At Sons and Daughters Books, we’re all about celebrating the diverse cultures that make up our world – and our readership. This month, we’re thrilled to present our curated list of books to help you dig into the spirit of Women’s History Month!
Our Women’s History Month Reading List was carefully crafted to amplify the voices of women who have shaped our culture and literature. Many of these titles not only tell the stories of women – both in nonfiction and fictional settings – but they give female authors a chance to showcase their impact on the literary world.
Whether you want to deepen your appreciation of feminist classics or discover one of the many contemporary voices that are reshaping our conversations, this list is for you! Here are just a few of our top picks to help you dig in:
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Stone Blind was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023 and offers author Natalie Haynes’ unique take on one of mythology's most misunderstood figures: Medusa.
While we won’t give away all the book’s secrets, we can say that this nuanced retelling turns the ancient myth on its head. Haynes – a trained classicist and comedian – brings her own flavors of empathy and depth to a story that has long been used to demonize women.
Stone Blind follows Medusa – the only mortal in a family of gods – as she experiences the traumatic vulnerability and sense of urgency that immortal beings can never truly understand. When the sea god Poseidon assaults her in Athene's temple, it is Medusa – not her attacker – who faces punishment for the act.
Haynes brings fierce wit and careful scholarship to reconstruct Medusa’s story in a way that speaks powerfully to our current moment – where we must look in the mirror and ask whether we ourselves have “monstered” women and choose to disbelieve their personal experiences.
This is more than a retelling – it's a reclamation.
Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World by Leslie Kern
Feminist City by Leslie Kern kicks off with a powerful statement that might go unnoticed today: "We live in the city of men…”
Through her unique blend of personal experience and historical/cultural criticism, author Leslie Kern exposes how cities have been designed without consideration for women as mothers, workers, or carers.
The book has a simple yet incredibly profound premise: What would a metropolis designed for women look like?
Through the pages, Kern rebuilds a city with an eye on alternatives. Transit systems that are built to accommodate strollers, public spaces that feature adequate bathrooms, and streets where women can simply be without fearing harassment.
Feminist City is an eye-opening journey through the gendered nature of urban design, exploring aspects we take for granted daily through an intersectional feminist lens. Kern’s work argues for a world where cities become sites of liberation and compassion and calls us to examine our own biases in the very fabric of our society.
Revolutionary Letters: 50th Anniversary Edition by Diane di Prima
If you are on the hunt for a countercultural literary classic, look no further than Revolutionary Letters.
First published in 1971 by City Lights Books, Diane di Prima's Revolutionary Letters introduces the world to the world through di Prima’s “letters” that tell of utopian imagination, radical politics, and ecological awareness – topics that originated in the late 1960s but seem so relevant today.
Originally circulated through underground newspapers and free pamphlets, these poems served as a handbook for countercultural living, a manual for street protest, and a feminist broadside against repressive institutions.
Now, you can explore these themes through the expanded 50th anniversary edition, released on the one-year anniversary of di Prima's passing. This new edition includes fifteen new poems and lives as di Prima’s final iteration of a countercultural project that spanned decades (and still has much to tell us about our world today!)
Expand Your Horizons This Women's History Month
If only we could break down the many reasons that we picked the books we did for our Women’s History Month Collection – but we’d rather let you explore them yourself!
These three are just a few of the many diverse voices in our Women's History Month collection, each picked to draw you into a literary experience that will definitely challenge and inspire you.
There’s plenty to read this month, so check out our full Women's History Month Collection and join our community of curious, passionate readers.
As always, you can enjoy free shipping on orders over $75 – and first-time subscribers to our newsletter get 20% off their next purchase. So find your next classic, support a local bookseller, and let’s be the change we wish to see in our world!
Happy reading!