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The feminist book canon grows larger and more diverse every day, and that’s
something to celebrate. Of course, classics like Betty Friedan’s The Feminine
Mystique, now out in a 50th anniversary edition; Simone de
Beauvoir’s The Second Sex; Arlie Hochschild’s The Second Shift:
Working and the Revolution at Home; Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth, and
bell hooks’ entire oeuvre (a good start is Feminism Is for Everybody),
stand the test of time and should be included in any comprehensive feminist
reading list.But this list focuses on the newbies, additions to the category from the last few years that bring fresh insights to the discussion, offering keen takes on the meaning of feminism today. These books show how challenges to women have evolved over time—and, frequently, how things have not changed enough. They offer a range of styles and entry points and information for a reader who might be considering feminism for the first time, but include plenty for people well versed in the subject, too. And they prove that feminism is just as vital today as it was in 1963.
Below, our list of upcoming and recent books for anyone who’s interested in feminism, which is to say, anyone who’s interested in women and the world, which should be everyone.
Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty, by Christine Heppermann (September 23, 2014)
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Heppermann’s book of feminist poetry that twists and turns the
tables on fairy tales might be targeted to teenage girls, but this incredible,
witty, and often gut-wrenching book should find fans in women of any age. Not
convinced? There’s a poem titled “If Tampons Were for Guys.”
Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and
Revolution by Laurie Penny (September 16, 2014) 
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Penny, a prolific writer and columnist, takes on feminism and
class politics in her latest book, which addresses a range of subjects from
online dating, eating disorders, and mental health to the Occupy movement and
the Internet. Her goal is to “give the silenced a voice,” allowing for freedom
for everyone.
The Abramson Effect, by Debora L. Spar
(August 18, 2014) 
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From the author of 2013’s Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the
Quest for Perfection comes this succinct, Kindle Single-sized analysis of
Jill Abramson’s controversial firing from The New York Times, and what it
means for women in a working world in which just 18 percent of partners at top
law firms, 7 percent of Hollywood directors, and 15 percent of corporate board
directors are women—and women are fired more often than men from high-profile
jobs.
Bad
Feminist, by Roxane Gay (August 5, 2014) 
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Not only is Bad Feminist a bestseller in feminist theory,
it’s a best seller in general, which means everyone is reading it, and so should
you. Gay is alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, insightful and inspiring,
as she turns her savvy cultural eye to the state of feminism today, and what it
means, most of all, to be a person who is true to herself: “I embrace the label
of bad feminist because I am human,” she writes.
We Should All Be Feminists (Kindle
Single), by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (July 29, 2014) 
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This essay, available as a Kindle Single, was adapted from the
Nigerian-born novelist’s TEDx talk of the same name. Adichie writes
meaningfully about obvious and insidious behaviors that continue to marginalize
women today, and explains why, for the sake of everyone, we should all claim the
title of "feminist."
Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman’s Guide to
Why Feminism Matters, by Jessica Valenti (updated second edition, July
22, 2014) 
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Full Frontal Feminism first came out in 2007 and has been
a must-read for young feminists ever since. This update includes a new foreword
in which Valenti addresses cultural changes over the last seven years, plus
revised openers in every chapter, which take on topics ranging from pop culture
to reproductive rights, sex, and violence.
Men Explain Things to Me, by Rebecca
Solnit (May 20, 2014) 
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Solnit’s viral essay on the experience the Internet now knows as
“mansplaining” (though it’s so much more, she explains) and the quashing of
women’s voices is the centerpiece to this book, which also includes important
writing on marriage equality, sexual harassment, and Virginia Woolf.
#GIRLBOSS, by Sophia Amoruso (May 6,
2014) 
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Amoruso’s story of going from being a teenage hitchhiker to the
CEO of Nasty Gal, the $100-million-plus online fashion retailer she founded
herself, is the stuff of legend, but it’s real. Her book provides business and
life lessons for women who want to succeed their own way.
The Essential Ellen Willis, edited by
Nona Willis Aronowitz (May 1, 2014) 
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Nona Willis Aronowitz gathered the writing of her mother, who
published widely about the women’s movement, sex and abortion, and race and
class over a 40-year period beginning in the ‘60s. This compilation also
features incisive essays from contemporary feminist writers like Irin Carmon and
Ann Friedman.
The Book of Jezebel: An Illustrated Encyclopedia
of Lady Things, edited by Anna Holmes (October 22, 2013)
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Thank the ladies of Jezebel for this smart, irreverent, and
wonderfully illustrated listing of the words and phrases any woman should
know.
How to Be a Woman, by Caitlin Moran (July
17, 2012) 
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If you are like me, you will read Moran’s book in a rush, which
is sort of the way she wrote it, in a 5-month period fueled by cigarettes and
moxie. It’s part feminist polemic, part memoir, and 100 percent great.
