Must Reads: 17 Best New Summer Books By, For & About Women
These 17 new books this summer offer a variety of nonfiction options.
Whether you are an ebook or audio book lover, or still want to get your pages dirty, there are so many great summer reading options with new great leadership and business titles.
And you are not alone.
“@Takeleadwomen offers 17 new books to read this summer for a variety of nonfiction and graphic novel choices. #summerread #femalewriters”
A recent Deloitte study says girls and women read more than boys and men across their lifetimes. Sadly, those identifying as male read fewer books by female authors.
Deloitte reports, “A study by Nielsen Book Research found that, of the 10 bestselling male authors, readership was roughly evenly divided by gender, with 55% male readers and 45% female readers. In contrast, only 19% of the 10 bestselling female authors’ readers were male, compared to 81% female.”
Add to that the gender-neutral author names (think J.K. Rowling), and you have a tendency for female authors to be dismissed. "There is also a long history of women writers masking their gender… in an effort to be taken seriously and attract a wider share of readers.”
But what is new great news is that of those who identify their profession as authors, it is a nearly even split between binary-defined genders—with women ever so slightly ahead. New data from Zippia shows 50.5% of all authors in the U.S. are women, while 49.5% are men.
“It’s great news that of those who identify their profession as authors, it is a nearly even split between binary-defined genders—with women ever so slightly ahead. #genderparity #femalewriters”
But it is not an inclusive or diverse group, with nearly 80% identifying as white, 7.2% identifying as Hispanic or Latino, and 5.8% as Black or African American. Just 16% of all authors report they are LGBTQ+.
Take The Lead takes the liberty to pick out 17 new arrivals of nonfiction books to explore and discover insights into startups, a trans author’s transition as expressed in a graphic novel, youth entrepreneurship, remote work culture, Black venture funding seekers, global environmental leaders, a look at the life of a publishing icon, healthcare strategies and much more.
“@Takeleadwomen picks out 17 new #nonfiction books to discover insights into startups, a trans author’s transition as expressed in a graphic novel, youth entrepreneurship, remote work culture, Black venture funding seekers and much more. #reading”
Arranged alphabetically, (because we cannot rank our favorites), this list can round out and top off your summer reads that can also take you into the next season and beyond.
Kathryn Finney, Build the Damn Thing. The managing partner of Genius Guild, a venture firm investing in Black entrepreneurs, gives critical advice on what it takes to build a passion project business venture into a successful reality. It’s about risk, it’s about chance and knowing what to do in critical decisive moments.
“@KathrynFinney, Build the Damn Thing. The managing partner of @GeniusGuild, a venture firm investing in Black entrepreneurs, gives critical advice on what it takes to build a passion project business venture into a successful reality. #blackauthors”
Read more in Take The Lead on books by and for women leaders
Swish Goswami and Quinn Underwood, The Young Entrepreneur: How to Start A Business While You’re Still a Student. Targeted for the teen with big ideas, this is aimed for high school and college students who want their side gigs to sustain them through life. It covers the basics from brainstorming to scaling, written by Gen Z success stories who are tech CEOs.
Emma Grove, The Third Person. This 900-page graphic memoir by the 49-year-old trans author, “is a profoundly moving and intimate portrayal of a life in pieces made whole,” reports Them. Four years ago, “Grove began working on a memoir that was supposed to be about her transition. Instead, she found herself circling back, again and again, to a period of a few months that she couldn’t remember — until she began to literally sketch it out.”
Read earlier Take The Lead book suggestions
Mia Mercado, She’s Nice Though. A thoughtful collection of essays by a biracial author touches on performative behaviors, expectations, racism and bias as well as cultural tropes with humor, honesty and authenticity.
“@Miamarket, She’s Nice Though. A thoughtful collection of essays by a biracial author touches on performative behaviors, expectations, #racism and #bias as well as cultural tropes with humor, honesty and authenticity. ”
Jorja Leap, Entry Lessons: The Stories of Women Fighting for Their Place, Their Children, and Their Futures after Incarceration. Anthropologist Jorja Leap tells the stories of women and girls who endured trauma in life and in the criminal justice system and recounts their lives during incarceration, and after their reentry.
Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman, Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life. During WWII, four female philosophy students at Oxford University redesigned a new philosophical tradition. This is the story of Iris Murdoch, Philippa Foot, Elizabeth Anscombe, and Mary Midgley and how they reorganized approaches to the study of philosophy to make sense of the new and changing world.
Learn more about Gloria Feldt’s latest book, Intentioning
Samantha Mann, I Feel Love: Notes on Queer Joy. An anthology of current voices in the LGBTQIA+ community is a sharing of deeply personal insights as well as bigger picture notes through poetry, memoir, essay and creative nonfiction.
“@Sdmann0502, I Feel Love: Notes on Queer Joy. An anthology of current voices in the #LGBTQIA+ community is a sharing of deeply personal insights as well as bigger picture notes through poetry, memoir, essay and creative nonfiction. #Pride2022”
Tsedal Neely, Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere. Please can the Harvard Business School professor Neely help us understand the new world of work? She offers advice, strategies and techniques on optimizing post-COVID remote workplace culture and how to work best and live best considering all that colleagues and employees are coping with in this unprecedented time.
Read about more top books for women in Take The Lead
Amy Odell, Anna: The Biography. Of course this is the deep dive into the life and work of Anna Wintour, the British publishing enigma most known for her work as the editor in chief of Vogue. With hundreds of interviews mining the largest and smallest details, the author spins the tale of the Conde Nast giant from her early years to the present. It is the biography of one woman but the narrative of so much more, including fashion, culture, iconography and publishing.
“@Tsedal, Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere. The @HarvardHBS professor Neely offers #advice, strategies and techniques on optimizing post-COVID #remote #workplace culture and how to work best and live best.”
Francine Parham, Please Sit Over There: How To Manage Power, Overcome Exclusion, and Succeed as a Black Woman at Work. This is the story of how one extremely resourceful and brilliant Black women charts her rise from invisibility in a culture of gender and racial bias to become a vice president of a global Fortune 100 enterprise. The author uncovers the unspoken rules and the navigations necessary to play and win the games.
Nicole Pasulka, How You Get Famous: Ten Years of Drag Madness in Brooklyn. What can everyone learn from the journeys of drag performers? A lot. According to the book description, “journalist Pasulka joyfully documents the rebirth of the New York drag scene, following a group of iconoclastic performers with undeniable charisma, talent, and a hell of a lot to prove. The result is a sweeping portrait of the 21st-century search for celebrity and community.”
“@NicolePasulka, How You Get Famous: Ten Years of Drag Madness in Brooklyn. What can everyone learn from the journeys of drag performers? A lot. #PrideMonth #LGBTQbooks”
See earlier top book picks in Take The Lead
Illana Raia, The Epic Mentor Guide: Insider Advice for Girls Eyeing the Workforce from 180 Boss Women Who Know. This is big stuff, written by the founder of Etre, offering up insights directly from Veronica Beard, Tyra Banks, Bobbi Brown, Hoda Kotb, and more diverse founders, athletes, astronauts, CEOs and creatives around the world.
Susan Salenger, Sidelined: How Women Manage and Mismanage Their Health. In this highly informative and critically necessary book on how women are stunted by “medical gaslighting,” Salenger speaks to women, offers her own experience as well as solutions and insights into changing health outcomes.
“@SusanSalenger, Sidelined: How Women Manage and Mismanage Their Health. In this highly informative book on how women are stunted by “medical gaslighting,” Salenger offers her own experience and insights into changing health outcomes. #womenshealth”
Marian Salzman, The New Megatrends: Seeing Clearly in the Age of Disruption. According to Salzman’s site, “Drawing inspiration from John Naisbitt’s classic 1982 book Megatrends, Salzman then turns to the two decades ahead. Navigating deftly among geographies, she connects threads across business, civic life, consumerism, family, and entertainment, revealing the trends and developments—some established, some surprising—poised to recast our past, shape our collective future, and shift our identities.” She projects what will unfold over the next two decades in a clear and thoughtful way.
Nina Simons, Nature, Culture, and the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership, 2nd Ed. Offering stories of global female leaders working for social justice and environmental equity, the author ”calls for an inclusive, feminine-facing leadership model that represents all humans, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual identity, or cultural background.“
Deanna Singh, Actions Speak Louder. The founder of Flying Elephant gives tips and strategies on navigating, leading and creating an inclusive culture incorporating social justice and social responsibility into the workplace.
“Deanna Singh, Actions Speak Louder. The founder of Flying Elephant gives tips and strategies on navigating, leading and creating an inclusive culture incorporating #socialjustice and social responsibility into the #workplace. ”
Kaitlyn Tiffany, Everything I Need I Get from You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It. For anyone mystified by the huge influence of influencers and how they do what they do, Atlantic magazine writer Tiffany explores the paths and outcomes of the people who inspire fans to do whatever they want them to do.
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