Reader's Place: March 3, 2025
Women have been pioneers and at the forefront of history in many ways, and the following books highlight and celebrate them both through fiction and non-fiction. Happy Women’s History Month!
When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today, by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (Library Catalog, Hoopla)
When television arrived, few radio moguls were interested in the upstart industry and its tiny production budgets, and expensive television sets were out of reach for most families. But four women—each an independent visionary— saw an opportunity and carved their own paths, and in so doing invented the way we watch tv today. Together, their stories chronicle a forgotten chapter in the history of television and popular culture.
The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (Library Catalog)
The remarkable, little-known story of Belle da Costa Greene, J. P. Morgan's personal librarian—who became one of the most powerful women in New York despite the dangerous secret she kept in order to make her dreams come true. The Morgan Library & Museum in New York is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a powerful must-see exhibit about this extraordinary woman through May 2025.
Becoming Madam Secretary, by Stephanie Dray (Library Catalog)
Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference. When she meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he’s a rich, arrogant dilettante; he thinks she’s a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House. Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR’s most trusted lieutenant—even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she’s willing to do—and what she’s willing to sacrifice—to save a nation.
The Women, by Kristin Hannah (Library Catalog)
The story of one woman gone to war shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, “The Women” is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
Looking for Jane, by Heather Marshall (Library Catalog)
A debut novel about three women whose lives are bound together by a long-lost letter, a mother’s love, and a secret network of women fighting for the right to choose—inspired by true stories.
Harlem Rhapsody, by Victoria Christopher Murray (Library Catalog)
The extraordinary story of Jessie Redmon Fauset whose exhilarating world of friends, rivals, and passions all combined to create the magic that was the Harlem Renaissance, written by Victoria Christopher Murray, New York Times bestselling coauthor of “The Personal Librarian.”
Finding Margaret Fuller, by Allison Pataki (Library Catalog)
An epic reimagining of the life of Margaret Fuller—America’s forgotten leading lady and the central figure of a movement that defined a nation—from the New York Times bestselling author of “The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post.” With a star-studded cast and epic sweep of historical events, this is a story of an inspiring trailblazer, a woman who loved big and lived even bigger—a fierce adventurer who transcended the rigid roles ascribed to women, and changed history for millions, all on her own terms.
Woman, Life, Freedom, by Marjane Satrapi (Library Catalog)
Marjane Satrapi, author of “Persepolis,” returns to graphic art with this collaboration of over 20 activists, artists, journalists, and academics working together to depict the historic uprising, in solidarity with the Iranian people and in defense of feminism. “Woman, Life, Freedom” demonstrates that this is not an unexpected movement, but a major uprising in a long history of women who have wanted to affirm their rights.
When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion, by Julie Satow (Library Catalog)
In “When Women Ran Fifth Avenue,” journalist Julie Satow draws back the curtain on three American women who made twentieth-century department stores a mecca for women of every age, social class, and ambition. This stylish account, rich with personal drama and trade secrets, captures the department store in all its glitz, decadence, and fun, and showcases the women who made that beautifully curated world go round.
The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science, Dava Sobel (Library Catalog)
The acclaimed Pulitzer Prize finalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author of “Galileo’s Daughter” crafts a luminous chronicle of the life and work of the most famous woman in the history of science, and the untold story of the many young women trained in her laboratory who were launched into stellar scientific careers of their own.
The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History, by Karen Valby (Library Catalog)
The forgotten story of a pioneering group of Black ballerinas and their fifty-year sisterhood, a legacy erased from history—until this riveting account of five extraordinarily accomplished women, a celebration of both their historic careers and the sustaining, grounding power of female friendship, and a window into the robust history of Black ballet, hidden for too long.
Compiled by Louis Muñoz