Want to recommend a feminist book? I’m ready to be a bookworm, send recs to TheFeministBride@gmail.com
Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding by Cele C. Otnes & Elizabeth H. Pleck (2003) -
This cultural analysis dives mostly into the historical consumerist side of the wedding. It offers a plethora of great, extremely detailed facts from diamond advertising campaigns to how terribly cheesy the honeymoon used to be (we’re talking champagne-shaped hot tubs and vibrating beds). The most eye-revealing findings are how business and consumerism created culture, as opposed to culture inspiring production. Many of our beloved traditional objects are the invention of fat cats in business suits looking to make a buck off romance and love. And how they’ve created a belief that wedded bliss is found with a $9.99 price tag. (Subject: Wedding, Tradition, Consumerism)
“Daughter of Earth“ by Agnes Smedley. An under-appreciated feminist novel, Agnes’s fictionalized personal memoir traverses 
her impoverished and brutal childhood to her equally straining, political adulthood. Daughter of Earth gives amazing insight into the issues of the working class proletariat during the Depression era. Smedley brings us an eye-opening account of how starvation, extreme poverty, brutal working conditions and a lack of education can shape the emotional and physical experience of an individual. The book also focuses heavily on the social conditions imposed on women from the limitations caused by marriage to a lack of birth control and over populated families, from domestic abuse to sexual freedoms. Aside from the book’s political nature and historical insight, it is a smooth read and a pleasure to read. Smedley should be remembered (and read) just as much as her feminist sisters!
“The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan. A feminist classic defining “the problem that had no name” for housewives in the mid-20th century. It’s a lengthy book, with a big mix of interesting facts and Friedan’s own personal observations as an anthropologist and writer. Great for understanding relationship dynamics, gender disparities, personal fulfillment issues and Second Wave Feminism.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood. This fiction 
story explores a time when women have lost complete control over their lives from their education to reproduction rights. It’s a scary tale of how far politics and big government can impede human rights, especially since there’s an underlying connection between, for example, today’s debates on abortion or LGBT rights. The book offers a stark reminder about how delicately human rights, particularly women’s right, hang in the balance. The book makes us realize how precious and important these rights are, but not until they are completely gone.
Here Comes the Bride (Women, Weddings, and the Marriage Mystique) 
by Jaclyn Geller (2001) – It’s safe to say Ms. Geller does not like marriage…at all. As much as it pains me to say this – Geller comes off as the stereotypical academic, angry feminist. Her lengthy analysis and historical facts are dead on and painfully honest, but at the risk that she even ostracizes her fellow feminists who chose to partake in this “negative hierarchical division.” This book is great for people who have no clue what marriage or a wedding is, but already know they don’t like the idea of it. Once you’ve passed the scathing commentary, you’ll be trampled by pages of wedding description that sound deceptively like a bridal magazine. Then there’s the C-list pop culture references that are so terribly dated it’s clear none of her research was done before the Internet really took off (as opposed The Feminine Mystique which remains almost timeless). Had Geller waited ten more years to publish, she would have had a much more poignant argument to make once she revealed that half the happy-wedded celebrities eventually divorced. The book’s research and feminist analysis are really quite good, but the effectiveness of Geller’s argument is lost in excessive, unnecessary detail and rampant, ugly emotions, to make matters worse after all is said and done she has no solutions to offer. (Subject: Feminism, Marriage, Weddings, Culture, History, Patriarchy)
“The History of the Wife” by Marilyn Yalom – One of my best reads ever. Highly detailed inhistory, but not too academic plus it’s paired with lots of personal interest stories from Lucy Stone to Queen Victoria making for an easy and extremely interesting read. Connects the history of marriage from Roman Times to 20th century, outlining the progression of marriage throughout history. Great for history buffs, very non-partisan.
“Making Marriage Modern” by Christina Simmons.
This was the first book that seemed to be written purely from an academic perspective. Where some of the previously reviewed books offered academic and personal perspectives, this one is limited to literary examples to make it personal. So it has moment of dullness, but shining moments as well. It dives into women’s sexuality in the early 20th century, but what really sets it apart is that it offers insight into the experience of African women and not just from a white, middle class perspective. Bookish, but offers an important perspective of the women’s sex and marriage movement at the time.
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The Vagina Monologues” by Eve-Ensler. I read this book while stuck in a layover in Arizona, where I found myself hiding the cover so as not to offend my fellow passengers. Then I read Eve’s inspiring words on why the word “Vagina” should be treated with pride and without shame; as a result, I found myself naturally raising the book cover to show it off. The book is endearing. The book reveals why a woman is sacred, important, secretive and yet powerfully vivacious. But it also brought attention to why and how a woman’s sexuality is oppressed through stereotypes, poor education, and molestation. I borrowed this book from a friend, who clearly bought it through a used bookstore which bought it off a male college student. The male college student had drawn penises penetrating orfices, used foul language and made comments about how he liked a girl in a submissive position in between the monologues that describe rape, molestation and general sex. I was appalled. If I learned anything, it was that based on the scribblings of a very immature coed that this type of book is just as imperative as ever. Next Valentine’s Day you can find me celebrating V-Day, I recommend you should do the same.