As the weather chills and sweaters make their annual reappearance, it’s the perfect time to grab a book and hunker down. Following our post on children’s books for budding feminists, we’ve compiled a list of the Ms. office’s favorite books for a slightly older crowd. Here’s what our editors and interns had to say about their most memorable reads.
Michele Kort, senior editor
Most Feminist Read: Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
Favorite Book by a Woman: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
A Classic Book You Hate: An American Dream by Norman Mailer
Michel Cicero, managing editor
Most Feminist Read:The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir; This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa; Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
Favorite Book by a Woman: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Stephanie Hallett, research editor
Most Feminist Read: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Favorite Book by a Woman: A Hero of Lesser Causes by Julie Johnston
A Classic Book You Hate: The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Anita Little, associate editor
Most Feminist Read: Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur
Favorite Book by a Woman: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
A Classic Book You Hate: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Rachel Kassenbrock, rights and permissions; jill-of-all-trades
Most Feminist Read: Memoirs of a Beatnik by Diane DiPrima; The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar
Favorite Book by a Woman: All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
Abeni Moreno, Ms. intern
Most Feminist Read: Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders by Alicia Gaspar De Alba
Favorite Book by a Woman: The Book of Dead Birds by Gayle Brandeis
Corinne Gaston, Ms. intern
A Classic Book You Hate: The Help by Kathryn Stockett; The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger; Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Brianna Kovan, Ms. intern
Most Feminist Read: “Imitation and Gender Insubordination” by Judith Butler (PDF)
Favorite Book by a Woman: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf; Beloved by Toni Morrison; Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
A Classic Book You Hate: On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Kitty Lindsay, Ms. intern
Most Feminist Read: The Awakening by Kate Chopin; The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
Favorite Book by a Woman: Bossypants by Tina Fey; Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
A Classic Book You Hate: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Make a beeline to your nearest library or bookstore and let us know which titles are your favorites. Happy reading!
Photo courtesy of David Goehring licensed under Creative Commons 2.0.
