This month is Women's History Month, and International Women's Day was celebrated across the globe this past Sunday. To commemorate the occasion, library staff has compiled a list of books about inspiring and courageous women.
Don't forget to also checkout the Strong Women of the Past and Present list put together by our Readers' Advisory team, with books for readers of all ages.
Women in Modern Society
My Beloved World, by Sonia Sotomayor
The first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has become an instant American icon. With a candor and intimacy, she recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.
Other books:
Trailblazer, by Dorothy Butler Gilliam
Alpha Girls, by Julian Guthrie
Women in Science
The Glass Universe, by Dava Sobel
In the mid-nineteenth century, the Harvard College Observatory began employing women as calculators, or “human computers,” to interpret the observations their male counterparts made via telescope each night. As photography transformed the practice of astronomy, the ladies turned from computation to studying the stars captured nightly on glass photographic plates. The “glass universe” of half a million plates that Harvard amassed over the ensuing decades—through the generous support of Mrs. Anna Palmer Draper, the widow of a pioneer in stellar photography—enabled the women to make extraordinary discoveries that attracted worldwide acclaim.
Elegantly written and enriched by excerpts from letters, diaries, and memoirs, The Glass Universe is the hidden history of the women whose contributions to the burgeoning field of astronomy forever changed our understanding of the stars and our place in the universe.
Other books:
Lab Girl, by Hope Jahren
Invisible Women, by Caroline Criado Perez
Women Sharing Perspectives
Ask a Queer Chick, by Lindsay King-Miller
Seasoned advice columnist and queer chick Lindsay King Miller cuts through all of the bizarre conditioning imparted by pop culture to help queer readers live authentic, safe, happy, sexy lives. With advice on every aspect of life as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer woman, from your first Pride to confronting discrimination in the workplace, there is guidance for some of the most major parts of living in a world that can vacillate between supportive and cruel.
Other books:
She’s Not There¸ by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Know My Name, by Chanel Miller
Women Throughout History
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman, by Robert Massie
Catherine the Great is the extraordinary story of an obscure German princess who became one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history. Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into empress of Russia by sheer determination. For thirty-four years, the government, foreign policy, cultural development, and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands. History offers few stories richer than that of Catherine the Great.
Other books:
Enchantress of Numbers¸by Jennifer Chiaverini
The Genius of Women, by Janice Kaplan
Women Activists
Being Heumann, by Judith Heumann
One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human.
Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people.
Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann’s memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.
Other books:
When They Call You a Terrorist, by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele
The Good Girls Revolt, by Lynn Povich
Last Modified April 26, 2024
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