Recommendations based on Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the Worldby Rachel Ignotofsky

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. We Should All Be Feminists

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    A call to action for an inclusive, gender-equal society through an examination of feminism.

    What does “feminism” mean today? That is the question at the heart of We Should All Be Feminists , a personal, eloquently-argued essay—adapted from her much-viewed TEDx talk of the same name—by ... (Goodreads)

  2. Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    A guide for raising children with feminist values, and advocating for gender equality.

    From the best-selling author of, Americanah, and, We Should All Be Feminists, comes a powerful new statement about feminism today–written as a letter to a friend. A few years ago, Chimamanda Ngozi ... (Goodreads)

  3. Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words

    by Randall Munroe
    Exploring the world of science and technology, using only the 1000 most common English words.

    Have you ever tried to learn more about some incredible thing, only to be frustrated by incomprehensible jargon? Randall Munroe is here to help. In Thing Explainer, he uses line drawings and only the ... (Barnes & Noble)

  4. Upstream: Selected Essays

    by Mary Oliver
    A collection of essays on the beauty of nature, and the importance of a mindful life.

    Comprising a selection of essays, Upstream finds beloved poet Mary Oliver reflecting on her astonishment and admiration for the natural world and the craft of writing. As she contemplates the ... (Goodreads)

  5. Lab Girl

    by Hope Jahren
    A memoir about a young woman's journey to discover her scientific calling and resilience.

    Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also so much ... (Goodreads)

  6. Bad Feminist

    by Roxane Gay
    A collection of essays exploring feminism, race, and gender, and their intersections.

    Pink is my favorite color. I used to say my favorite color was black to be, cool, but it is pink—all shades of pink. If I have an accessory, it is probably pink. I read, Vogue, and I’m not doing it ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Sun and Her Flowers

    by Rupi Kaur
    An exploration of personal growth, healing, and finding one's self.

    From Rupi Kaur, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of milk and honey, comes her long-awaited second collection of poetry. A vibrant and transcendent journey about growth and healing. Ancestry ... (Goodreads)

  8. Sonnets from the Portuguese

    by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
    A collection of love sonnets written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning to her husband, Robert Browning.

    "I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett . . . I love you too", Robert Browning wrote in January 1845, thus initiating the most celebrated literary correspondence of the 19th century. ... (Goodreads)

  9. The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves

    by Dan Ariely
    Examines why people lie and how dishonesty affects our lives.

    Het wetenschappelijk bewijs liegt er niet om: zelfs de meest eerlijke mensen nemen meerdere keren per dag een loopje met de waarheid. Hóé (on)eerlijk we zijn blijkt verrassend genoeg afhankelijk van ... (Goodreads)

  10. Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror

    by Judith Lewis Herman
    An in-depth exploration of trauma and its effects on individuals and society, and strategies for recovery.

    When Trauma and Recovery was first published in 1992, it was hailed as a groundbreaking work. In the intervening years, Herman’s volume has changed the way we think about and treat traumatic events ... (Goodreads)

  11. Women & Power: A Manifesto

    by Mary Beard
    A look at the history of female power and the cultural obstacles preventing women from achieving it.

    At long last, Mary Beard addresses in one brave book the misogynists and trolls who mercilessly attack and demean women the world over, including, very often, Mary herself. In Women & Power , she ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well

    by Meik Wiking
    A guide to embracing the Danish concept of Hygge, creating a cozy and content home life.

    Denmark is often said to be the happiest country in the world. That's down to one thing: hygge. 'Hygge has been translated as everything from, the art of creating intimacy, to, cosiness of the soul, ... (Goodreads)

  13. Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools

    by Jonathan Kozol
    An exposé of the disparities in America's public education system and its effects on children.

    National Book Award-winning author Jonathan Kozol presents his shocking account of the American educational system in this stunning "New York Times" bestseller, which has sold more than 250,000 ... (Goodreads)

  14. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

    by Carlo Rovelli
    An exploration of the fundamentals of physics, revealing its true beauty.

    All the beauty of modern physics in fewer than a hundred pages. This is a book about the joy of discovery. A playful, entertaining, and mind-bending introduction to modern physics, it's already a ... (Goodreads)

  15. Hidden Figures

    by Margot Lee Shetterly
    The untold story of the African-American women who made invaluable contributions to NASA's space program in the 1960s.

    The #1 New York Times Bestseller. Set amid the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America’s space ... (Goodreads)

  16. The Complete Maus

    by Art Spiegelman
    A graphic novel depicting a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust and his son's journey to understand the past.

    On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of its first publication, here is the definitive edition of the book acclaimed as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the ... (Goodreads)

  17. Citizen: An American Lyric

    by Claudia Rankine
    Poetic exploration of racial injustice, highlighting the everyday experiences of racism.

    A provocative meditation on race, Claudia Rankine's long-awaited follow up to her groundbreaking book Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric. Claudia Rankine's bold new book recounts mounting ... (Goodreads)

  18. Open

    by Andre Agassi
    Autobiographical account of a tennis star's career, struggles, and personal growth.

    From Andre Agassi, one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court, a beautiful, haunting autobiography. Agassi’s incredibly rigorous ... (Goodreads)

  19. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

    by John Carreyrou
    The rise and fall of Theranos, a fraudulent blood-testing startup, and the deceitful actions of its founder Elizabeth Holmes.

    The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face ... (Goodreads)

  20. Twelve Years a Slave

    by Solomon Northup
    A man's journey of survival and resilience after being kidnapped and sold into slavery in the antebellum South.

    Twelve Years a Slave, sub-title: Narrative of Solomon Northup, citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington city in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in ... (Goodreads)

  21. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

    by Bessel van der Kolk
    Examining the physical, psychological and emotional effects of trauma, and how to heal.

    A pioneering researcher and one of the world’s foremost experts on traumatic stress offers a bold new paradigm for healing. Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful ... (Goodreads)

  22. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

    by Ishmael Beah
    A gripping tale of a child soldier's journey to survive and reclaim his humanity.

    My new friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life.,"Why did you leave Sierra Leone?","Because there is a war.","You mean, you saw people running around with guns and ... (Barnes & Noble)

  23. We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a True Story

    by Josh Sundquist
    A humorous memoir of the author's attempts to understand why he's never had a girlfriend.

    From Paralympic ski racer and YouTube star, Josh Sundquist, comes an always-funny (and sometimes-awkward) memoir about teenage misadventures. When I was twenty-five years old, it came to my attention ... (Barnes & Noble)

  24. Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucía

    by Chris Stewart
    A humorous memoir of an Englishman's move to a remote Spanish village, where he learns to farm and embrace the laid-back lifestyle.

    No sooner had Chris Stewart set eyes on El Valero than he handed over a check. Now all he had to do was explain to Ana, his wife, that they were the proud owners of an isolated sheep farm in the ... (Goodreads)

  25. Primates of Park Avenue

    by Wednesday Martin
    An anthropological study of the wealthy mothers of Manhattan's Upper East Side, exploring their social rituals and cultural practices.

    An instant #1 New York Times bestseller, Primates of Park Avenue is an “amusing, perceptive and…deliciously evil” ( The New York Times Book Review ) memoir of the most secretive and elite ... (Barnes & Noble)

  26. Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right

    by Jamie Glowacki
    A practical guide for parents to successfully potty train their children, with humor and empathy.

    Jamie Glowacki—potty-training expert, Pied Piper of Poop, and author of the popular guide, Oh Crap! Potty Training —shares her proven 6-step plan to help you toilet train your preschooler quickly and ... (Goodreads)

  27. Be Prepared

    by Vera Brosgol
    A graphic memoir of a young girl's experience at a Russian summer camp and her struggle to fit in.

    "Beautifully drawn, brutally funny, brilliantly honest. Vera is such a good cartoonist I almost can’t stand it.” —Raina Telgemeier, author of Smile In Be Prepared , all Vera wants to do is fit in—but ... (Barnes & Noble)

  28. Start Something That Matters

    by Blake Mycoskie
    A guide to creating a successful business that also makes a positive impact on the world.

    Love your work, work for what you love, and change the world—all at the same time. What matters most to you? Should you focus on earning a living, pursuing your passions, or devoting yourself to the ... (Goodreads)

  29. Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House

    by Alyssa Mastromonaco
    A memoir of Alyssa Mastromonaco's time as Deputy Chief of Staff under President Obama, offering insights into the inner workings of the White House.

    If your funny older sister were the former deputy chief of staff to President Barack Obama, her behind-the-scenes political memoir would look something like this . . . Alyssa Mastromonaco worked for ... (Barnes & Noble)

  30. Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men

    by Harold Schechter
    The true story of Belle Gunness, a notorious female serial killer who lured men to their deaths in the early 1900s.

    “A deeply researched and morbidly fascinating chronicle of one of America’s most notorious female killers.” —,The New York Times Book Review,, An Amazon Charts bestseller., In the pantheon of serial ... (Barnes & Noble)