If You Loved That Feminist Book, Read This One

If You Loved That Feminist Book, Read This One Around the time I interviewed Jessica Valenti for Book Riot, it occurred to me that we were experiencing  a renaissance in feminist books. After all, there I was, chatting with the woman who had published  Full Frontal Feminism  back when I was first starting to claim the word for myself. And now she had published another feminist memoir,  Sex Object.   Similarly, Andi Zeisler, the woman behind  Bitch  magazine, had just published  We Were Feminists Once,  a commentary on the recent trend of marketplace feminism. In fact, when I really thought about it, every feminist book Id devoured back in the late 90s and early 00s now had its own, modern day equivalent. How delightful! If you, like me, were coming into feminism during the blossoming of  Bitch  and  BUST  and Jennifer Baumgardner, and are looking for an updated infusion of feminist power, look no further. I have your classics, your nostalgia-reads, and your of-the-moment manifestas all covered. Betty Friedans  The Feminine Mystique  gave voice to womens dissatisfaction with their lot in life, while bell hookss  Feminism Is for Everybody  gave a primer on how feminism could help. Two years ago, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie took up the call with the slim  We Should All Be Feminists. Back in the day, I couldnt get enough of feminist anthologies, wherein the personal was shown to be political. Two that stand out in my mind are Barbara Findlens  Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation  and Robin Morgans  Sisterhood Is Forever.  Recently, I was blown away by  The Feminist Utopia Project,  a mix of essays and short fiction. Rather than providing  a glimpse of feminism today, contributors instead created visions for the future. Nawal El Saadawis  The Hidden Face of Eve  spoke to the brutality occurring against women in the Muslim World, while Joan Morgans  When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost  was an accounting  for the modern black woman. Earlier this year, I read Rebecca Solnits  Men Explain Things to Me  and felt truly called to fight back against the war on women. Two years ago, Roxane Gay redefined the parameters of feminism for a new generation with her essay collection  Bad Feminist.  Way back when, black lesbian poet and feminist writer Audre Lorde was doing the same with  Sister Outsider,  her collection of essays and speeches. For glimpses of a life lived as a feminist activist, Susan Brownmillers  In Our Time  and Andrea Dworkins  Heartbreak  were enthralling. More recently, Molly Crabapples  Drawing Blood  had me similarly captivated. When I was in my early 20s, I was intimidated by Valentis  Full Frontal Feminism  but, still, it gave me a vision of a movement I could call my own. Earlier this year, when I read Alida Nugents  You Dont Have to Like Me,  I felt immediately that it could be similarly influential to a whole new crop of feminists-in-waiting. Susanna Kaysens  The Camera My Mother Gave Me  is a memoir of sexual pain. Emily Nagoskis more recent  Come As You Are  is a more research-based look at female sexuality and female sexual dysfunction, and was one of my favorite reads of 2015. Both books approach the medicalization of female sexuality in a frank and approachable way. Our Bodies, Ourselves  is the books I bought for myself as a young woman. Heather Corinnas  S.E.X.  is the book Ill be buying for my daughter. Theres a lot of sex in this list because thats what I write about on the regular. Just a heads up. ANYway. When  Moregasm  first came out (from the team at female-friendly sex shop Babeland), I felt it should be required reading in all sex ed classes. Erika Moens webcomic-turned comic book  Oh Joy, Sex Toy  scratches a similar itch. When I was young  and angsty, I ate up Andrea Seigels Like the Red Panda,  a  YA novel on depression and suicidal ideation. It made me feel understood. Earlier this week, I was blown away by Laurie Halse Andersons Speak,  which not only tackled teen depression but also sexual assault in a way that was heartbreaking and quietly funny and oh so true. Once upon a time, there was  Buffy  (I LOVE YOU BUFFY!). Now, Ive fallen completely head over heels for  Lumberjanes  and suddenly I am a regular reader of comics or something. Hardcore lady types FTW! Fed up with sexist depictions of women in comics, Trina Robbins created  Wimmens Comix,  a comics anthology by women, for women. Today, women everywhere have been inspired to embrace noncompliance because of Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landros  Bitch Planet.  Comics for those who are woman enough to smash  the patriarchy. Heres hoping 2017 continues to deliver with smart, kick-ass books for both budding and fully realized feminists.