Happy International Women’s Day! As part of a (one-year-old) tradition, I’m listing my favourite feminist books since last International Women’s Day.
Since March 8 last year I’ve read about 90 books, and around 55 of those were by women. Below are eight of my faves (in line with it being March 8), with links to reviews that (sometimes) talk about the book’s feminist themes.
- Captive prince by CS Pacat
- Dying in the first person by Nike Sulway (criminally overlooked for this year’s Stella Prize)
- Long Bay by Eleanor Limprecht
- Portable curiosities by Julie Koh
- Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie
- Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett
- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
- The pumpkin eater by Penelope Mortimer
What are your favourite feminist reads of the past year? What are you reading now? I’ve just started My name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout (and meanwhile I’m watching the HBO series of Olive Kitteridge) and it’s blowing my mind.
Jane Bryony Rawson 
Happy International Women’s Day Jane!
My favourite books by women that I have read in the past year – in no particular order:
The Portable Veblen – Elizabeth McKenzie
The Glorious Heresies – Lisa McInerney
Veronica – Mary Gaitskill
Museum of Modern Love – Heather Rose (on the Stella shortlist!)
Autumn – Ali Smith
La Rose – Lousie Erdich
And many of these authors have a back catalogue for me to discover.
Am about to embark on reading Dying in the First Person…and looking forward to reading your new book!
There are so many books! I read Museum of Modern Love and liked it but not overly. I LOVED Autumn and La Rose (La Rose pulled me out of a dreadful reading slump I’d been in). The others I haven’t read. One day I really must get on to Mary Gaitskill…
GET ON TO MARY GAITSKILL!! After reading Veronica it was difficult to read another author. Every book seemed mediocre and plain. Her latest book “the Mare” was longlisted for the Bailey’s prize. It is languishing on display in the library where I work hardly borrowed and with no reserves. Go figure. I loved autumn too. I love Ali Smith. And I know I have recommended it before but Glorious Heresies is bloody brilliant. And Irish! Have you read any other Louise Erdich books? And have you read The Lesser Bohemians? I haven’t read it yet….
The Mare is also languishing on the shelf at Footscray Library (but they don’t have Veronica). I have to read Glorious Heresies! And City of Bohane! and I haven’t read any other Louise Erdich! And I started the Lesser Bohemians but I was writing a bunch of stream of consciousness stuff at the time and reading it too was just way too much.
Oh those Irish and the stream of consciousness – I just read “solar bones” a strange mix of stream of consciousness, ideas and details of reality – the stuff of a life. It had a pull to it that was mesmerising.
I just went nuts on the library website reserving Bailey’s prize longlisted books (did you see The Mare was longlisted?)- all languishing on the shelves!
Oh I loved The Solar Bones so much.
Such a great list, and a great idea for a list. I’m a little late to the party, but I’ll have to write one for next year.
Thanks for mentioning my little book–I’m so glad you enjoyed it, as I’m such an admirer of your work (as you know).