Welcome to our Summer Book Club. We've rounded up our best bets for books on finance, books written by women of color, self-help books that we actually loved, and our favorite workplace-related books. Read with us!
There's nothing like a fictional book that reminds you of the complexity and unwavering potential of working women.
I don't know about you, but I love a good lethally intelligent fictional novel about a working woman. Not only do these books shape the way we read and write in the 21st century, they remind us to break away from conventions and seriously contemplate modern womanhood. The following authors have created captivating vessels for thoughts on gender, hardship, identity, friendship, love, and sanity. Dive in—because when you're finished, you'll be left with a sense of content, amazement, and power.
how should a person be?
By Sheila Heti
This breakthrough novel takes you on an honest and hilarious tour through the makeup of a woman's heart and mind. Heti manages to culminate a literary novel, a self-help manual and an exploration of the artistic impulse all into one while simultaneously challenging, questioning, and answering the titular question. Absolutely worth the read if you're in need of a raw depiction of female friendship and of the shape of our lives now.
the bell jar
By Sylvia Plath
A haunting American classic, The Bell Jar draws you into the darkest corners of the human psyche. Plath details Esther Greenwood's descent into insanity with such intensity that readers have claimed that her insanity becomes palpably real. As witty as it is enchanting, this book sheds lights on the vulnerability of people of hope and good will.
conversations with friends
By Sally Rooney
Conversations with Friends tells the story of Frances, a young woman studying in Dublin and pursuing a career in writing. Over time, Frances starts to lose her grip on life as her relationships with her love interest, best friend and unhappy father start to take unexpected and uncontrollable turns. Written with precision and a sly sense of humor, Conversations with Friends tackles friendship, lust, jealousy and the complications of adulthood in the 21st century.
The Circle
By Dave Eggers
This dystopian novel confronts surveillance, privacy and the intrusions of technology in our lives. Mae Holland is hired to work for the world's most powerful internet company called the Circle. Despite being wowed by the company's modernity and activity, she starts to lose touch with the world beyond the company. Not your typical "technology is taking over our lives book," this parable will make you reflect on the perils of life in a digital age.
Can You Keep a Secret
By Sophie Kinsella
Emma Corrigan is a young woman with a handful of secrets. Kept from her boyfriend, mother, colleagues and the world for so long, she spills all of them to a handsome stranger she meets on a plane. Turns out, the handsome stranger is the new CEO of the company she works for. Oh dear. Hilarious, optimistic and charming, this novel delivers an unforgettable character and a story full of perfect shenanigans.
Brown Girl, BrownStones
By Paule Marshall
Written by and about an African American woman, this story details the everyday burdens of racism and poverty that young Selina faces in Brooklyn during the Depression and World War II. This 1959 novel was among the first to portray the cross-cultural conflict between West Indians and American blacks. It will forever be a compelling tale of self-discovery.
SweetBitter
By Stephanie Danler
A divine blend of champagne, cocaine, love, lust, dive bars and fine dining rooms, this book gives you a glimpse into the nonstop and high-adrenaline world of the food industry. Follow along as twenty-two-year-old Tess attempts to navigate the glitz and the grime of one of New York's most elite restaurants. Read for a heady mix of the fragility of youth, gastronomic delights and a tantalizing sensory overload.
Outline
Rachel Cusk Trilogy
Outline follows a novelist teaching a summer writing course in Greece. However, the novelist is also a cipher in the sense that she consistently inspires other people to confess. In her presence, they divulge stories and secrets about their lives while the reader's knowledge of the narrator's life remains limited to her living in London, awareness of her divorce and the fact that she is a mother of more than one child. As the people she meets speak volubly about themselves, Cusk surreptitiously weaves together an underlying portrait of the narrator.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
By Maria Semple
This book is going to be a major motion picture in 2019, so read it before the movie comes out—we all the know the book is always better. So, who is Bernadette? Bernadette is the mother of 15-year-old Bee and the wife of a Microsoft guru. Notorious for being opinionated and revolutionary, she mysteriously disappears after Bee aces her report card and earns a family trip to Antarctica. As the reader witnesses Bee step up big time and attempt to find her brilliant mother, this witty novel leaves conventions behind and prompts you to tear through the pages with pleasure and curiosity.
