11 Unexpected Books Every Millennial Woman Should Read for Her Career (and, You Know, Life)

Grab one for yourself and two for a favorite woman in your life (hint: they don't actually have to be a millennial to appreciate this list). Or just buy or borrow them all for your bookshelf—we won't judge. 

1. Jia Tolentino's Trick Mirror

If you've read our other book recommendations over time, you've seen this book. We'll put Trick Mirror on every book list until the end of time, if we have to! Tolentino uses her essays to unwrap all of the things (good and bad) that make Millennials the generation they are known to be.

It's essays on reality television, delusions of grandeur, the lure of scams, and the old love-hate relationship between Millennials and the internet. It's hilarious, poignant, and whip-smart. Read Trick Mirror. Do it now. 

2. Elana Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels

If you haven't caught "Ferrante Fever" yet, now's a perfect time. The 4-book series, which includes My Brilliant Friend (2012), The Story of a New Name (2013), Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014), and The Story of the Lost Child (2015), center on two women best friends in Italy and follow them from childhood to adulthood. So what can that teach you about your career? Read on to learn about building relationships that matter, and getting rid of those that don't. 

3. Stephen King's On Writing

You might not expect someone as prolific (and sort of old school) as Stephen King to make it on a list for millennial women in the workplace, but trust me on this, it's a must-read. In his memoir, On Writing, the man makes some incredible points you can use in your own work—even if you aren't an aging author. In addition to discussing the finer points of good writing (less is more, people, especially when it comes to adjectives), King goes into great detail about what it's like to do creative work on the side, deal with terrible day jobs, and try to make ends meet. The perfect book for any side hustler out there who needs a little pep talk from someone who's been there, done that. 

4. Joan Didion's White Album and/or Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Many millennial women (especially the English majors) have thrown themselves into reading Didion's canonized novel, Play It As It Lays. But it's Didion's essays from the collections, The White Album and Slouching Towards Bethlehem, that will stick with you into your 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond.

As a woman writer who climbed rank in the 60s male-dominated literary landscape and is still active and writing today, Didion is essentially the patron saint of working women, in part because she's not afraid to tell it like it is. You'll read her cultural insight alongside raw moments of honesty about her personal life, health, and family. And throughout it all, you'll be thinking: this woman is so, so cool.  

5. Jessica Bennett's Feminist Fight Club

Feminist Fight Club began as a secret friendship huddle in a tiny New York apartment. The women would gather around, air frustrations about sexist work situations, and then work together to figure out ways to combat what they were experiencing. And now....there's a book. A must for any woman in the workplace who believes in honest camaraderie and no-bullshit advice. 

6. Lauren McGoodwin's Power Moves

You know we had to include Power Moves here. We seriously think this is the perfect book for the Millennial woman navigating her career path. Power Moves is basically a handbook that helps professional women feel truly understood. With this understanding, they can avoid common career traps and focus on evolving their careers—on their own terms. 

Power Moves helps professionals cut out harmful comparison traps, abandon the idea of the all-powerful "dream job", and it teaches readers how to embrace their inner curiosity when it comes to developing their own career paths. 

7. Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist

Feminism looks different for all of us, so why not celebrate that? Gay's essays in Bad Feminist explore her experiences as a woman of color in today's social, political, and cultural landscape. She's got insightful and funny observations on everything from Chris Brown to teaching in grad school to Vogue's September Issue. The deeper you get into the collection, the clearer it is—Gay is a voice of our generation—one that's simultaneously spectacularly unique and shockingly honest—and she's got more than a few opinions on how we can all do better. 

8. Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York

This book inspired a past Career Contessa team member to pack up her apartment in New York and make the move to Los Angeles. We think anything that inspires someone to move across the country for a career opportunity is probably worth the read. 

9. Sloane Crosley's How Did You Get This Number

We don't know if you remember, but a while back that I Was Told There'd Be Cake book was immensely popular. Anyways, she wrote this second collection of essays with stories millennial women can definitely relate to. The first book was about being young and starting out in your career, but in this, she's quite a bit past entry-level. Kind of a different take on the whole 'millennial in the workplace' topic."

10. Zadie Smith's Intimations

This (shorter) book of essays by Zadie Smith is a heavy-hitter, even if it's just over 100 pages (112, to be exact). Intimations includes six essays that talk about 2020—Black Lives Matter, a pandemic, and a worldwide quarantine are some of the heavy topics she tackles. 

11. Amy Cuddy's Presence

This final recommendation comes from another one of our Instagram followers. As women, all too often we feel self-conscious leading meetings or overcoming big hurdles, especially when we're in the public eye. Turns out Cuddy, perhaps best known for her TED Talk on power poses, is a great writer as well. Presence will help you stop worrying about the impression you make on others and tweak your mindset so that you feel truly empowered at your next big meeting or presentation or whatever.