Books Archives | She Seeks Nonfiction

A Revolutionary Feminist History: A Review of Women, Race & Class by Angela Davis

May 28, 2023May 28, 2023Rebekah Kohlhepp

It is not uncommon in school to learn about women’s suffrage. Most of us are familiar with the names of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton because of it. As far as feminist history, this is often the beginning and the end of the story. If we want to know about the lives of women under slavery, the role that Black men and women played in achieving women’s suffrage, the treatment of working-class women by suffragists, and the stances that Black women took on the abortion and anti-rape movements, then we have to look elsewhere. Angela Davis’s 1981 masterpiece Women, Race & Class is where you can find all this and more. High school and college classrooms around the country would do well to add it to their syllabi.

Reframing Sex, Consent, and Pregnancy: A Review of Ejaculate Responsibly

May 21, 2023May 21, 2023Rebekah Kohlhepp

Gabrielle Blair’s book Ejaculate Responsibly has been praised online as a much-needed shift in the way that we talk about abortion. That seems appropriate, as the book’s subtitle is literally A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion.

The Case for Trans Liberation: A Review of The Transgender Issue

March 26, 2023March 25, 2023Rebekah Kohlhepp

Shon Faye’s The Transgender Issue: Trans Justice is Justice for All is the first book I’ve read that is solely dedicated to the trans issue. Only… trans people are not an issue at all. They are millions of people fighting to survive. Faye’s pointed and ironic title is the first way that she flips the mainstream treatment of trans people on its head.

Dreaming of a Free Future: A Review of Becoming Abolitionists

March 5, 2023March 7, 2023Rebekah Kohlhepp

Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom by Derecka Purnell was my first step in my own journey toward abolitionism. I started reading it days after the footage of Tyre Nichols’ murder became public. I’ve known since 2020—embarrassingly late—that policing was a racist institution, and since then I’ve hovered around the “defund the police” area. I didn’t take a hard stance because I didn’t know enough about abolition. But Nichols’ murder, in which five Black cops with body cams used their hands to murder someone, pushed me over the edge. Reform and defunding don’t work. We need abolition.

Science in Low Places: A Review of A People’s History of Science

January 16, 2023January 16, 2023Rebekah Kohlhepp

I love to seek out science history books that tell the stories of unsung heroes. Anything that doesn’t begin and end with Newton, that doesn’t praise Darwin’s work of genius, that doesn’t repeat the somber myth of Galileo’s persecution, is what I want. Clifford Conner’s 2005 book A People’s History of Science: Miners, Midwives, and “Low Mechanicks” exemplifies this worthy retelling of the story of science better than anything I’ve ever read.

27 Books I Never Finished

December 25, 2022December 24, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

I read a lot of books… or at least I try to. I also start a lot of books that I never end up finishing for a variety of reasons. I’ve decided to share them with you for the first time ever. Here is six years’ worth of books that landed in my DNF pile!

What White Male Supremacy Means for the Rest of Us: A Review of Mediocre

December 18, 2022December 17, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

I should have liked Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo. I loved Oluo’s first book, So You Want To Talk About Race, and I always learn so much from similar books on racism and feminism.

The White Power of the Damsel in Distress: A Review of White Tears/Brown Scars

December 4, 2022December 2, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

Ruby Hamad’s 2020 book White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color is a paradigm-shifting work that combines history, personal experience, and media analysis to show how the tears of white women are far from harmless. If you think you know feminism—or even if you think you know intersectional feminism—you must read this book.

Nonfiction November 2022: New to My TBR

November 28, 2022November 28, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

A wise woman once said, “[November] is short but also, like, terribly and insufferably long at the same time.”

Nonfiction November started on Halloween, which I believe was about 25 years ago. Now, Thanksgiving is already over and it’s Christmas! And it’s still Nonfiction November!

Nonfiction November 2022: Worldview Changers

November 21, 2022November 21, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

The time for me to host my first ever Nonfiction November prompt is finally here!

This week, I’m asking you to share the book or books that have changed the way you see the world.