THE NEW CLASSICS: #GIRLBOSS BY SOPHIA AMORUSO Sophia Amoruso, one of the most prominent millennials in the world, is known as the founder and CEO of every girl’s favourite shopping destination, nastygal.com. But in her best selling book, she takes you back to the earlier and often much tougher days, before she became a Girl Boss, where she was not enjoying school and sometimes resorted to shoplifting, sharing the lessons she learnt along the way. It’s truly empowering to see that a young, professional woman of such success finds the strength to expose the less glamorous realities of her life and make herself vulnerable to the world, instead of striving to achieve an unrealistic image of perfection. Not only does this help girl bosses in the making to realize that even the women they look up to the most, who seemingly have it all, do not have ideal lives, but it’s also refreshing to read professional advice that is real and rid of any pretentious formalities.
BOOKS THAT EVERY GEN Y WOMAN SHOULD READ
“You value honesty over perfection. You ask questions. You take life seriously, but you don’t take yourself too seriously. You’re going to take over the world, and change it in the process. You’re a badass”. That’s one of the most characteristic pieces of advice Sophia offers, speaking to the reader just like she would to one of her girlfriends. And that’s exactly why you won’t be able to put this book down until you’ve devoured every single page.
NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL BY LENA DENHAM Lena Dunham describes herself as “a girl with a keen interest in having it all” and her recently launched book chronicles her numerous struggles in an attempt to achieve her goal, from her first time, to her difficulties in finding friends she fits in with and her experiments with one too many diets. What’s the point of sharing such personal and undeniably awkward moments with the world, you might ask? It’s definitely worth celebrating a woman who has the courage to tell her story, ignoring the social norm that defines female concerns as nothing but petty. As the author herself puts it: “if I could take all I’ve learnt and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine was worthwhile”. It’s the kind of book that might make you cringe at the overflow of inappropriate personal information shared at times, yet its brutal honesty will serve as a much-needed reminder that being an intelligent and successful young woman or even a pop-culture icon and Vogue cover girl, in the case of Lena Dunham, does not mean that you have to lead a flawless life. SEEKING LOVE FINDING OVERALLS BY LEANDRA MEDINE The prominent fashion blogger’s first book focuses on how memory of key life events is interlinked with the memory of our sartorial choices at that particular time. She chronicles her own milestones by remembering how she tried to seduce her first kindergarten crush by wearing a tent dress, how her ex-boyfriend wanted to have drinks with her again, when they bumped into each other on the subway and found her looking happy and independent in a pair of her signature harem pants or how her first paycheque for a commissioned article by Harper’s Bazaar was celebrated with a pair of leopard Miu Miu heels. Apart from a very interesting and undeniably fun subject matter, what will get you addicted to the book is its rawness. This is not about your typical Upper East Side girl who is trying to convince you of how perfect her life and closet are, instead she uses seemingly common experiences like picking your first pair of heels and breaking up with your boyfriend to discuss her journey of self-discovery and is not afraid to make fun of herself along the way. It’s probably enough to mention that she compares her first time to the perfect way Balmain pants fit on French Vogue’s Emmanuelle Alt to convince you that this is worth a read.
Given our affinity with everything digital, we might sometimes forget the pleasure of a good book. Not only reserved to be consumed during the summer as tanning companions, books can in fact offer you the perfect way to relax, switch-off and spend quality time by yourself, while simultaneously opening up your mind. Whether you are looking for a light-hearted read that will make you laugh, for some professional motivation or for a guidance at a difficult time, you can always find it in a good book. The list below covers a variety of inspiring reads, both current and of the past, which every girl in her twenties would benefit from reading. Now, if you choose to read on your Kindle or order the original paperback version on Amazon, that’s up to you...
THE SPIRITUAL READ: CREATIVE VISUALIZATION BY SHAKTI GAWAIN You’d never think that there was a time when fashion retail’s most important woman, Net-a-Porter CEO Natalie Massenet, did not have a life goal. Yet this was the case, as she herself admits to leaving university without a clue of what she wanted to do. When she started making her first career steps as a film production assistant, her vision began to take form albeit a vague one; she dreamt of a big, white space where a lot of young people with fresh ideas -62-