12 Books For The #NastyWoman In You

In honor of the unmistakable shout-out Trump made to Clinton with his comments during the final 2016 presidential debates, we give you all the titles every strong, outspoken, rule-breaking, history-making NASTY WOMAN should read. So grab a cup of strong ass coffee and a snuggly AF nook and start diving into these amazing books.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Adapted from her Tedx Talk, Adichie appeals to the 21st century feminist and highlights what it means to be woman in today’s cultures. With emphasis on inclusion and awareness, this impactful author channels warranted anger into positive action.

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

A universally known, now classic text, Friedan wrote of “the problem that has no name” and effectively launched the second women’s movement in American history. A modern day Nasty Woman will reflect back to this movement and find some similarity and strength for today’s nasty problems.

My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg

This amazing collection of writings, essays and speeches from American’s second female Supreme Court Justice will delight you. Ginsburg’s wit, eloquence and dedication for the duration of her career and in life will make it hard to put this one down. “Ginsburg” may also be considered a synonym for “Nasty Woman”. For example: “She is such a Ginsburg”.

Sex Object by Jessica Valente

Founder of Feministing.com, Valente has made her name writing bold, fearless pieces on women, politics, and culture, and her memoir, Sex Object, is no exception. She raises important questions about how women are treated in public and private spaces through her personal experiences dating, working, and living, shedding light on the often invisible challenges women face. A powerful book so many Nasty Woman will probably recognize themselves in.

Shrill by Lindy West

For all you Nasty Women tired of being quiet, Lindy West is the outspoken hero of your dreams. Tackling discrimination, rape culture and online trolls with compassion, self-love, and piercing honesty and humor, Shrill is the book that proves silence will not protect us. Plus, Caitlin Moran calls it “literally the new Bible,” and who are we to argue?

Grit by Angela Duckworth

There’s one thing even Trump can’t deny about Hillary: her perseverance is unstoppable. In Grit, Duckworth, an expert on character development who has advised everywhere from the World Bank to the White House, makes the case for what really drives success: not “genius” or pure intelligence, but a unique combination of passion and persistence.

Trainwreck by Sady Doyle

For centuries women, very accomplished and talented women, have been the center of vicious controversy aimed at tearing them down. Doyle looks at everyone from Mary Wollstonecraft to Marie Antoinette, Sylvia Plath to Britney Spears, to the Nasty Woman herself, Hillary Clinton, as women who have felt the media wrath and misogynistic obsession with their public destruction. Trainwreck catalogues an important and pervasive issue around the way we treat women and the expectations we place on them.

Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color by Chandler O’Leary & Jessica Spring

Basically your Nasty Women Bible Vol. 1, Dead Feminists is a collection of 27 beautiful portraits, based off the Dead Feminists letterpress poster series, of some of the most extraordinary women breaking boundaries around the world. From Fatima al-Fihri, founder of the oldest university in 859 CE Morocco, to Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to the US Congress, these are the OG Nasty Women that have laid the groundwork for us today.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Before there were computers at NASA, there were Nasty Women. A group of 4 female, African-American mathematicians were brought into the ranks of America’s space program during World War II, and with little more than pencil and paper, they calculated the detailed numbers that would launch rockets into space. In the ever-present struggle of women’s rights and civil rights that overhung the country’s mid-century, these women were quietly part of many successes, including the US victory over Russia in the Cold War.

Nasty Galaxy by Sophia Amoruso

Sophia Amoruso, New York Times bestselling author of #GIRLBOSS, recently released her collection of illustrations, photography and short essays. Amoruso first blew up the fashion scene as founder and executive chairman of Nasty Gal, a retail company of trendy punk, vintage and generally bad-ass frocks. Nasty Galaxy gives the reader a look at Sophia’s personal philosophies and approach to non-conventional leadership in the very competitive and ever changing fashion industry.

In the Company of Women by Grace Bonney

One awesome book. Over 100 Nasty Women! From the founder of Design Sponge, get advice, inspiration and new found independence from this amazing group of “makers, artists, and entrepreneurs” in a beautiful photographic collection of women in their work spaces. With a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, you’ll surely find your nasty women soulmate in these pages.

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Do All The Good You Can by Cynthia Levinson

A chronicle of life thus far on THE Nasty Woman herself. Often repeated in her childhood Sunday school classes, Clinton took the phrase “Do All The Good You Can” to memory and to heart. It has since continued to drive her to implement activism and change for many across the country. In this new biography, you can follow the impacts and obstacles of Clinton’s career both professionally and personally.

Sign up for Strand’s Insider Newsletter for the latest and greatest books!