100 Books That Defined the Decade

Lindy West, Shrill (2016)

Feminism is really just the long slow realization that the things you love hate you.

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Essential stats: West’s first memoir was a New York Times bestseller, and the winner of The Stranger Genius Award. Right now, Amazon ranks it as the #23 bestseller in Hunting & Fishing Humor. (Sorry, this is no shade to Shrill, only shade to Amazon.) “Lindy West is the troll-fighting feminist warrior you’ve been waiting for,” the L.A. Times crowed. They were right.

Why was it important: In this decade, Lindy West has become one of the essential feminist voices in the culture. She’s funny, she’s brilliant, and she’s always, always unafraid. This book wasn’t the beginning of that, but it was her breakout moment. Take it from Caitlin Moran, who said “It’s literally the new Bible.” Ok!

Wait, isn’t this a show? Yep, Elizabeth Banks adapted West’s memoir into a television show for Hulu.

And one final moment to bask in the glory of West’s wedding dress (sorry, simply couldn’t be helped):

“It was a gorgeous, chaotic, loving, perfect day,” she wrote. “And I was fat as hell the whole time.”

I skipped the bridal boutiques altogether. My friend, artist and designer Mark Mitchell, and I conceived of the most beautiful dress we could imagine, which, according to the old orthodoxies, just happened to be the least “flattering” dress possible for a fat chick: a strapless, skin-tight mermaid gown exploding with silk flowers. The flowers—my god, the wisteria!—added extra bulk in areas I’m supposed to try and “slim”. The silhouette accentuated my stomach instead of camouflaging it. My arms looked like what they are—strong, and big. I didn’t wear Spanx. I was beautiful.

You really, really, love to see it.