For those of you that miss the old back-to-school excitement of receiving your English class reading list (or maybe that’s just me?) here is a list of 12 must-read books coming out this fall. From feminist fairy tales to #girlboss inspiration to heart-wrenching fiction, we’ve got a little bit of everything for your reading pleasure.
I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities, and Other Stuff by Abbi Jacobson
You know Abbi Jacobson as the co-creator and co-star of Broad City. With this new book of musings and doodles collected from a cross-country solo road trip, readers have the chance to take a ride inside her quirky brain and learn a few life lessons along the way.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
GuRu by RuPaul
This new hardcover glossy features over 80 photographs and countless tidbits of wisdom and philosophy from RuPaul. According to a People interview, “it offers beauty, but also advice, insight and attitude. It’s more than just a bunch of pretty pictures.” Plus, it has a foreword by Jane Fonda. Sign us up.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
Becoming by Michelle Obama
This deeply personal memoir promises to invite readers into the heart and past of the beloved former First Lady, walking us through her childhood, coming of age, years balancing motherhood and work, and ending with a peek behind the walls of the White House. You’ll have to wait till November for this one, but we suspect it will be worth it.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
FIERCE FAIRYTALES: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikkita Gill
We may be most familiar with the child-friendly princess cartoons of Disney and the ultra-gendered tales of the Brothers Grimm that we grew up with, but fairy tales have evolved through countless retellings throughout the centuries, with each new rendition expressing the values of the author or era. Following in a tradition “as old as time,” Instapoet and author Nikita Gill’s new collection of poetry gives these stories a much-needed feminist facelift.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
Vox: A Novel by Christina Dalcher
If you can’t get enough of The Handmaid’s Tale, then this one is for you. In this new dystopian novel set in an America under a fundamentalist regime, women are limited to 100 words a day, are barred from working, and girls are no longer taught to read or write. That is, until one woman decides to speak up.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
Girl Squads: 20 Female Friendships That Changed History by Sam Maggs, illustrations by Jenn Woodall
In this new piece of herstory, Sam Maggs digs through the historical record to bring to light the stories of 20 sets of female friendships that prove that the #girlsquad is hardly a modern invention, such as the 18th-century pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read and the 20th-century female research team that explored Antarctica.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
The Tattooist of Auschwitz: A Novel by Heather Morris
Based on a set of real interviews conducted with a Holocaust survivor, this story of love, courage, and danger unfolds in the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, where a tattooist is tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners and falls in love with one of them.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
Marilla of Green Gables: A Novel by Sarah McCoy
Between the popular Netflix series, a new film adaptation, and the powerful Heritage Minute, Anne of Green Gables is having a moment. But really—has the story of everyone’s favourite fiery red-head with a wild imagination ever gone out of style? I think not. This new novel serves as an imagined prequel to Anne’s story and explores the coming-of-age of Marilla Cuthbert, an independent young woman who has to grapple with 19th-century Canadian social expectations.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
Nobody Cares: Essays by Anne T. Donahue
29 Secrets’ very own long-time columnist and prolific culture writer, Anne T. Donahue is releasing her debut collection of essays titled Nobody Cares. Well, we care, and you should too. If these musings are anything like her characteristically witty articles or podcast conversations, this book is going to be an absolute must-read.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
I for one can’t get enough of modern retellings that give quiet heroines from classic stories a voice. This new book about Elizabeth Lavenza, Victor Frankenstein’s childhood friend and later wife, promises to do just that, written with all the disturbing intrigue of the original Gothic novel.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
A Spark of Light: A Novel by Jodi Picoult
The latest from Jodi Picoult opens with a scene that takes place in Mississippi’s sole remaining abortion clinic where a gunman storms in to take hostages. It then goes back in time to trace each character’s preceding steps, showing how they got to this moment, and how nobody’s story is how it first appeared.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
WorkParty: How to Create & Cultivate the Career of Your Dreams by Jaclyn Johnson
Last but not least is the new #girlboss bible that everyone is talking about. Jaclyn Johnson, founder of Create & Cultivate (the online platform and conference for millennial women in business) has compiled wisdom from herself and contributing female entrepreneurs to help readers embrace failure, femininity, and leadership, all while having fun along the way.
Buy it here: Amazon | Indigo
