Bibliotaph... Girl Power

Compiled by Victoria Chase

The Paris Bookseller: A work of historical fiction that serves as an ode to Sylvia Beach, who opened the famed Parisian bookstore Shakespeare and Company in 1919, which became a haven for many prominent writers of the Lost Generation. Karri Maher—The Paris Bookseller—hardcover, 336 pages, Penguin Publishing

Champagne Widows: An effervescent read for anyone who loves champagne, this work of historical fiction shares the story of Barbe-Nicole, who, following the death of her husband, winemaker François Clicquot, as Veuve (Widow) Clicquot, achieved legendary status. Rebecca Rosenberg—Champagne Widows—paperback, 332pages, Lion Heart Publishing

Girls Who Green the World: Thirty-Four Rebel Women Out to Save Our Planet: Journalist Diana Kapp crisscrossed the country writing for and about empowered girls. The resulting 34 profiles are part biography, part guidebook to the contemporary environmental movement. Available in April. Diana Kapp—Girls Who Green the World: Thirty-Four Rebel Women Out to Save Our Planet—hardcover, 336 pages, Delacorte Press

Enough Rope: A Book of Light Verse: One of the Jazz Age’s most beloved poets, Dorothy Parker was widely regarded as the wittiest woman in America. Newly available as a stand-alone edition, her debut collection—a bestseller in 1926—features poems that range from lighthearted self-deprecation to acid-tongued satire. Dorothy Parker—Enough Rope: A Book of Light Verse—paperback, 144 pages, Knopf Doubleday Publishing

Bravery: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas: Olympic distance runner Alexi Pappas’ mother died by suicide when she was four years old. She filled the void by looking to female athletes as role models. Not content with success in athletic pursuits alone, in 2016, she made her Olympic debut as a distance runner and wrote, directed, and starred in her first feature film. Alexi Pappas—Bravery: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas—hardcover, 352 pages, Random House Publishing

Nadine Ijewere: Our Own Selves: This vibrant monograph of masterfully executed portraits is the first book dedicated to London-based fashion photographer Nadine Ijewere—the first Black woman photographer to land a cover of Vogue in the magazine’s 125-yearhistory.Nadine Ijewere (photographer), Lynette Nylander (contributor)—Nadine Ijewere: Our Own Selves—hardcover, 192 pages, Prestee

Let Me Tell You What I Mean: A never-before-gathered-together collection of pieces written by the late Joan Didion between 1968 to2000 provide an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of a legendary journalist, essayist, novelist, and screenwriter. Joan Didion—Let Me Tell You What I Mean—hardcover, 192 pages, Knopf Doubleday Publishing

Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World: For American women today, working out is accepted and expected, fueling a multibillion-dollar fitness industrial complex. But it wasn’t always this way. In this book, journalist Danielle Friedman reveals the hidden history of contemporary women’s fitness culture. She chronicles how exercise evolved from a beauty tool pitched almost exclusively as a way to “reduce” into one millions have harnessed as a path to mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Danielle Friedman—Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World—hardcover, 352 pages, G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality: Born to an aspirational blue-collar family during the Great Depression, Constance Baker Motley eschewed suggestions to pursue a career as a hairdresser. Instead, she became the first black woman to argue a casein front of the Supreme Court. She defended Martin Luther King in Birmingham, helped to argue in Brown vs. The Board of Education, and played a critical role in defeating Jim Crow laws throughout the South. She was the first black woman elected to the state Senate in New York, the first woman elected Manhattan Borough President, and the first black woman appointed to the federal judiciary. Tomika Brown-Nagin—Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality—hardcover, 512 pages, Pantheon