The late Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, once famously said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
That’s a lesson that Know Your Value founder and Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski has long taken to heart. So in honor of National Reading Month and Read Across America Day on Friday (which coincides with Dr. Seuss’s birthday), we asked Mika which five books every Know Your Value woman needs to have on their bookshelf today. Here are her picks:
1. That’s What She Said: What Men Need To Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together by Joanne Lipman
Joanne Lipman’s new book dives into the issue of gender inequality in the workplace. The former USA Today editor-in-chief shares how she climbed to the top of a male-dominated industry and offers her insight and advice about how men and women can better work together.
Mika says that the book explores “the issue of our time, the challenges women face and how we need to step up.” She adds, “Many women’s voices are overlooked and then a guy in the same room has the same idea and gets all the credit. I love the value Joanne brings to the table with this discussion.”
2. The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self Assurance – What Women Should Know by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
BBC journalist Katty Kay and senior national correspondent for ABC’s Good Morning America Claire Shipman interview psychologists, business leaders, neuroscientists and other experts about what they call the “confidence gap” between men and women, noting women are highly educated and qualified but that men climb higher and faster up the corporate ladder. They offer women advice on how to close this gap to get what they want in both their work and professional lives.
“This book taps into one of the key issues that women face, one that’s simple and basic: a lack of confidence,” says Mika. “Katty walks us through how women can build their confidence … She’s a brilliant writer.”
3. Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard Around the World by The Women’s March Organizers and Conde Nast.
Former editor-in-chief of Glamour Cindi Leive recently released this new book, which includes a collection of essays from 2017’s historic women’s march. The march’s organizers tell their personal stories and explain how one idea became a global movement. Leive recently noted to Know Your Value that the march wasn’t centered on a single issue, but rather encompassed everything from race and LGBTQ issues - to reproductive rights. She predicted the women who have been marching can and will change the world.
“I’m awestruck by the number of women who have risen up and resisted and have even decided to run for office,” says Mika. “We should all get this book and support this movement.”
4. How Democracies Die by Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky
The two professors of comparative politics at Harvard argue in their recently-released book that democracy in the U.S. is facing similar threats that led to the demise of other nations while offering solutions on how America’s can be saved.
“Totalitarian leaders and autocrats are gaining ground across the globe … The fact that democracy is in decline makes this book a must-read,” says Mika.
5. Knowing Your Value: Women, Money, and Getting What You’re Worth by Mika Brzezinski
In her New York Times bestseller, Mika delves into the issue of why so many women are overlooked and underpaid, while offering practical solutions on how they can get the recognition and financial worth they deserve.
Mika notes that she’s re-releasing the book in the fall with new material. “I feel like it’s a responsibility to share the secrets of knowing your value, and most importantly reminding myself of the lessons that many women so easily forget.”