We have a lot to say and the world should listen
Lea Krusemeyer (she/her) // Staff Writer
Sol Yoon (she/her) // Illustrator
The author and philanthropist Gift Gugu Mona once said, “A wise woman does not keep her wisdom to herself. She shares wisdom with the world because she knows that through wisdom, many lives can be transformed.” Listen to what women have to say—many of us write and I urge you to read what we create.
To make it a little easier for busy students, who only sometimes have the time to wander through Indigo in search of the perfect book, I have curated a list of authors I believe should be on your reading list in 2024. Most of those authors and their books are available as audiobooks too, so even if you are not a passionate reader you can still enjoy the wisdom those women have to share.
My first recommendation is Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. In this book, Criado Perez makes the reader aware of a biased world that most of us don’t even realize we live in. Of course, we know that women are at a disadvantage in our world but do you know the extent of it? With this book, an eye-opening read, the extent of injustice in our world is described beautifully. The medical system, the education system and even technology often use data gathered from men as the default in their research and women pay a heavy price for that. This book is also available as an audiobook so it can be enjoyed by everyone, even those of you who do not love to read.
Next up we have a personal favorite of mine, which is Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo. This is a longer and more intense book, but it is also available in an audiobook version so it’s great for the bus ride to school or to listen to during a workout at the gym. Evaristo, in her unique writing style, tells the stories of twelve Black women living in Britain. Some of them are connected and some are unique stories of their own, but they all capture the life experiences of Black women of different ages, sexualities, and social backgrounds. Evaristo wrote Girl, Woman, Other in a style that provides authenticity to each of the 12 women portrayed in her book. It might be different from what you are used to reading, but it is worth your time.
Another book to add to your reading list would be You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat. In this book, the struggles of a woman who is queer and Palestinian are told, and the narrator does an amazing job at capturing the fight to find yourself while living in a world that does not encourage you to do so. It is within the title that the main problem of the protagonist’s life is already revealed. She is told on more than one occasion that she exists too much. She is too loud, too vibrant, too visible, and throughout the pages of the book she deals with finding her place in the world.
These three books I mentioned above are only a short selection of books that were written by women and that deserve to be read. It is impossible to list them all so I found a website that has a larger selection of books written by female authors. Let’s amplify our fellow women’s voices in 2024.