A good reference book on woman and philosophy. I had to go back to the philosophical woman told in the book. I wanted to do more research on them. So I took a pen and a notepad and made a list. I'm glad to had so much more reference now. Good narrator too. All around thank you Regan Penaluna for this audiobook!

A great overview of women in philosophy and in the academic world. Very accessible read and I loved the introduction to women who should be more well known

Would definitely recommend this audiobook!
Part history, part memoir, this is compelling topic that I think most people can enjoy.
It’s important to learn more about women’s history and contributions to history. I enjoyed being introduced to some new people I’d never heard of. Very to the point and I think an enlightening and fun read.

A truly fascinating and thought provoking book that left me with a new appreciation for philosophy.

When thinking about philosophy, I always pictured an old white boys’ club. I had only ever heard of one female philosopher, and she seemed sensationalized and watered down.

This book changed my view on philosophy and let me actually appreciate what it is and how hard these female philosophers worked to share their work.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A very interesting and insightful book. I enjoyed the narration of the audiobook version and the topics covered by the work were fascinating and intriguing. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in philosophy, but doesn’t quite know where to start. Overall, a pretty great work of non-fiction.

How to Think Like a Woman is a blunt look at the deep current of misogyny that runs through the work of many famous thinkers, the logical fallacies and bigotry that caused them to relegate women and people of colour to lower rungs of human existence with lesser abilities of thought blended in with short biographies of four historical female thinkers and the author's own experiences as a female academic in the field of philosophy. That personal element, the ways in which the author was forever changed by her research into forgotten female philosophers, added another layer of complexity and meaning to this work that I (mostly) enjoyed.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, though I do have some criticisms. I found the insight into the history of female philosophers and their interactions with their male contemporaries of the day fascinating, just as I found the revelations of how they've been plagiarized and erased from the history of the discipline enraging (yet unsurprising).

It's equally as enraging (yet unsurprising) that many of the classic philosophers who are lauded as the greatest thinkers of our species were hugely misogynistic and racist, incapable of viewing women or people of colour as intelligent and worth listening to. T

While I enjoyed the audiobook (it was very well narrated), I believe this book might be better consumed in physical form for ease of making note of quotes, facts, and areas for further research.

In a serendipitous turn of events, I listened to this shortly after finishing Love and Fury, which is a historical fiction novel based on Mary Wollstonecraft's life, who was one of the four philosophers highlighted in this book!

I would have loved a deeper dive into the philosophies of each of the women featured and a little less focus on the facts of their (and the author's) lives. I enjoyed both aspects, but I did feel that the bulk of the work seemed to lean towards (auto)biography rather than focusing on the ideas themselves, which is a disservice to readers unfamiliar with these thinkers' work.

Nonetheless, I would love to read more work by this author, ideally diving even deeper into the minds of many more female philosophers throughout history, sharing their ideas and life stories.


Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.


Trigger/Content Warnings: misogyny, racism, slavery, sexual assault

As an Art Historian who focuses on women's art and everything that entails I thought this would be a stellar book for me but I didn't really connect with the authror's memoir moments and I feel the women and their philosophy were given to us in a manner befitting spark notes. I know this was written for a popular nonfiction audience and not academia but it just was not enough for me to both learn and retain this information about when who should excite me to no end! I made it to the 50% but had no desire to continue. I'm sure this is perfect for someone but not me...

I think there were many learning moments while listening to the audiobook and I would still recommend people to read, but it was difficult for me to stay engaged. I do thank the publisher and Netgalley for an arc. I will be recommending this to friends and other readers.

This book made me re-think of what women should be thinking and how women should be thinking.
The jargon of this book definitely made me question my knowledge of vocabulary, but it challenged me in a good way.

This book used a quote from Hildegard Von Bingen and as soon as I heard that, I was immediately hooked. Hildegard is a female composer from the Medieval period and she was one of the first "girl bosses" of her time. All four female philosophers had different ays of looking at life and how they thought. It gave me something to think about as I walk the rest of my life.

This book was not boring per se, but I would not give this another read on my own accord. I appreciate the read and the knowledge that it gave me. Maybe if I was more philosophical...... or interested in this philosophy of these four women I would have been more intrigued.

I had a hard time getting through this one. I wanted to like it because I love reading about historical figures that are women, but this was not what I expected. I enjoyed listening to the author's story and how philosophy shaped basically her entire life. However, the way that the philosophers' stories were built into the story was a bit awkward. It went from memoir to historical lecture, which was jarring every time and felt like classwork. I wish the author stuck to one or the other or incorporated the philosophers' stories a bit differently, maybe weaving the stories into her own narrative. The narrator was also a bit monotone, which did not help keep me engaged.

Part memoir and part non-fiction, but I have to be honest I was much more entranced by the non-fiction sections. Maybe in part because I truly had no idea who the author was prior to reading this or because the writing of the non-fiction section was so easy to devour. I have never been one for philosophy readings, but this books focusing solely on women philosophers was amazing especially in an academic field where women are often under represented. As a woman in higher education I found myself relating often to the author and her struggle to find her voice in the sea of academia. Personally it wasn't my favorite, but I will be recommending this to a philosophy major I know.

I was totally intrigued by the potential of "How to Think Like a Woman" - I'm always a fan of spotlighting underrepresented voices in fields largely dominated by men. I had gone into this hoping we would have dived a bit deeper into the actual philosophical arguments these women we making, instead of it reading as largely biographical. I really enjoyed the personal chapters from the author, since those felt like they were starting to lean in that direction, but I don't think this one quite got there for me. I'd say it's still worth checking out though, especially if you're a philosophy reader!

A unique and captivating read!

Part memoir, part mini biography, How to Think Like a Woman by Regan Penaluna far exceeded my expectations. The author beautifully intertwines the historical accounts of four feminist philosophers with the story of her experiences in a male-dominated field - from academia to contemporary philosopher.

I found the writing engaging and informative, yet palatable enough for a wider audience. Academic non-fiction isn’t my preferred genre, but Penaluna’s relatable anecdotes and healthy dose of humor made this read all the more enjoyable!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an arc of How to Think Like a Woman in exchange for an honest review.

Audio ARC provided by NetGalley.

This felt like assigned reading. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. The brief glimpses into the author’s own life as it relates to the subject matter offered reprieves, and I believe the moves from past to present saved this novel.

Now, to clarify, this would be good assigned reading. I would not complain if I were to read this novel for a class and spend a few hours lectured on its’ material.

The stories of female philosophers, many of whom I’d not previously heard of, were wonderful to hear. I’m glad to know now of these women who were overshadowed by their sex and status, who too alongside their male
counterparts were brilliant thinkers.

An interesting exploration of the biases in philosophical teachings, still being learnt today.

Why are women and minorities such a small percentage of philosophers? Partially simply because none of their work is being taught, that does not mean their works are not of worth. There are few women and minorities in historical, philosophical teachings due to biases of the day, this has lead to a lack of these being taught down the chain and therefore many valid and skilful philosophers are completely passed over. Of course there were fewer in existence, as women were not permitted to study for such a long time, but there are still some which retaliated against those societal norms.



Genuinely fascinating. I enjoy the way the author punctuates the texts with her own accounts, it makes it relatable and had me asking myself questions. I also learnt a lot about ancient philosophers, which I had no idea of as I have not studied philosophy. I respect how everything has been made easily digestible for a layman such as myself.

The narrator was great, she spoke clearly and made things easy to understand, I felt she was very good at portraying the authors personal experiences.

How to Think Like a Woman: Four Women Philosophers Who Taught Me How to Love the Life of the Mind by Regan Penaluna is part memoir, part philosophy manual.

Penaluna walks readers through her own evolution as she discovered the women philosophers who have been marginalized and overlooked and how she altered her scholarly focus to learn more about the contributions of key female philosophers in the 17th and 18th centuries. The book begins with going into detail on how certain male philosophers discussed women's abilities to engage in the life of the mind (alas, some of her examples were of her own professors, a discouraging take, albeit not surprising by any accounts).

Then Penaluna delves into four notable women that shaped philosophy and challenged the thinking and work of men around them: Mary Astell, Damaris Masham, Catharine Cockburn, and Mary Wollstonecraft.

Through this lens of scholarship, we are also given insights into Penaluna's life, particularly the start and end of her marriage to another philosopher. It is natural to make some conclusions about the misperceptions faced by women yet today, while finding some progress and hope.

The audiobook is adeptly narrated by Angie Kane. I enjoyed experiencing it in that medium, but I had only one personal drawback from it. I am a visual learner; while I have some passing knowledge of philosophers (and, in fact, am myself married to a philosophy professor at a small liberal arts college), if I wasn't paying close attention, I could lose track of which philosopher I was learning about. As such, having the ebook version was a welcome balance to mark up and refer to.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

I loved this. It was fascinating and insightful. I especially loved the memoir-like element. I was expecting more a straight nonfiction but enjoyed the narrative nonfiction element. I learned a lot and overall loved this collection. Highly recommended.

I listened to this on a whim after being drawn in first by the cover and then by the intriguing blurb. I am so glad I did, what an interesting and important work.

There were so many amazing women featured who I’d never heard of, which is terrible given all that they achieved, but this book is a big step in writing that wrong. It is beautifully written, engaging and accessible, and it’s very easy to dip in and out of thanks to its clear structure. I learned so much from each chapter and was truly inspired by the stories Penaluna shines a light on. I’ll definitely be off to do further reading now, it’s very inspiring!

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator Angie Kane was super engaging. Non-fiction books can be hard to get into at times but I never felt that way with this one, thanks to both the writer herself and the narrator’s delivery.

I would absolutely recommend this to everyone, as these incredible women’s stories ought to be heard. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fantastic and knowledgeable read. I've never been inclined towards philosophy but the title was way too intriguing to pass on.

This book is part memoir, part history. I never thought philosophy to be male-dominated, but that is just ignorance on my part and Penalune broke my bubble in the best way possible. The women she has talked about, the woman she is, and the women we all are, are written in a way that makes you wonder how much, if at all, our society has changed.

I urge every person to give this a chance, just to have a whole day to sit and think about your existence but in a good way. I wish I finished this last month, it would have been the perfect read for women's history month.

This non-fiction book details the author's own experiences with sexism and the patriarchy in philosophy academia, as well as exploring the lives and works of four female philosophers who influenced both her work and personal life.

Being a philosophy graduate, and due to the lack of discussion surrounding female philosophers and the absence of female philosophers on university syllabuses, this book totally grabbed my attention. I loved the balance of the personal alongside the philosophical history in here - learning about the four female philosophers was interesting and informative, and experiencing this alongside the author's personal story, and learning about how her philosophy studies impacted her personal life, was fascinating.

This was entertaining and educational with empowering feminine vibes, which is exactly what I wanted. I'd highly recommend this to anyone wanted to learn more about female philosophers.