start.
The Art of Happiness
The Dalai Lama & Howard Cutler
2018 was a rough year, and we needed to read something that was a framework for how to achieve happiness, maintain compassion, and fall back in love with humans. We know it’s corny, but that’s just where we were at.
The Art of Happiness is a book comprised largely of the conversations between Western psychiatrist Howard Cutler and the Dalai Lama. Their discussion explores the Buddhist belief that happiness ultimately comes from within and that we can systematically train our minds through mindfulness & meditation to be happier and more compassionate. Cutler juxtaposes quotes from the Dalai Lama with his own theories based in psychiatry, but also explores his shortcomings that stem from his overly westernized scientific viewpoint. It was well worth the read and felt like a great jumping off point for the start of the year.
I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities, and Other Stuff
Abbi Jacobson
We thought this collection of essays and drawings by Broad City co-star and creator Abbi Jacobson was a fun, quick, relatable read. The biopic centers mostly around Jacobson’s recent personal hiccups — including her first relationship with a woman, falling in love, getting her heart torn to shreds, and then taking a ridiculous cross-country solo road trip from NYC → LA to try and forget.
She checks back in with the reader in every new town she stops, highlighting her hilarious approach to insomnia, a penchant for Whole Foods over local eateries, and the disastrous decision to stay at a bed & breakfast as a single, recently heartbroken woman traveling alone. Verdict: great book, would read again.
Becoming
Michelle Obama
Because Michelle Obama is amazing and we were so in awe of this book, we actually did a longer form write up here.
In brief, it’s a humbling, revelatory account of a black woman from the South Side of Chicago’s gradual ascent through a system that wasn’t built to help her succeed. She persisted in spite of the roadblocks, apprehension, and resistance to the idea of strong women of color in power. The book is broken up into three primary sections: Becoming Me, Becoming Us, and Becoming More. Get the full scoop here.
Small Fry
Lisa Brennan-Jobs
This memoir by the late Steve Job’s daughter is well-written, compelling, and at times, heartbreaking. Lisa is Job’s first child, but for much of her young life while he built Apple and ascended to the top of the Silicon Valley upper echelon, he denied that she was his daughter, shirked parental responsibilities, and left she and her mother living paycheck to paycheck even after he became one of the richest men in the world.
In spite of all of this, Lisa is in awe of “Steve” and wants nothing more than for him to be a larger part of her life and to have a more “normal” family. As she gets closer to adolescence, “Steve” becomes more involved in her life, offering financial support to she and her mother, getting Lisa into a private school, and eventually, allowing Lisa to spend her high school years living with him, his new wife, and baby.
But, this new period brings a new challenge to her interactions with this man she admires and almost seems to worship. “Steve” begins exerting control on what is an appropriate way for her to interact with the family––shaming her for doing after school activities in an effort to get into college––rather than staying home and babysitting her baby brother. This sort of hypocrisy and juxtaposition is the main theme of this piece––a father who can be simultaneously absent, at times cruel, but also an inspiring, important figure in this young woman’s life.
This look at superstar Steve Jobs follows him until his untimely death, in which he does make attempt to make amends for his treatment of Lisa throughout her life. We thought this memoir, although about a famous father, was extremely applicable to many of our experiences with our parents. It’s a good, relatable reminder that they’re all fallible humans just trying to make it work.
When Katie Met Cassidy
Camille Perri
This is the first romance novel that I’ve ever read (it’s Audrey here). Yes, you read that right. I’m partnered up with a woman who’s obsessed with and writes romance novels, and to be completely honest, I’ve never really gotten it 😬. That’s love y’all. But, because I was interested in her obsession, saw this book on a list of must reads, and it was written by a queer woman about a queer couple, it seemed like a good place to start.
When Katie Met Cassidy is a butch-femme romance set in New York City. Katie is a high powered lawyer who has just been dumped by her effeminate, high society boyfriend and is comforting herself with sips of Wild Turkey whiskey. She meets Cassidy because she is the opposing counsel on a job, but is immediately taken aback by this handsome woman in a perfectly tailored men’s suit. Throughout this first meeting, it’s clear that both Katie and Cassidy are “interested” in knowing more about each other.
One night after a day of work, Katie decides to venture out to a wine bar that she knows rather than spending the whole night in with Wild Turkey. While she’s out, Katie bumps into Cassidy who tells her that wine bar is now closed, so instead they head out to a gay bar. This event sets off the push and pull of their relationship, which ultimately culminates in both some steamy sex scenes and them getting together.
After reading this, I can say that I totally get the appeal of this category of books. They are telling important stories such as the fluidity of gender and sexual identity through the lens of a romantic comedy. The familiar tropes make having these conversations feel lighter, more manageable, and enjoyable. Overall, this was a quick, fun read, and I’d recommend it, even if you’re a romance novel virgin.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Gail Honeyman
This darkly humorous account of a young woman who adheres to a strict routine of 9–5 office life, pizza (from the same place, every time) on Fridays, and sequestering herself in her apartment all weekend drinking cheap vodka is set across the pond in Glasgow Scotland.
The author is somehow able to put a lighthearted spin on Eleanor’s quirky views of the world––exploring her dark past, depression, abuse, alcoholism, and a host of other issues without making them seem inconsequential. Highly recommended.
Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington’s new book made us want to put down our smart phones, block all computer notifications, call our moms, sleep more, meditate, and volunteer in our communities. Her marrying of anecdotal and scientific evidence for taking a second to slow our lives down to not just live, but thrive, was honestly just what we needed as we approach the halfway point of 2019. For sure, a must read for anyone stuck in the k-hole of digital existence.
