Here are 100 books that Yale Needs Women fans have personally recommended if you like Yale Needs Women. Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Campus Traditions: Folklore from the Old-Time College to the Modern Mega-University

Seth Mallios Author Of Hail Montezuma! The Hidden Treasures of San Diego State

From my list on the surprising histories of college campuses.

Why am I passionate about this?

I find the archaeology of here to be just as interesting and enlightening as any faraway land. For those of us at universities, that means that the campus itself is worthy of historical, archaeological, and anthropological study. I have been San Diego State’s University History Curator for decades and never tire of uncovering new insights into an institution with a 125-year history, nearly 500,000 alumni, and a bevy of bizarre tales. Whether it be hidden student murals, supernatural claims from the gridiron, or disputed dinosaur footprints, the immediate landscape of our workplace is often full of historical treasures.

Seth's book list on the surprising histories of college campuses

Seth Mallios Why Seth loves this book

Campus Traditions is a complete study of college culture that spans centuries and all of the United States. It is thorough, entertaining, and presents a clear evolution of post-secondary education from old-time colleges to today’s mega-university. Professors and students from all fields will recognize their university in this book and marvel at traditions that were thought to have been unique to their school but are, in fact, part of a much greater national trend.

By Simon J. Bronner ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Campus Traditions as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From their beginnings, campuses emerged as hotbeds of traditions and folklore. American college students inhabit a culture with its own slang, stories, humor, beliefs, rituals, and pranks. Simon J. Bronner takes a long, engaging look at American campus life and how it is shaped by students and at the same time shapes the values of all who pass through it. The archetypes of absent-minded profs, fumbling jocks, and curve-setting dweebs are the stuff of legend and humor, along with the all-nighters, tailgating parties, and initiations that mark campus tradition--and student identities. Undergraduates in their hallowed halls embrace distinctive traditions because…


If you love Yale Needs Women...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Book cover of Thomas Jefferson's Education

Seth Mallios Author Of Hail Montezuma! The Hidden Treasures of San Diego State

From my list on the surprising histories of college campuses.

Why am I passionate about this?

I find the archaeology of here to be just as interesting and enlightening as any faraway land. For those of us at universities, that means that the campus itself is worthy of historical, archaeological, and anthropological study. I have been San Diego State’s University History Curator for decades and never tire of uncovering new insights into an institution with a 125-year history, nearly 500,000 alumni, and a bevy of bizarre tales. Whether it be hidden student murals, supernatural claims from the gridiron, or disputed dinosaur footprints, the immediate landscape of our workplace is often full of historical treasures.

Seth's book list on the surprising histories of college campuses

Seth Mallios Why Seth loves this book

Whereas many books research the history of higher education are full of lofty ideals and collegiate high jinks, Alan Taylor’s book Thomas Jefferson’s Education is an insightful yet sobering look at the historical context and inception of the University of Virginia. This text is no hagiography and details how Jefferson’s university was deeply intertwined with slavery and many of the elitist vices common to Virginia gentry.

By Alan Taylor ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Thomas Jefferson's Education as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

By turns entertaining and tragic, this beautifully crafted history reveals the origins of a great university in the dilemmas of Virginia slavery. Thomas Jefferson shares centre stage with his family and fellow planters, all dependent on the labour of enslaved black families. With a declining Virginia yielding to commercially vibrant northern states, in 1819 Jefferson proposed to build a university to educate and improve the sons of the planter elite. He hoped they might one day lead a revitalised Virginia free of slavery-and free of the former slaves.

Jefferson's campaign was a contest for the future of a state…


Book cover of The Lost Boys of Zeta Psi: A Historical Archaeology of Masculinity at a University Fraternity

Seth Mallios Author Of Hail Montezuma! The Hidden Treasures of San Diego State

From my list on the surprising histories of college campuses.

Why am I passionate about this?

I find the archaeology of here to be just as interesting and enlightening as any faraway land. For those of us at universities, that means that the campus itself is worthy of historical, archaeological, and anthropological study. I have been San Diego State’s University History Curator for decades and never tire of uncovering new insights into an institution with a 125-year history, nearly 500,000 alumni, and a bevy of bizarre tales. Whether it be hidden student murals, supernatural claims from the gridiron, or disputed dinosaur footprints, the immediate landscape of our workplace is often full of historical treasures.

Seth's book list on the surprising histories of college campuses

Seth Mallios Why Seth loves this book

Laurie Wilkie uses multiple lines of evidence, including recently uncovered archaeological artifacts, oral histories, old photographs, and the campus landscape, to examine daily life at UC Berkeley’s first fraternity. Her intriguing study offers insights into the notion of the early modern university as well as changing definitions of masculinity during the early 20th century.

By Laurie A. Wilkie ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Lost Boys of Zeta Psi as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The Lost Boys of Zeta Psi" takes us inside the secret, amusing, and sometimes mundane world of a California fraternity around 1900. Gleaning history from recent archaeological excavations and from such intriguing sources as oral histories, architecture, and photographs, Laurie A. Wilkie uncovers details of everyday life in the first fraternity at the University of California, Berkeley, and sets this story into the rich social and historical context of West Coast America at the turn of the last century. In particular, Wilkie examines men's coming-of-age experiences in a period when gender roles and relations were undergoing dramatic changes. Her innovative…


If you love Anne Gardiner Perkins...

Book cover of Sexy Selfie Nation: Standing Up for Yourself in Today's Toxic, Sexist Culture

Sexy Selfie Nation by Leora Tanenbaum,

The problem is not with the actions young women take but with the toxic, sexist conditions they are responding to.

Tanenbaum found, based on six years of interviews with young people ages 14-30, that young women are navigating a culture littered with gendered dress codes, revenge porn, and sexually explicit…

Book cover of Haunted Halls: Ghostlore of American College Campuses

Seth Mallios Author Of Hail Montezuma! The Hidden Treasures of San Diego State

From my list on the surprising histories of college campuses.

Why am I passionate about this?

I find the archaeology of here to be just as interesting and enlightening as any faraway land. For those of us at universities, that means that the campus itself is worthy of historical, archaeological, and anthropological study. I have been San Diego State’s University History Curator for decades and never tire of uncovering new insights into an institution with a 125-year history, nearly 500,000 alumni, and a bevy of bizarre tales. Whether it be hidden student murals, supernatural claims from the gridiron, or disputed dinosaur footprints, the immediate landscape of our workplace is often full of historical treasures.

Seth's book list on the surprising histories of college campuses

Seth Mallios Why Seth loves this book

Elizabeth Tucker’s highly entertaining and informative Haunted Halls: Ghostlore of American College Campuses is an intricate study of college-campus folklore centered on the supernatural. She painstakingly breaks down the patterns and meanings behind these ghost stories, which reveal important societal lessons for a volatile student body entering the liminal state that is post-secondary education.

By Elizabeth Tucker ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Haunted Halls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Why do so many American college students tell stories about encounters with ghosts? In Haunted Halls, the first book-length interpretive study of college ghostlore, Elizabeth Tucker takes the reader back to school to get acquainted with a wide range of college spirits. Some of the best-known ghosts that she discusses are Emory University\'s Dooley, who can disband classes by shooting professors with his water pistol; Mansfield Uni-versity\'s Sara, who threw herself down a flight of stairs after being rejected by her boyfriend; and Huntingdon College\'s Red Lady, who slit her wrists while dressed in a red robe. Gettysburg College students…


Book cover of Ninth House

Sophie Haeder Author Of Dohva - The Land Within: A Tale of Elemental Sorcery and Ancient Mysteries

From my list on fantasy that keeps you wondering what comes next.

Why am I passionate about this?

Fantasy, mystery, magic, and otherworldly realms—these have fascinated me since childhood. Growing up in Landshut, a town straight out of a fairytale, with misty hills and an ancient castle, I’ve always felt surrounded by magic. It makes you wonder what secrets lie in the woods or castle grounds. I crave fast-paced, suspenseful, fantastical books with a dash of romance and just enough weirdness to keep things exciting. If you’re like me and love stories that keep you guessing, check out my list of the best fantasy books that do just that. Plus, my debut Epic Fantasy novel is coming out this year, and it fits right into that category!

Sophie's book list on fantasy that keeps you wondering what comes next

Sophie Haeder Why Sophie loves this book

This story follows Alex, a girl haunted by ghosts only she can see. Because of this extraordinary ability, she gets—despite being a crime suspect—chooses to go to Yale and oversee their secret societies that meddle with magic. As she tries to rebuild her life, the death of a girl and her suspicions about the societies pull her back into danger.

The book’s intricate plot and suspense have made me read it multiple times, with its vividly real world, societies, and characters making me eager to visit New Haven and see if it matches the story. Its twists and turns ensure you'll be hooked and constantly wondering what comes next. Also, I've loved Yale since I first saw Gilmore Girls.

By Leigh Bardugo ,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Ninth House as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*The adult debut from the author of SHADOW AND BONE - now a Netflix Original series!*

The instant SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestseller that Stephen King calls 'Impossible to put down'.

Galaxy 'Alex' Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale's freshman class. A dropout and the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved crime, Alex was hoping for a fresh start. But a free ride to one of the world's most prestigious universities was bound to come with a catch.

Alex has been tasked with monitoring the mysterious activities of Yale's secret societies - well-known haunts of the…


Book cover of The Bell Jar

Margaret Gardiner Author Of Damaged Beauty

From my list on working out who you really are.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever had anyone say something about you with utter conviction that isn’t true? Have you ever looked at someone famous and thought their life looked perfect? Ever felt not enough because of the way you look? As a former Miss Universe, international model, fashion editor, and entertainment journalist with a degree in psychology, I’ve lived these truths vicariously. I’m fascinated with image, perception, and truth. What’s behind the smile? What happens when the lights dim? Who are you when no one is watching? What secrets do you hide, how do they damage you, and what will you do to keep them hidden? I’ve been the target. I know the cost.

Margaret's book list on working out who you really are

Margaret Gardiner Why Margaret loves this book

Illusion. Women’s framing. Adrift in a world everyone thinks is perfect. Living the glamorous life others want. Being the thing men desire to have, to own, as long as the veneer holds. Dealing with mental illness that people explain away because all the tinsel is just dressing and sparkles, but if you lean on it, it parts, and you find yourself falling through the space.

Although ‘they’ say they care, they don’t, and no one wants to hear the truth, they only want pretend. Within the first five pages, we understand what’s going on inside her, that she has something to hide, and that she’s willing to lie about who she really is. In chapter one, we discover that her best friend, Doreen, doesn’t really know her name. We see the world through her eyes, interspaced with an actual conversation that calls the world a lie and her own framing…

By Sylvia Plath ,

Why should I read it?

17 authors picked The Bell Jar as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

I was supposed to be having the time of my life.

When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther's life begins to slide out of control. She finds herself spiralling into depression and eventually a suicide attempt, as she grapples with difficult relationships and a society which refuses to take women's aspirations seriously.

The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath's only novel, was originally published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria…


If you love Yale Needs Women...

Book cover of Crossing: A Chinese Family Railroad Novel

Crossing by Lisa Redfern,

Crossing is a vividly human re-imagining of the love, sacrifices, and accomplishments that two Chinese brothers - American Immigrants - experience as they travel to California to build the Transcontinental Railroad. 

Book cover of Wait for You

K.B. Andrews Author Of Shattered

From my list on beautiful romances that bloomed from trauma or grief.

Why am I passionate about this?

So many people want perfection. There are so many books out there where boy meets girl, they fall in love, get married, and have a happily ever after. But the books on my list show you that not everything is perfect. Life isn’t perfect. Things aren’t always good or happy. I like when something beautiful is born from something ugly, and every book on this list is exactly that. Perfect with imperfections.

K.B.'s book list on beautiful romances that bloomed from trauma or grief

K.B. Andrews Why K.B. loves this book

Wait for You by Jennifer L. Armentrout was a book I read long ago, and it's one that still sticks with me to this day. It's a book I've read and reread.

I love how the main character, Avery, is flawed–making her feel real. And I love Cam and how patient he is with her. Avery is a character who's had some trauma, and she's running. Little does she know she's running right into the arms of the man she's supposed to be with. These characters felt so real.

The writing was good, but not over the top to where I had to stop and think, "Who talks like this?" And it was paced perfectly–the couple grew to be closer over a longer amount of time rather than to meet, fall in love, and overcome everything in a matter of days or weeks. It's another example of something beautiful coming…

By Jennifer L. Armentrout ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Wait for You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 New York Times and USA Today Bestseller

“J. Lynn creates a wonderful cast of characters that will make you laugh, swoon, and cry. Cam stole my heart.”

—Cora Carmack, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Losing It

Some things are worth waiting for...

Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago--an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left…


Book cover of Hidden

T.K. Eldridge Author Of Dead & Buried

From my list on mysteries to get your blood pumping.

Why am I passionate about this?

After spending nearly two decades working in technology and Intelligence—working with law enforcement from all different agencies—I developed an appreciation and understanding of the worst that humans can do to each other. My specialty was domestic counterterrorism and foreign policy—and I did everything from developing software for chem/bio work to White House briefings. I have studied profiling and analysis in academic and real world settings – I have two Masters degrees – Strategic Intelligence & Criminal Justice – from American Military University, both with a minor in Terrorism Studies. While the academic background is great, the real-life experiences are what taught me the most – and find their way into my stories.

T.K.'s book list on mysteries to get your blood pumping

T.K. Eldridge Why T.K. loves this book

When Lacey Campbell escapes a serial killer as a co-ed, she helped send him to prison for life. Years later, she’s a forensic scientist, working for the Medical Examiner and the case comes back to haunt her. 

Elliot’s skill with writing chilling suspense and steamy romance – combined with a knowledge of forensics – leaves the reader always wanting more. Luckily, there are five books in the Bone Secrets series, so there’s a lot more to enjoy. 

What drew me to Kendra Elliot’s work was a review someone else wrote where they said her accuracy and penchant for realism were so good that they (a forensic scientist in real life) didn’t get pulled out of the story by any errors. 

That reviewer was right. The accuracy, combined with the twists and turns in the stories, have you reading with the lights on. (My favorite kind of book!)

By Kendra Elliot ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hidden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hidden is the first book in Bone Secrets, the multimillion-copy bestselling series.

Eleven years ago, the Co-ed Slayer murdered nine female students on the Oregon State University campus. Lacey Campbell barely escaped his attack, but lost her best friend whose remains were never found. As the sole surviving victim, Lacey helped send the sadistic serial killer to prison for life.

Now a forensic odontologist examining teeth and bones for the state Medical Examiner, Lacey is devastated when she arrives at a crime scene and identifies the skeletal remains as her college friend's.

The remains are discovered on the land of…


Book cover of Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir

Shandi Stevenson Author Of Worldchangers

From my list on Christian biographies to meet lifelong friends.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been a voracious reader and was blessed with parents who filled my home with books, who read to me, and who exposed me to both true and fictional stories that expanded my heart and nourished my imagination. I grew up on Christian biographies, along with devouring history and novels. I was shaped, nourished, and strengthened by the stories of real men and women who lived lives that mattered, and who understood that God never puts His children in times, in places, or in circumstances where He cannot enable them to shine brightly, and where they cannot speak truth and compassion into the darkness.

Shandi's book list on Christian biographies to meet lifelong friends

Shandi Stevenson Why Shandi loves this book

I’ve always wanted to study literature at Oxford University. I never have and almost certainly never will, but Carolyn Weber is the friend I would have made if I had that opportunity, and thanks to this powerful, luminous memoir I still got to “meet” that friend and experience what our long conversations over tea might have been like. 

Weber’s deeply honest story of discovering Christianity while stumbling upon the footsteps of other seekers after truth and beauty at an ancient university made both an old, old town and the ancient truth of the Gospel seem bright and fresh. 

By Carolyn Weber ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Surprised by Oxford as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Carolyn Weber set out to study Romantic literature at Oxford University, she didn't give much thought to God or spiritual matters-but over the course of her studies she encountered the Jesus of the Bible and her world turned upside down. Surprised by Oxford chronicles her conversion experience with wit, humor, and insight into how becoming a Christian changed her.

Carolyn Weber arrives at Oxford a feminist from a loving but broken family, suspicious of men and intellectually hostile to all things religious. As she grapples with her God-shaped void alongside the friends, classmates, and professors she meets, she tackles…


If you love Anne Gardiner Perkins...

Book cover of Child of Vanris

Child of Vanris by Nikki McCormack,

At five years old, Kasiel was found with the pointed ends of his ears cut off. Despite that brutal start, he’s lived twelve peaceful years with the man who took him in. Keeping his hair long over his mutilated ears helps him hide the fact that he is Vanrian, a…

Book cover of Rush

Jana Mathews Author Of The Benefits of Friends: Inside the Complicated World of Today's Sororities and Fraternities

From my list on making you wish you joined a sorority or fraternity.

Why am I passionate about this?

In 2011, I was a newly minted college professor who was trying to support my students’ interests (Greek life) in hopes that they would return the favor and support mine (medieval literature). Never in a million years would I have guessed that accepting an invitation to attend a Greek event on campus would snowball into receiving a bid to join a National Panhellenic Conference sorority and serve as its faculty advisor. Somewhere along the way, I realized that my perspective uniquely positioned me to shed new light on the longstanding controversies plaguing these organizations and provide a new lens through which to view their impact not only on campus culture but society at large. 

Jana's book list on making you wish you joined a sorority or fraternity

Jana Mathews Why Jana loves this book

The ‘sorority girl’ is a stock character in most novels set on American college campuses, and you’ll be hard pressed to find one who isn’t portrayed as beautiful but vapid and one misstep away from the twin horrors of having a bad hair day and witnessing their ex leave a party with their best friend.

Patton’s novel self-consciously leans into the stereotypes of white Greek culture at a big southern university, which makes its critique of that culture and its broader cast of characters both funny in their exaggeration and horrifying in their appeal.

This is exactly the kind of sorority-themed novel you would expect from the genre but also, because of a couple of unexpected twists, the one you never saw coming.

By Lisa Patton ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rush as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Bestselling author Lisa Patton digs into exciting new territory with Rush, a story about mothers and daughters, sisterhood, tradition, and doing the right thing, now in trade paperback with a new epilogue!

Experience the phenomenon from a front row seat...

It’s move-in day for college freshmen on the Ole Miss campus. Nobody wants to fit in more than Cali, a bright, small town girl with family secrets too scandalous for the well-to-do to imagine. Sorority rush is weeks away and without a pedigree, Cali doesn’t have much of a chance at membership. Her dorm room alone is as plain as…


Book cover of Campus Traditions: Folklore from the Old-Time College to the Modern Mega-University
Book cover of Thomas Jefferson's Education
Book cover of The Lost Boys of Zeta Psi: A Historical Archaeology of Masculinity at a University Fraternity

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