As March was a pretty hectic and busy month for me (hello new job and packing up my flat), I didn’t expect to read as many books as I did.
However, for the month of March, I dedicated my reading to books by or for women, which you will see clearly below.
I read a lot of great books for and by empowering women, with highlights being The Choice, Wonder Women and How Women Rise.
You can find all reviews below and affiliate links for where to buy the books.
How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith (Gifted)
Do you hesitate about putting forward ideas? Are you reluctant to claim credit for your achievements? Do you find it difficult to get the support you need from your boss or the recognition you deserve from your colleagues? If your answer to any of these is ‘Yes’, How Women Rise will help get you back on track. Inspiring and practical by turns, it identifies 12 common habits that can prove an obstacle to future success and tells you how to overcome them. In the process, it points the way to a career that will satisfy your ambitions and help you make the difference you want to make in the world.
My rating: ★★★★★
How Women Rise identifies 12 habits that women should avoid or remove from their career and work life. These habits are often ones that we don’t even notice, like making ourselves too small, not speaking up about our achievements and also not letting our boss know what we’ve worked on or how we’ve continually helped others in the business. Many of these habits come naturally to our male counterparts and can be the cause of men accelerating in their career when women stay in positions for too long. A great read for anyone starting out or in the midst of their career!
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the crime, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth…?
My rating: ★★★★
This book has been sitting on my shelf for months. I had first seen it all over book Instagram along with rave reviews along with the sequel (which I also purchased and is gathering dust on my bookshelf as we speak). Unlike Ghosts by Dolly Alderton, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder actually was worth all the hype and it was a nice escape into teen fiction for me again. I used to love this genre of books when I was younger and so it made for some light reading at the beginning of the month. The author, Holly Jackson, is a young writer who appears to have a very promising future ahead of her. I can’t wait to read the second book in the series, Good Girl Bad Blood hopefully sooner rather than later.
100 Million Hair Ties and a Vodka Tonic by Sophie Trelles-Tvede (Gifted)
Why didn’t I think of that genius idea? This is the remarkable, at times funny, story of a young entrepreneur who, aged 18 and with $4,000 and no other funding, started up invisibobble the revolutionary hair ties that have taken the haircare industry by storm. Today, Sophie Trelles-Tvede’s company has sold over 100 million hair ties around the world and turns over $15 million. As a first-year university student, getting ready for a party, Sophie spotted an old telephone cord and decided to use it to tie her hair with. The next morning, she noticed something different with her hair: she did not have a headache after untying the cord and there was not much of a mark (or kink) in her hair. The genius idea of invisibobble was born right there! This is the story of the idea and thereafter the ups and downs, funny and serious moments, of an entrepreneur s journey that will inspire others and reveal what it takes to succeed.
My rating: ★★★★★
I loved this book. A lot of people would dream of building a business, selling in retail outlets all around the world and making a lot of money from an idea like a hair bobble. Sophie was 18-years-old when she had this idea and started her business. However, what makes this book so great is that she goes through every trial and tribulation that her business has faced, and wow there are many. Sophie’s raw telling of her life in business from copycat fakes, legal battles, shipment issues, fines and more, it would soon turn someone off thinking about starting a business. But this is vital reading for anyone that wants to start a business as it may seem like founders such as Ben Francis and Grace Beverley are living their best lives as owners of million-dollar businesses, but I can guarantee that their real-life situation is a lot like Sophie’s.
Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid
When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for ‘kidnapping’ the white child she’s actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events. Her employer Alix, a feminist blogger with a ‘personal brand’ and the best of intentions, resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke and wary of Alix’s desire to help. When she meets someone from Alix’s past, the two women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know – about themselves, each other, and the messy dynamics of privilege.
My rating: ★★★★
This book reminded me of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, in the way that the book was so vividly told, I could imagine this becoming a TV series in the near future. The book was incredibly realistic along with the characters and mannerisms of each individual. A modern book that covers racism, classism and being in your 20s with no idea what you want to do with your life while friends get engaged, promoted and buy their own houses. Such A Fun Age is a book that a lot of people in their 20s will relate to and very much enjoy.
Wonder Women: Inspiring Stories and Insightful Interviews with Women in Marketing by Giles Lury & Katy Mousinho (Gifted)
Every marketer knows the stories of Lord Lever, Charles Revson and Steve Jobs, has probably read Al Ries and Jack Trout, and seen the works of Bill Bernbach and John Hegarty. What’s interesting about these ‘Masters of Marketing’, is that they are all MEN. In Giles Lury’s and Katy Mousinho’s WONDER WOMEN, are the stories and insights from women who have had a tremendous influence on the marketing industry. There are stories of Brownie Wise who transformed Tupperware, Mary Wells Lawrence who founded the advertising agency Wells, Rich, Greene. Pulling the insights together to not only celebrate their success, but to provide role models and insights for great marketers to come.
My rating: ★★★★★
As someone working in influencer marketing, I’ve only just come to the realization that I am no longer really in the public relations sphere, but more in marketing. Something I never imagined that I’d be working in, but I’m finding it extremely interesting and loving how fast-paced it is. Wonder Women was a great book to read before starting my new influencer marketing role as I learnt the stories of many great women in the marketing world and what they have learnt in the industry, especially as a woman. The topic of having children during a successful career came up quite a lot, and was something I wrote about recently. I’m definitely feeling very empowered after reading so many great women-inspired books this month!
The Choice by Edith Eger
In 1944, sixteen-year-old Edith Eger was sent to Auschwitz. There she endured unimaginable experiences, including being made to dance for the infamous Josef Mengele. Over the coming months, Edith’s bravery helped her sister to survive, and led to her bunkmates rescuing her during a death march. When their camp was finally liberated, Edith was pulled from a pile of bodies, barely alive. In The Choice, Dr Edith Eger shares her experience of the Holocaust and the remarkable stories of those she has helped ever since. Today, she is an internationally acclaimed psychologist whose patients include survivors of abuse and soldiers suffering from PTSD. She explains how many of us live within a mind that has become a prison, and shows how freedom becomes possible once we confront our suffering.
My rating: ★★★★★
I had been recommended this book by a friend on numerous occasions and I can see why. After reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey, I realized that you can’t read enough of these books recounting the Holocaust to truly understand what these people went through and how they felt. Each book retells a different version of the same story, and each story doesn’t get easier to read. The Choice is an amazing book by an amazing woman who looks at her past experiences and knows that she has a choice in how she deals with it.
Binge Marketing by Carlijn Postma (Gifted)
How do you build a brand in a time of information overload where the media are so fragmented that you can barely get the attention of your audience? And how do you ensure that everyone tells the same story on all those channels? Carlijn Postma takes you to the place where content is the product and where people know how to attract and retain an audience: Hollywood. Binge Marketing is not another stuffy marketing book, but a refreshing look at marketing in the 21st century.
My rating: ★★★★
A very interesting book about looking at your brand content like that of someone who binge watches streaming services such as Netflix or Disney+. What makes viewers keep watching? What gets them hooked? What do great series and episodes have in common? The book takes you through the creation of television, gives examples of others that we can learn from and makes you think about the content you are sharing and on which platforms. A great book for content marketers, especially in this age.
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