15 books every woman should read to empower herself

Literature is there to bring us nothing but benefits. Far beyond reading practice and increasing vocabulary, books also move us to situations – fictitious or not – that bring about gradual changes within us.

Among these copies are the books that every woman should read to recognize her voice, her space and her importance in the world. Shall we empower ourselves even more through reading?

1. Let’s all be feminists – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A simple and didactic speech that shows the importance of feminism. The author helps us to understand how machismo affects society as a whole – including boys – and how it is present even in the smallest details. How can we act to deconstruct this universe?

2. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

In a dystopian society, June and other handmaids have the function of generating children for infertile couples from the elite of Gilead, a patriarchal and militarized nation that settled in the US territory. It takes a stomach to swallow some scenes, but it is an important book for us to recognize and value our space and our freedom.

3. The Mother of All Questions – Rebecca Solnit

From the author who gave rise to the term mansplaining, this book is excellent for anyone who wants to delve deeper into the discussion of feminism. Maternity, silencing, violence and fragile masculinity are themes approached by the author in a very didactic way. Many suffer from silencing and don’t even realize it, so this book can save a lot of skins!

4. Kindred – Octavia Butler

A great sci-fi classic, Kindred tells the story of an African-American writer who travels back in time and meets her enslaved ancestors. An exciting and sensitive story that involves self-recognition and the discovery of identity – a path that is full of obstacles for those who have had their lineage and history erased.

5. War does not have a woman’s face – Svetlana Aleksiévitch

War itself is a male environment. The great heroic deeds of this scenario are carried out by male soldiers. But did you know that women have a share of responsibility in these historic milestones? With this book, you will have contact with accounts of World War II survivors, all women who fought for the Soviet Union and who bring a more sensitive look to a chaotic universe.

6. Ponciá Vicencio – Conceição Evaristo

One of the strongest books in Afro-Brazilian literature, Ponciá Vicêncio portrays the story of the character of the same name, from childhood to adulthood, and covers scenarios of identity, blackness, slavery and female position in a patriarchal society. An important book for all Brazilian women.

7. Women, Race and Class – Angela Davis

A perfect book to promote reflection on an oppressive system, especially on black women, resulting from power relations in capitalism. The author weaves a historical overview since slavery to show us how, despite the abolition of slavery, there is still a long way to go to be an egalitarian society.

8. The Color Purple – Alice Walker

Celie, sexually abused by her own father, is forced to marry at age 14 to an older man, with whom the abuse continues. The book is written in the form of Celie’s letters to her sister and to God, which portray, with uneducated language and grammatical errors to emphasize the protagonist’s simplicity, power relations and abuses arising from a patriarchal system.

9. The second sex – Simone de Beauvoir

Written by one of the mothers of feminism, the book goes through a very convincing argument that shows us how women are seen as the “second sex” for socially and historically constructed issues. And what can we do today to get rid of this weight that is being a woman? A dense but necessary read.

10. Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Much more than a simple love story, Americanah revolves around the romance between Ifemulu and Obinze, both Nigerians whose fates are separated by immigration. Merging their points of view, the narrative addresses, above all, the difficulties of being an immigrant and a black woman in the United States. The story opens an important reflection on privilege, racism and gender inequality.

11. Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery

Anne is a smart girl who is adopted by a couple of brothers from Green Gables, who actually wish they had adopted a boy. Despite this, the narrative develops with Anne showing herself to be a little girl ahead of her age and time, who does not shut up for even a minute and captivates everyone around her with her universe full of enchantment and magic. One of those perfect stories to tell girls, grown up or not.

12. Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen

In the midst of an aristocratic and patriarchal scenario, two sisters, with very different personalities, must deal with the obligation of marriage. One more passionate and romantic and the other more sensible and rational, the protagonists need to bear feelings and obligations that often do not agree.

13. Bedtime Stories for Rebel Girls – Elana Favilli and Francesca Cavallo

This children’s book is excellent for our girls and boys to know the story of inspiring women, who were the authors of important deeds for society. Read to your little one, your little one and yourself – so everyone learns that girls can be as big as they want!

14. The girls – Lygia Fagundes Telles

One of the most important novels by the Brazilian author, As Meninas portrays the internal and external conflicts of three young friends – Lorena, Lia and Ana Clara – during the military dictatorship in São Paulo. Installed in a boarding house of nuns, the plot develops through new experiences, feelings, existential reflections and freedom.

15. Eviction Room – Carolina Maria de Jesus

Subtitled “Diary of a favelada”, the book by Carolina Maria de Jesus is nothing more than the union of excerpts from the author’s diary, written during her stay in the extinct favela of Canindé, in São Paulo. Among her reports, we have contact with a strong woman, who lives to grant her children a minimum of dignity, even facing the obstacles of being a black, poor, favela and single woman.

For many, reading can be an escape valve from reality. But, even so, it leaves a little mark inside us, even if it is small, that reflects in our life in some way. Be sure to take advantage of what literature can do for you; empower yourself!