Don’t know what to read for Women’s History Month? The Blough-Weis Library has you covered! Not only have we created a reading challenge, but we’ve even identified books in our collection to help you complete the challenge.

Read a Book with a Female Friend Group

What’s a girl without her core group of gal pals to call upon? For this challenge, we recommend Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. This modern classic is multi-generational and has a movie adaptation starring Ming-Na Wen! Read the book, and then have a movie night with all your close friends in your dorm room.


Read a Coming-of-Age Graphic Novel by a Woman

Are you ready to re-visit your awkward teen years? We hope that cringe is actually a grin because we suggesting Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, an autobiographical graphic novel about trying to fit in while your mouth is full of metal.


Read A Book About a Woman Who Made Significant Contributions to a Traditionally Male-Dominated Field

We love women who are movers and shakers and don’t take no for an answer. This challenge is perfect for all you nonfiction lovers and history buffs. We recommend Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. Margot Lee Shetterly’s book is an award-winning tale of the black women who were the human computers for NASA during the famous space race against the Soviet Union.


Read a Memoir by Your Favorite Feminist

Too many people shy away from the word feminist, but Mikki Kendall tackles it head on in Hood Feminism: Notes From the Women That a Movement Forgot. Her book details how the early feminist movements often focused on the struggles of white women and didn’t address the more severe oppression faced by minority women. Prepare to face your discomfort and get to work when reading this book because Kendall will challenge you to address the holes that still exist in the modern feminist movement.


Read an Agatha Christie Mystery

Are you a fan of the new Knives Out movies? If you thought that was a wild ride, then better make sure you’re sitting when you read Agatha Christie for the first time. She will keep you guessing until the end and is the queen of the whodunnit. We recommend Death on the Nile. There’s a new movie adaptation with Gal Gadot.


Read a Book About a Woman Who Fought for Social Justice

Women are so often fighting for more than equality for women. Many are often advocates for other human rights and social justice causes. One such woman was Audre Lorde. Pick up her collection of essays and speeches,Sister Outsider. In this collection, she tackles homophobia, class, ageism, and other issues in addition to sexism.

Audre Lorde posing with a chalkboard that reads women are powerful and dangerous

Supreme court portrait of RBG

Read a Book About a Female Political Leader

Many of us are still mourning the loss of the beloved Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Honor RBG by reading Conversations with RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law. There’s no better way to celebrate Women’s History Month!