A Dozen Female-Authored Books

About two years ago I looked over the list of every book I’ve ever read and realized, “Damn, what a sausage fest.” Much like the higher-ups at a tech company or a group of legislators signing an anti-abortion bill, my list of authors had approximately one female for every 50 males. I resolved to change my habits and started by reading ten consecutive books written by females.

Looking for a new book to read? Here’s a synopsis and brief review of one dozen female-authored books I’ve recently read. I consciously chose books that varied in genre, era, and style.

Coming to Terms with Literary Sexism

Two notebooks were laid out before me. The one to my left listed every book I’ve read over the past several years. The one to the right listed the many books I intend to read at some unknown time in the future. I had just finished Ernest Hemingway’s “In Our Time” and was using these two lists to determine the ideal selection for my next read.

It was as I sat staring at these book titles that a disquieting realization crept into my conscience. It was soft, but unsettling nonetheless—imagine a late-night theremin playing from your attic and you’ll get the idea. But the more I examined the book titles, the more obtrusive the agitation grew. I turned away from my notebooks to analyze the contents of my nearby bookshelf. By now that small, creeping realization was no longer a soft theramin but a full drum and bugle corps marching around my living room. I was forced to ask myself a question:

Might I be a literary sexist?