What to Read and Watch for Women’s History Month with PWPL’s Apps
March is Women’s History Month, and it’s a great time to honor women across history. Like February’s Black History Month, our take on Women’s History is that it’s all our history. However, setting aside a month to relish forgotten or overlooked artists, writers, and other creatives widens our perspectives and boosts our reading lists.
If you’re taking advantage of our Express Walk-In Hours, you’ll likely see some of our favorite books written by women on our displays. You can also check upstairs for books about women in history. A few of our favorites include the following. Click on the title to find them in our catalog.
- Witches, midwives, & nurses: a history of women healers
- When the drummers were women: a spiritual history of rhythm
- Peace as a women issue: a history of the U.S. movement for world peace and women’s rights
- Nike is a goddess: the history of women in sports
- Hell hath no fury: true profiles of women at war from antiquity to Iraq
Nonfiction Books by Women Writers and Available on Libby
As we know, women are historians and anthropologists, scientists and engineers. Women writing nonfiction offer unique insight into roles traditionally and historically held by men. Check out what a few have to say with the Libby app.
- Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
- I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
- Dolly Parton, Storyteller by Dolly Parton
- Dear Girls by Ali Wong
- Grit by Angela Duckworth
Contemporary Women Writers on Libby
If you’re more of a fiction fan, here are some staff recommendations of contemporary novels written by women on Libby, artfully read by women voice actors for audio options.
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok
- The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
- The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
Classic Novels Written by Women and Available on Libby
If classics are more your speed, Libby won’t let you down. Consider these recommendations for classic novels written by women.
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Women at the Movies
We’re accustomed to seeing women on film, but it’s only been in the last few decades that they’ve been a regular force behind the camera. Explore the DVD shelves at Peter White Public Library for plenty of options, but Kanopy has a host of options as well – and you don’t have to leave the comfort of home to access them. Sign up for Kanopy with your library card’s number and pin, then enjoy the following films directed by women.
Fictional Films Directed by Women Streaming on Kanopy
- The Bookshop, directed by Isabel Coixet
- A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
- Lady Bird, directed by Greta Gerwig
- In the Fade, directed by Faith Akin
- Daughters of the Dust, directed by Julie Dash
Documentaries by Women Directors
These documentaries take on surprising stories from the experience and perspective of women. If you haven’t heard of these films, you are in for some fascinating discoveries.
- Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché, directed by Pamela B. Green
- The Mask You Live In, directed by Jennifer Siebol Newsom
- Anthropocene: The Human Epoch, directed by Jennifer Baichwal Nicholas de Pencier
- The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, directed by Sophia Fiennes
- Kedi, directed by Ceyda Torun
Find More Women Writers and Directors
Fortunately, these recommendations just scratch the surface of what’s available in the stacks at Peter White Public Library and through its digital options for women writing, directing, and producing. Are you looking for more recommendations? Follow #StaffRecWednesday on our Facebook and Twitter pages. This month is dedicated to recommendations by women writers.