The Birth Of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched A Revolution by Jonathan Eig

What combination of factors lead to the most popular form of birth control, so popular it came to be called, simply, The Pill? This brilliantly narrated and exhaustively researched nonfiction account lays bare the willpower, drive, brainpower and sheer persuasion that went into the tool that would change women’s lives forever. The reader is presented a heady mix of players each of whom brought something special — whether it be research abilities, money, or marketing power — to the table. In doing so, they changed the course of history. The key word in “birth control,” Eig reminds us, is “control.”

The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt

Harriet (Harry) Burden knows what it is like to play second fiddle to a man -- first her father and then her ex-husband, art dealer Felix Lord. An accomplished artist in her own right, Burden is convinced that the only way to gain recognition in the male-dominated art world is to show her work under the guise of three male artists. But what happens when the “unmasking” doesn’t go as planned -- when the quest for validation collides against more crass impulses like greed? Delving into issues of feminism, status, perception, this is one heck of a fiercely intelligent read.