Barbie was my childhood toy of choice. I had a small collection of Barbie dolls (maybe 15 in all, including one Ken doll). Some of those were my mother’s dolls. In my era of playing with Barbie, she was always the fashionista from Malibu. We didn’t really think of her in the many roles that have been introduced since the mid-80’s.

Barbie was rebranded with the idea of empowering young girls through their toys. Instead of Barbie just being a fashionista, she has taken on some serious roles in her rebrand, such as doctor, president, CEO, astronaut, etc. Girls no longer just see Barbie mindlessly spending her time in the Malibu mansion or on the beach. She has a career and making her own money. She has grown to be self-reliant.

So what fiction would Barbie read? I think that depends on the career.

Beekeeper Barbie

She would obliviously be attracted to Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees. Lily Owens is being raised Rosaleen, a black housekeeper after the death of her mother. But when Rosaleen insults 3 of the biggest racists in town, Lily is sent away to live with three eccentric black beekeeping sisters in South Carolina. Lily is introduced to bees and honey and a world of female power.

Scientist Barbie

Barbie the Scientist would enjoy taking a breaking from writing lab reports to read the Science romance novels written by Ali Hazelwood, starting with The Love Hypothesis. Olive Smith, a 3rd year PhD student doesn’t believe in love. Her best friend Anh won’t give up trying to set up Olive with a date. To get Anh to back off, she lies to Anh and says that she is dating Adam Carlsen, a young hot shot professor. She somehow convinces Dr. Carlsen to pretend to be her boyfriend. (I think you can see where this is going.)

Barbie Chef

In prep for the perfect meal, Barbie the Chef would be reading Anthony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines. We know Barbie loves to travel as much as Anthony Bourdain did.