Essential Reading and Watching List for Women’s History Month

Reading List

1. ‘The Vanishing Half’ by Brit Bennett – Named one of Barack Obamas favorite books of the year. The identical Vignes twin sisters grew up in a small Southern Black community and ran away at the age of sixteen. Brit Bennett writes a story that is emotional and brilliant as they explore the tangles of racial identity, family, desires, and expectations.
2. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson – Told through petry, the story of an African American girl’s journey through adolescence through Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement.
3. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen - This story centers around the Bennet family, a family of five daughters. Austen’s story engages with the tension between marrying for love, rather than wealth or social prestige, and the pressure to assure financial security.
4. ‘Hidden Figures’ by Margot Lee Shetterly – This is the true story of the Black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped the success oof America’s greatest achievements in space.
5. March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine by Melba Pattillo Beals Frank Morrison – A story of Beals’ Recollection of white oppressional and her rise above it.
6. ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott – The four March sisters of this story are all very different. Their father is away at war and their mother works too support the family.
7. ‘My Own Words’ by Ruth Bader Ginsburg – In this collection Justice Ginsburg discusses gender equality, the workings of the Supreme Court, being Jewish, law and lawyers in opera, and the value of looking beyond the US when interpreting the constitution.
8. ‘Circe’ by Madeline Miller – An epic feminist adaptation of the story of the goddess Circe.
9. ‘She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World’ by Chelsea Clinton, Alexandra Boiger – A book of women throughout American history who have spoken out for what’s right, even when they had to fight to be heard.
10. ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama – In her memoir, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world. She shares the experiences that have shaped her.
11. ‘We are Never Meeting in Real Life’ by Samantha Irby – A collection of comedic essays.
12. ‘The Woman Warrior’ by Maxine Hong Kingston – Maxine Hong Kingston listened to her mother’s tales of a China where girls were worthless, tradition rules and only a strong woman can scratch her way upwards. Growing up in America she maneuvers her way through the journey of womanhood.
13. ‘The Year of Magical Thinking’ by Joan Didion - A couple’s daughter was put on life support after going into a medically induced coma. Then days later the husband suffers a massive fatal coronary. This powerful book is Joan Didion’s attempt to make sense of her husband and child’s illnesses.
14. ‘I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman’ by Nora Ephron – Nora Ephron’s dry sense of humor about dealing with getting older is disarming, intimate, and hilarious.
15. ‘Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl’ by Anne Frank – This is the record of two years in the life of a remarkable Jewish girl during WWII.

Watch List

1. Yentl – 1983 - Where to Watch: Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Vudu
2. Little Women – 2019 - Where to Watch: Spectrum TV, Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV
3. The Eyes of Tammy Faye – 2021 - Where to Watch: Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Vudu
4. Respect – 2021 - Where to Watch: Vudu, Itunes, Amazon
5. RBG – 2018 - Where to Watch: Hulu, Amazon Video
6. Brave - 2012 - Where to Watch: Disney+, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu
7. Hidden Figures – 2016 - Where to Watch: Disney Plus, Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV, Vudu
8. On the Basis of Sex – 2018 - Where to Watch: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
9. Soul Surfer – 2011 - Where to Watch: Vudu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
10. A League of Their Own – 1992 - Where to Watch: Hulu, Vudu, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock