Why Books Deserves Way More Attention Than It Gets

Girl, let me tell you something nobody tells you about your 20s: the books you read right now will quite literally rewire your brain. I am not being dramatic. Your prefrontal cortex is still cooking until age 25, and the stories you feed it? They shape how you see money, love, your body, your career, and your worth.

But here is the thing — nobody hands you a reading list for survival. Your professors assign textbooks about microeconomics and Romantic poetry, but they never tell you about the book that teaches you how to negotiate your first salary. Or the one that explains why you keep dating emotionally unavailable men. Or the one that makes you feel less crazy when your roommate is a passive-aggressive nightmare.

So I made you one. These are the books every woman should read in her 20s — not because they are “classics” or because they look good on your Instagram story, but because they will actually save you time, money, heartbreak, and years of therapy. Let’s get into it.

The Book That Teaches You About Money (Before You Make a Mistake You Can’t Undo)

Listen, I know nobody taught you about compound interest or credit utilization ratios. Your high school “financial literacy” class was probably a 45-minute video about balancing a checkbook that you slept through. But here is the reality: your credit score matters more than your GPA for the rest of your life. Yeah, that is wild, right?

The book you need is “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi. I know the title sounds like a cheesy infomercial, but I promise you — this is the book that will stop you from making the same money mistakes your parents made. Ramit tells you exactly what bank accounts to open, how to automate your savings so you never have to think about it, and how to negotiate your first job offer without feeling like a fraud.

The best part? He gives you scripts. Actual words to say. So when your first employer offers you $40k and you know you deserve $48k, you are not sitting there stammering. You have a line ready.

The Book That Explains Why You Keep Falling for the Wrong Guys

Okay, sis. We need to talk about the attachment theory book that changed my entire life. I read “Attached” by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller when I was 23, and I literally had to put it down every few pages because I was like “oh my god, that is me. That is my ex. That is my situationship from sophomore year.”

This book breaks down the three attachment styles: anxious, avoidant, and secure. And here is the thing — once you know them, you cannot unsee them. You will start recognizing the avoidant guy who breadcrumbs you. You will understand why you feel anxious when he does not text back for six hours. And you will finally realize that it is not about “playing games” or “being too needy.” It is about attachment patterns that were wired in your childhood.

I read this book after a situationship that left me genuinely confused about whether I was the problem or he was. Turns out, we were both just running our old patterns. But I could not change mine until I understood what they were.

The Book That Helps You Stop Hating Your Body

I know. Another body image book. You have read them. You have rolled your eyes. But hear me out — “The Body Is Not an Apology” by Sonya Renee Taylor is different. It is not about “loving yourself at any size” in a cheesy, toxic positivity way. It is about radical self-love as a political act.

Sonya talks about how the diet industry makes $72 billion a year by making you feel like your body is a problem to be solved. She explains why you spend so much mental energy hating your thighs when you could be using that energy to start a business, write a book, or just enjoy your life.

I read this book at 24, right after I spent $400 on a “wellness retreat” that was basically just a fancy way of saying “weighing yourself in front of strangers.” It made me so angry at how much time and money I had wasted trying to shrink myself. But that anger turned into freedom.

The Book That Prepares You for the Real World (That Nobody Talks About)

You know what I wish someone had handed me at 18? A book that explained how to deal with a toxic boss. How to set boundaries with friends who drain you. How to stop being a people pleaser at work and in your relationships.

“Set Boundaries, Find Peace” by Nedra Glover Tawwab is the book that will teach you how to say no without feeling guilty. Nedra is a therapist who breaks down exactly what boundaries look like in real life — not just “protect your energy” Instagram captions, but actual scripts for saying “I cannot take on that project right now” or “I need you to stop commenting on my body.”

I used one of her scripts with my own mother last year. It was terrifying. But it worked. And now our relationship is better because I am not secretly resenting her.

The Book That Makes You Feel Less Alone in Your Career Struggles

If you are in your first job or an internship and you feel like you are faking it every single day, you need “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg. I know, I know — it got a lot of criticism, and some of it is fair. But the parts about impostor syndrome? The parts about how women are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet 100% of the qualifications while men apply when they meet 60%? That data is real, and it will change how you apply for your next role.

Sheryl talks about how women are trained to be “good girls” who wait to be noticed instead of advocating for themselves. And that hits hard because I bet you have sat in a meeting with an idea you were too scared to share, only to hear a male coworker say the exact same thing ten minutes later and get praised for it.

This book will make you mad. But that anger is fuel. Use it.

The Book That Teaches You About Friendship (The Kind You Actually Need)

Nobody warns you that your 20s are the loneliest decade. In high school and college, friends are built into your schedule. You see them in class, at the dining hall, in your dorm. But after graduation? You have to actually work to keep friends, and some friendships will naturally end.

“Big Friendship” by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman is the book about adult friendship that I did not know I needed. These two women have been best friends for over a decade, and they talk about the hard parts — the jealousy, the distance, the fights, the breakups. They even coined the term “shade” for when a friend subtly puts you down.

I read this after a friendship ended so painfully that I genuinely grieved it like a breakup. This book helped me understand that it was not my fault. Some friendships are for a season, and that is okay.

The Truth Nobody Tells You About Reading in Your 20s

Here is the thing nobody says out loud: you do not have to finish every book you start. I used to feel so guilty if I did not read every single page. But your time is valuable, and some books are just not for you right now. Put it down. Pick up another one.

Also? Audiobooks count. If you are commuting to class or walking across campus, put on an audiobook. I have “read” half of my books this year while doing dishes and folding laundry. Do not let anyone tell you that is cheating.

And listen — you do not need to read all of these at once. Pick one. The one that calls to you the most. Read a chapter a day. Let it marinate. Talk about it with your friends. That is how books actually change your life — not by sitting on your shelf looking pretty, but by getting inside your head and changing how you see the world.

This is the kind of stuff women talk about inside TechMae every single day. No judgment, just real ones keeping it real. We share which books changed our lives, which ones were a waste of money, and which ones we wish we had read years ago.

Related: This post is a must-read for women on their journey.

Start Here

Here is your one action for today: pick ONE book from this list. Go to your library’s Libby app or ThriftBooks right now. Download or order it. Read the first chapter tonight before bed. That is it. One chapter.

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