It’s been pouring rain here in South Carolina, which has definitely made me want to stay inside and curl up with a good book. There’s just something about that wet, winter gloom, you know? But thankfully, there was no shortage of books for me to read, so I picked up the feminist classic, Ain’t I A Woman by beloved Kentucky author, bell hooks. Before I jump into discussing my feminist favs, it’s time for bookish goods!
2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!
Bookish Goods
bell hooks, Wall Art Print by Pan-African Gifts
In honor of today’s bell hooks feature, I saw this portrait of bell hooks on Etsy. Just stunning. $36
New Releases
Private Equity: A Memoir by Carrie Sun
Carrie Sun seems to have it all. She graduated early from MIT, is doing incredibly well at her job, and has a great catch for a fiance. But Carrie isn’t happy. So, to find a better life for herself, she leaves her job, drops out of her MBA program, and goes to work for one of the most prestigious hedge funds in the world.
A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown’s Most Shocking Crime by Casey Sherman
Here’s one for the true crime lovers! It’s Hollywood in the 1950s, and Lana Turner is one of Tinseltown’s brightest stars. But when the police are called to Lana’s home, they find her ex-boyfriend dead on the floor, with Lana’s daughter Cheryl claiming to have stabbed him in order to protect her mother. A Murder in Hollywood follows the ensuing trial, which made headlines for months.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Ain’t I A Woman by bell hooks
Now that bell hooks’ backlist has been turned into audiobooks, I’m finally getting the chance to read them for the first time. My latest pick is Ain’t I A Woman, which pulls together a lot of hooks’ early writing about how white feminists and the Black men of the Civil Rights Movement ignore the intersectional experience of Black women. bell hooks reiterates over and over that as people who live with both sexism and racism, Black women’s experiences are unique. As hooks describes at the end of her book, a truly inclusive feminist movement is an intersectional one.
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
Mikki Kendall discusses how modern-day feminist movements have huge gaps in their organizing efforts. Kendall argues that feminism, particularly white feminism, fails to address issues like food insecurity, safe housing, disability, access to education, and the ability to earn a living wage. Each essay discusses a different area that modern feminism could improve upon, providing an intersectional approach to her writing. Kendall makes so many incredible points as she calls out feminism’s weaknesses and the areas where it could improve. If feminism is to continue to improve the lives of women, it must evolve.
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy Reading, Friends!
~ Kendra