I'm turning 30 this year and these are the 30 books that most impacted my outlook and experience while I was in my 20s. I hope you get as much from them as I did!
One of the most accessible Virginia Woolf novels, this saga will forever shape your perspective on gender. Way before its time!
Orlando, A Biography book by Virginia Woolf
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An essential for anyone who has struggled with body image or disordered eating… AKA most of us.
Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole
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Toni Morrison is THE essential American author. You could read this ten times and still find more to learn and unpack
Beloved by Toni Morrison
If you're a teacher, you need to read this book. The American education system would be a whole lot better if this was the approach we took to teaching.
The Courage to Teach by Parker J. Palmer
A thoughtful and nuanced reflection on gender, transition, and parenthood. I <3 Maggie Nelson
The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
I was so lucky to read this right as I was coming out. Such a concise overview of intersectional queer theory.
Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker
This book changed my perception of what a book can accomplish. A devastating exploration of white violence & a challenging call to understanding racism.
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
Did you know - Alison Bechdel is the originator of the Bechdel test? This is my favorite graphic memoir
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Alison Bechdel
The poetry collection that got me into poetry.
There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé by Morgan Parker
Such an inspiring read for anyone who is young and wants to make art.
Just Kids Patti Smith
I was very lucky to get to teach this book to teenagers. An underappreciated genre is the play, and an underappreciated August Wilson play is Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson
Ross Gay has such a unique approach to writing about joy. Never trite; always beautiful
Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay
A deeply felt and loving book about the threat to life that young Black men experience
Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
Read this book without it changing your life forever I dare you
Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown
Read this iconic speculative fiction alongside Emergent Strategy
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
If you haven't read this, you're about to understand so many more cultural references. An essential novel in the 21st century
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Did you know that it's possible to just… give people money? And potentially change the world?
Give People Money by Annie Lowrey
An abolitionist teaching manifesto!!
We Want to Do More Than Survive by Bettina L. Love
The book that brought me back to the joy of reading
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Glennon Doyle is controversial, but this came to me at the exact right time.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
So much more than just trees, but also trees are EVERYTHING
The Overstory by Richard Powers
A theme of this list is reconnecting with nature, and this book does it better than any other
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Stunningly written, covering an abusive same sex relationship
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Did you know that there is a genre called “Queer Auto-Theory?" And this book does it the best?
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
James Baldwin is the king and this is the most beautiful depiction of a complicated relationship ever
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
What is order and why are we always trying so damn hard to make sense of it all?
Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller
THE best, most honest memoir I've ever read - and the writing is *chef's kiss*
Heavy by Kiese Laymon
Do you need to re-evaluate your relationship with alcohol? Most of us do, and this book is a great start
