A Black Women’s History of the United States

Happy Friday, bibliophiles, and more importantly, Happy International Women’s Day!

Here in the U.S., March is Women’s History Month! In the years since I’ve started making these posts, the amount of attacks on women—in terms of laws attacking our bodily autonomy (as well as the bodily autonomy of trans and nonbinary people) and worldwide violence—has only increased. And amidst all of this turmoil, all I can take from this is that now, more than ever, we need feminism. We need to educate people, we need to help people to become less ignorant about the litany of issues plaguing marginalized groups here in the states and elsewhere. That, to me, is the most insidious consequence of the book bans spreading across the country: you take away a child’s ability to learn about perspectives outside of their own, and you produce an ignorant generation that does not question authority. In the absence of sound authority figures, books, more than ever, are our most valuable teachers.

Another change from my lists in previous years is that since my reading tastes have expanded, I’ve added adult and nonfiction books to this list—all of which I believe are just as valuable to feminism as any other book I’ve included. Enjoy!

For my previous lists, click below:

Let’s begin, shall we?

THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S FEMINIST BOOKS FOR WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH (2024 EDITION)

SCIENCE FICTION:

Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1) – Octavia Butler | Adult | Dystopia | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Crane Husband – Kelly Barnhill | Adult | Novella, Dystopia, Magical realism, Retellings | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Meru (The Alloy Era, #1) – S.B. Divya | Adult | LGBTQ+, Romance, Disability | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ammonite – Nicola Griffith | Adult | Dystopia, LGBTQ+, Romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Cloud Parliament – Olivia A. Cole | YA | Dystopia, LGBTQ+, Romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bitch Planet, vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine – Kelly Sue DeConnick | Adult | Graphic Novels, Dystopia, LGBTQ+ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

FANTASY:

The Monsters We Defy – Leslye Penelope | Adult | Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Mystery | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Siren, The Song, and the Spy (The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea. #2) – Maggie Tokuda- Hall* | YA | High Fantasy, LGBTQ+. Romance, Disability | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
VenCo – Cherie Dimaline | Adult | Paranormal, Urban Fantasy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath (Nampeshiweisit, #1) – Moniquill Blackgoose | YA | Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Romance, Disability | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lost Dreamer – Lizz Huerta | YA | Historical Fiction, High Fantasy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Everfair – Nisi Shawl | Adult | Alternate History, Steampunk, LGBTQ+, Romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*NOTE: The Siren, The Song, and the Spy is book 2 in a series, but I feel it should be included on this list for the feminist themes included in this book in particular.

REALISTIC FICTION:

Your Plantation Prom is Not Okay – Kelly McWilliams | YA | Romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Luis Ortega Survival Club – Sonora Reyes | YA | LGBTQ+, Romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Imogen, Obviously – Becky Albertalli | YA | LGBTQ+, Romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Firekeeper’s Daughter – Angeline Boulley | YA | Mystery, Thriller | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Not Here to Be Liked – Michelle Quach | YA | Romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
So Lucky – Nicola Griffith | Adult | Disability, LGBTQ+ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Forever Is Now – Mariama J. Lockington | YA | Novels in Verse, LGBTQ+, Romance, Disability | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Where You See Yourself – Claire Forrest | YA | Disability, Romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Scatter of Light – Malinda Lo | YA | Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

NONFICTION:

Sister Outsider – Audre Lorde | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Black Women’s History of the United States – Daina Ramey Berry and Kari Nicole Gross | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the 21st Century – edited by Alice Wong | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
Invisible: How Young Women with Serious Health Issues Navigate Work, Relationships, and the Pressure to Seem Just Fine – Michele Lent Hirsch | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts – Rebecca Hall | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness – Austin Channing Brown | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! Have you read any of these books, and if so, what did you think of them? What are your favorite feminist books? Let me know in the comments!

Today’s song:

never thought I’d go through this whole album bc I was so Kate Bush’d out in 2022 but this one’s fantastic almost all the way through

That’s it for this list! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles, and happy New Year’s Eve!

2023 has been a year of growth for me; I’ve taken a lot of leaps that I never thought I would take, and all of them paid off. December has been busy, but now that I’m home for break, I’m glad that I’ll get some rest before the end of the year.

Let’s begin, shall we?

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

First off, I hit 600 followers a few days ago! Thank you all for sticking with me for all these years. Lots of love to you all.

Most of December was fairly stressful and chaotic, what with finals and all. The good thing about being an English major is that I typically don’t have any final finals that I have to take in class, but instead, I typically have to write rather long papers and slap some portfolios together. But now it’s all done! Now, I’m nearly done with my science credits, and I recently declared a minor in Women and Gender Studies, so I’m starting those classes next semester!

Blogging and reading are always slower around this time of year—the finals slump comes for us all. College (and getting older, I suppose) has slowed down my reading speed somewhat, but it makes me glad to spend more time with books on some days. (Doesn’t mean I still blow through books in a day sometimes. Happens to the best of us. The Siren, the Song, and the Spy was incredible.) It’s also been fun to introduce some book pairings to my Sunday Songs—I’m glad I can introduce a bookish aspect to them!

Other than that, I’ve just been getting work done pre- and post-finals, putting puzzles together, drawing when I can, celebrating the holidays with my wonderful family, and starting every week eagerly looking forward to Wednesday because of the new season of Fargo. (Dear LORD, what was that ending for episode 7?????? I’m SCARED)

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 16 books this month! Inevitably slower going because of finals, but I’ve had a ton of great books towards the end of the month! I also passed my reading goal of 200 books—I read 207 books in 2023!

2 – 2.75 stars: