In May of 1997, Glamour magazine published a list compiled by contributor Pamela Redmond Satran titled “30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time She’s 30.” The list went viral and became so popular that in 2012, Satran and the editors of Glamour have produced a book-length version, “30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time She’s 30,” embellishing it with musings by, among others, Maya Angelou, Katie Couric, and Suze Orman.

Inspired by the Glamour List, here’s a biographilic version of things, narrowed down to 20.

Things Every Woman Should Have (Read):

1. Concerning “one old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you’ve come,” kill two birds with one stone and read “Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century” by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger.

2. For a good laugh over “a youth you’re content to move beyond,” read Sloane Crosley’s “I Was Told There’d Be Cake” or “How Did You Get This Number.”

3. For inspiration on “a past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age,” read “Dirty Blonde:  The Diaries of Courtney Love.”

4. If you come to “the realization that you are actually going to have an old age—and some money to help fund it,” you’ll have enough cash to buy copies of “Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business” by Barbara Corcoran and Bruce Littlefield for all your friends.

5. We are so far beyond “an email address, a voice mailbox, and a bank account—all of which nobody has access to but you” that we should probably go right to reading “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson.

6. For the “resume that is not even the slightest bit padded” see “Jackie After O: One Remarkable Year When Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Defied Expectations and Rediscovered Her Dreams” by Tina Cassidy. In the year following the death of her second husband, the former First Lady was pivotal in preserving New York City’s Grand Central Station and launched a publishing career.

7. “One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.” Ride the emotional roller coaster of romance with “Why I’m Still Married: Women Write Their Hearts Out on Love, Loss, Sex, and Who Does the Dishes.” You'll be in good company with Julia Alvarez, ZZ Packer, Erica Jong, and Susan Dworkin, among others.

8. “A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra.” What was it again that Harvard president Lawrence H. Summers said in 2005 concerning the underrepresentation of women in the sciences? See “Obsessive Genius:  The Inner World of Marie Curie” by Barbara Goldsmith and “Nobel Prize Women in Science” by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne.  Vis a vis the bra, we refer you to “French Women Don’t Get Fat” by Mireille Guiliano.

9. “Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.”  Look through this first:  “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” by Andrew Bolton.

10. “A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship, and all those other facets of life that do get better.”  Of course, read Tina Fey’s "Bossypants."

…And Should Know:

11. “When to try harder and when to walk away.” “Going Rogue” by Sarah Palin.

12. “The names of the secretary of state, your great-grandmothers, and the best tailor in town.”  Slam dunk:  “Prague Winter” by Madeleine Albright, “Elizabeth the Queen” by Sally Bedell Smith, “Coco Chanel” by Justine Picardie.

13. For “how to live alone, even if you don’t like to,” be brave and read “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion.

14. “That you can’t change the length of your legs, the width of your hips, or the nature of your parents.” Especially your mother.  “Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?” by Jeanette Winterson.

15. “That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it’s over.”  “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua.

16. “What you would and would not do for love or money.” Isak Dinesen, “Out of Africa.”

17. “That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs, or not flossing for very long.” Au contraire! “Life” by Keith Richards.

18. “Who you can trust, who you can’t, and why you shouldn’t take it personally.” Ask former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. "The Power of Many:  Values for Success in Business and in Life."

19. “Not to apologize for something that isn’t your fault.”  It’s all about self-esteem, stupid.  See Gloria Steinem’s “Revolution from Within.”

20. “Why they say life begins at 30!” Julia Child was 50 years old when "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" was published.  Gertrude Stein, who published only three stories before she was 30, was 59 when she wrote “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.”  It was Stein who said, “We are all the same age inside.”