Be a Boss B*tch: Join the SparkLife Bookclub

Calling all readers! You are invited to join The *Exclusive* SparkLife Book Club. Think of it as a smaller, more intimate version of Emma Watson’s Feminist Book Club, moderated by yours truly, your very own Emma W., and, well, without Karlie Kloss (we can’t have it all).

What are we going to do? Choose a book, then read it together, over the course of a month! Every Friday, we’ll gather back here for a discussion in the comments.

How will the discussion work? I’ll give you my thoughts on what we’ve read, and then ask some questions to get you started (though I’m sure you’ll have a lot to say anyway).

What’s this Boss B*tch thing? Every month, we’ll have a theme, and Boss B*tch is this month’s. You’ll see what that means when you check out the possible reading options below.

How do we choose the book? You get to vote. Read about the four options below, then rank your preferences from 1 (YES PLEASE WANT TO READ IT NOW) to 4 (eh…I guess) in the comments.

Are you going to answer your own questions every week? Haha! I don’t think so. I mean probably not. We’ll see. I mean I will need to fill you in on my own response to the reading, but jury’s still out on the format.

BOSS B*TCH BOOKS (rank your preferences in the comments!):

I Am Malala by Christina Lamb and Malala Yousafzai

A memoir by the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, a 15-year-old Pakistani girl, who was shot in the head while fighting to preserve her right to get an education. BOSS B*TCH.

An outside endorsement: “In simple, clear writing, I Am Malala gives a rare and moving first-person glance into what it’s like to be a teenager in a country seized by extremists who stand against the basic freedoms you believe in.” – Krystin Arneson, Bustle

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

A dystopian novel set in a future that looks more like the 17th-century than the 22nd: a group of Christian extremist have seized control in the US and turned women back into property and forbidden them from reading (among many, many other things). It’s a controversial book, with some ~steamy~ scenes, that have caused a number of high schools to actually BAN IT from their syllabi.

Endorsement: “Atwood takes many trends which exist today and stretches them to their logical and chilling conclusions…An excellent novel about the directions our lives are taking.” – Houston Chronicle

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Three words: Tina Fey’s Memoir. Need I say more?

Endorsement: “It’s a spiky blend of humor, introspection, critical thinking, and Nora Ephron-isms for a new generation.” – New York Times

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

A memoir of growing up black in a small Southern town and, years later, finding freedom through language and literature by one of the most incredible/inspiring/boss b*tch writers of the 20th century.

Endorsement: “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such moving wonder, such a luminous dignity.” – James Baldwin

Remember to vote below! Can’t wait to read with you!