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Sunday, April 9, 2023

100 Must-Read Books by Female Authors

 100 Must-Read Books by Female Authors

As most ‘best of’ lists tend to be biased towards books written in English by white men, I have attempted to create a list exclusively of females. This list, hopefully, is also more inclusive of authors who didn’t originally write in English and authors NOT from North America and Europe. Also, for a book to be on a ‘must read’ list, it should be tested over time. I decided to have my list be of books published 10+ years ago - so 2012 and earlier.
 
I want to keep this post short and just focused on the list itself, but more info is available:
-100 Must-Read Books: An Inclusive List (not only female authors)
 
As I read the books, I will link my review to the book title in the list below. As I’m not doing this for work or school, I’m not giving myself a time restraint and I don’t have to go in order. Also, if I decide I really don’t like a book and I don’t want to finish it – then I won’t finish it. I will post a short review and link it to the title and move on to another book.
 

All books are ranked, though some have the same number. Those with the same rank were put in publication order, oldest to newest. Those with the same rank and publication year were put in order alphabetically by the author’s last name.
 
Now, what you’ve all been waiting for…
 
100 Must-Read Books by Female Authors
 
RankTitleAuthorPublished
Language
1Wuthering HeightsBronte, Emily
(English, 1818-1848)
1847
2Pride and PrejudiceAusten, Jane
(English, 1775-1817)
1813
3FrankensteinShelley, Mary
(English, 1797-1851)
1818
4/5Mrs. DallowayWoolf, Virginia
(English, 1882-1941)
1925
4/5To the LighthouseWoolf, Virginia
(English, 1882-1941)
1927
6BelovedMorrison, Toni
(American, 1931-2019)
1987
7The Handmaid's TaleAtwood, Margaret
(Canadian, 1939- )
1985
8Jane EyreBronte, Charlotte
(English, 1816-1855)
1847
9The House of the SpiritsAllende, Isabel
(Chilean, 1942- )
translation Magda Bogin
1982
Spanish
10The Color PurpleWalker, Alice
(American, 1944- )
1982
11To Kill a MockingbirdLee, Harper
(American, 1926-2016)
1960
12MiddlemarchEliot, George
(English, 1819-1880)
1971
13/14The Age of InnocenceWharton, Edith
(American, 1862-1937)
1920
13/14Song of SolomonMorrison, Toni
(American, 1931-2019)
1977
15-17The Tale of GenjiShikibu, Murasaki
(Japanese, ~973-1031)
~1008
Japanese
15-17Their Eyes Were Watching GodHurston, Zora Neale
(American, 1891-1960)
1937
15-17The Joy Luck ClubTan, Amy
(American, 1952- )
1989
18-20Little WomenAlcott, Louisa M.
(American, 1932-1888)
1868
18-20The Heart is a Lonely HunterMcCullers, Carson
(American, 1917-1967)
1940
18-20Wide Sargasso SeaRhys, Jean
(Dominican-British,
1890-1979)
1966
21OrlandoWoolf, Virginia
(English, 1882-1941)
1928
22-28RebeccaMaurier, Daphne Du
(English, 1907-1989)
1938
22-28The Prime of Miss Jean BrodieSpark, Muriel
(Scottish, 1918-2006)
1961
22-28The Sea, The SeaMurdoch, Iris
(Irish-British, 1919-1999)
1978
22-28Like Water for ChocolateEsquivel, Laura
(Mexican, 1950- )
translation Carol and Thomas Christensen
1989
Spanish
22-28The Secret HistoryTartt, Donna
(American, 1963- )
1992
22-28The God of Small ThingsRoy, Arundhati
(Indian, 1961- )
1997
22-28White TeethSmith, Zadie
(English, 1975- )
2000
29-36Dante's Divine ComedyTr by Sayers, Dorothy L
(English, 1893-1957)
1472 / 1957
Italian
29-36The Death of the HeartBowen, Elizabeth
(Irish-British, 1899-1973)
1938
29-36I Capture the CastleSmith, Dodie
(English, 1896-1990)
1948
29-36A Wrinkle in TimeL'engle, Madeleine
(American, 1918-2007)
1962
29-36The Golden NotebookLessing, Doris
(British-Zimbabwean,
1919-2013)
1962
29-36So Long a LetterBa, Mariama
(Senegalese, 1929-1981)
Translation Modupe
Bode-Thomas
1979
French
29-36KindredButler, Octavia E.
(American, 1947-2006)
1979
29-36The Poisonwood BibleKingsolver, Barbara
(American, 1955- )
1998
37/38Purple HibiscusAdichie,
Chimamanda Ngozi
(Nigerian-American, 1977-)
2003
37/38Half of a Yellow SunAdichie,
Chimamanda Ngozi
(Nigerian-American, 1977-)
2007
39/40The Hour of the StarLispectpr, Clarice
(Ukrainian-Brazilian,
1920-1977)
trans. Giovanni Pontiero
1977
Portuguese
39/40In the Time of the ButterfliesAlvares, Julia
(American, 1950- )
1994
41-43EmmaAusten, Jane
(English, 1775-1817)
1815
41-43My AntoniaCather, Willa
(American, 1873-1947)
1918
41-43The Bluest EyesMorrison, Toni
(American, 1931-2019)
1970
44-50PassingLarsen, Nella
(American, 1891-1964)
1929
44-50The Man Who Loved ChildrenStead, Christina
(Australian, 1902-1983)
1940
44-50Nectar in a SieveMarkandaya, Kamala
(British-Indian, 1924-2004)
1954
44-50The Bell JarPlath, Sylvia
(American, 1932-1963)
1963
44-50The Complete StoriesO'Connor, Flannery
(American, 1925-1964)
1971
44-50Nights at the CircusCarter, Angela
(English, 1940-1992)
1984
44-50Breathing LessonsTyler, Anne
(American, 1941- )
1988
51-59North and SouthGaskell, Elizabeth
(English, 1810-1865)
1854
51-59Poems of Emily DickensonDickinson, Emily
(American, 1830-1886)
1890
51-59And Then There Were NoneChristie, Agatha
(English, 1890-1976)
1939
51-59The Pursuit of LoveMitford, Nancy
(English, 1904-1973)
1945
51-59The Talented Mr. RipleyHighsmith, Patricia
(American, 1921-1995)
1955
51-59I Know Why the Caged Bird SingsAngelou, Maya
(American, 1928-2014)
1969
51-59Picnic at Hanging RockLindsay, Joan
(Australian, 1896-1984)
1975
51-59Oranges Are Not the Only FruitWinterson, Jeanette
(English, 1959- )
1985
51-59The Secret RiverGrenville, Kate
(Australian, 1950- )
2005
60-62The Mill of the FlossEliot, George
(English, 1819-1880)
1860
60-62Near to the Wild HeartLispector, Clarice
(Ukrainian-Brazilian,
1920-1977)
translation Alison Entrekin
1943
Portuguese
60-62Thursday Night WidowsPineiro, Claudia
(Argentine, 1960- )
translation Miranda France
2005
Spanish
63-65The Haunting of Hill HouseJackson, Shirley
(American, 1916-1965)
1959
63-65Play It as It LaysDidion, Joan
(American, 1934-2021)
1970
63-65Interpreter of MaladiesLahiri, Jhumpa
(American, 1967- )
1999
66-74Suite FrancaiseNemirovsky, Irene
(Ukranian, 1903-1942)
1942 / 2004
French
66-74The Grand SophyHeyer, Georgette
(English, 1902-1974)
1950
66-74Memoirs of a Woman DoctorSaadawi, Nawal El
(Egyptian, 1931-2021)
1958
Arabic
66-74A Backward PlaceJhabvala, Ruth Prawer
(German-British,
1927-2013)
1965
66-74A Wizard of EarthseaGuin, Ursula K. Le
(American, 1929-2018)
1968
66-74Thus Were Their Faces:
Selected Stories
Ocampo, Silvina
(Argentine, 1903-1993)
trans. Daniel Balderston
1988
Spanish
66-74We Were the MulvaneysOates, Joyce Carol
(American, 1938- )
1996
66-74Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone
Rowling, J.K.
(British, 1965- )
1997
66-74PersepolisSatrapi, Marjane
(Iranian-French, 1969- )
2007
French
75-88The Pillow BookShonagon, Sei
(Japanese, 1017-1025)
1002
Japanese
75-88Our NigWilson, Harriet E.
(American, 1825-1900)
1859
75-88CheriColette
(French, 1873-1954)
1920
French
75-88American Indian StoriesZitkala-Sa
(Yankton Dakota-American, 1876-1938)
1921
75-88A Diary of a Young GirlFrank, Anne
(German-Dutch,
1929-1945)
1944
Dutch
75-88The Harp in the SouthPark, Ruth
(New Zealander-Australian, 1925-2004)
1948
75-88Memoirs of HadrianYourcenar, Marguerite
(French-American,
1903-1987)
1951
French
75-88One Fine DayPanter-Downes, Mollie
(Armenian-American,
1932- )
1971
Armenian
75-88CeremonySilko, Leslie Marmon
(Laguna Pueblo-Anglo/ Mexican-American, 1948- )
1977
75-88The Joys of MotherhoodEmechta, Buchi
(Nigerian, 1944-2017)
1979
75-88Nervous ConditionsDangarembga, Tsitsi
(Zimbabwean, 1959- )
1988
75-88Please Look After MotherKyung-Sook, Shin
(South Korean, 1963- )
2008
Korean
75-88My Brilliant FriendFerrante, Elena
(Italian, 1943- )
2011
Italian
75-88HomeChudori, Leila S.
(Indonesian, 1962- )
2012
Indonesian
89The Thing Around Your NeckAdichie,
Chimamanda Ngozi
(Nigerian-American, 1977-)
2009
90Daughter of FortuneAllende, Isabel
(Chilean, 1942- )
translation Margaret
Sayers Peden
1998
Spanish
91-94How the Garcia Girls
Lost Their Accents
Alvares, Julia
(American, 1950- )
1991
91-94The First StoneGarner, Helen
(Australian, 1942- )
1995
91-94The Spare RoomGarner, Helen
(Australian, 1942- )
2008
91-94A Crack in the WallPineiro, Claudia
(Argentine, 1960- )
translation Miranda France
2009
Spanish
95-98The Fountain OverflowsWest, Rebecca
(British, 1892-1983)
1957
95-98Love MedicineErdrich, Louise
(Ojibwa-American, 1954- )
1984
95-98People of the BookBrooks, Geraldine
(Australian-American, 1955- )
2008
95-98Akata WitchOkorafor, Nnedi
(Nigerian-American, 1974-)
2011
99Half a Lifelong RomanceChang, Eileen
(Chinese-American,
1920-1995)
1948
Chinese
100The Tenant of Wildfell HallBronte, Anne
(English. 1820-1849)
1848
 
I might have to compile a list for sci-fi and/or fantasy. I love lists and statistics and research and… READING!
 
I hope there are some familiar titles and some not-so-familiar titles in my list above. 
Happy reading!

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