2014 The Year of Reading Women

Thanks to a campaign over on Twitter, 2014 has been designated the 'Year of Reading Women'. It is widely acknowledged that in literature there is less airtime given to female writers, less promotion, less exposure and less respect. It may seem extreme to spend the entire year solely reading books written by women (though if you solely read books written by men, no one would blink), but perhaps that is what it will take to swing the balance around just a little bit. Or perhaps it won't. Regardless, prompting the debate is always a good thing. You can read a bit more about the campaign here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/201...s-male-writers

I have spent the last couple of years rebalancing my reading so that I read more books written by women and I haven't been disappointed. I've discovered some fantastic writers. I intend to continue this into 2014. So whilst I would not plan to solely read books written by women, I don't think there's any benefit in going that far, I want to continue on this journey. I'd love it if some members of Litnet came along with me. One of the things I'd really like to explore this year is reading women from non-Western cultures. I'm already familiar with a number of Japanese female writers (Banana Yoshimoto, Natuso Kirino, Yoko Ogawa) but would like to extend that to other cultures. A woefully small amount of literature is translated into English, and a disproportionate amount of what is tends to be by male writers. So if you have any recommendations of Indian, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Chilean, Palestinian, Israeli, Nigerian, South African, Paraguayan or any otheran female nationals who have written excellent books, please pass them on.

I will be sharing my reading of women here. If you read a book written by a women, please feel free to join me here (the good and the bad, it's all welcome).

So, I'm a bit slow on my reading this year so far (I'm still only on my second book, and January is nearly over). My reading so far:

1. A Book of Silence by Sara Maitland - a wonderful exploration of one woman's journey towards a more silent life. A profound and interesting book (and non-fiction. Miraculous).

Hi Fifth,

you mentioned a few Japanese female authors but neglected the most famous of them all; Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote The Tale of Genji. Perhaps you've read it before, but if not, you should; it's been one of the highlights of my reading career.

Since you specifically mentioned Chilean female authors, how about the poetry of Gabriela Mistral? There is also the Indian author Arundhati Roy. Those two are well known, so you may have read them already, but I thought I'd mention them just in case.

Anyways, you should definitely think about reading Genji. Not only is it a great Japanese novel, it must be one of the best ever written.

I will let Fifth answer you more fully, but she has indeed read "The Tale of Genji."

I will join you in your journey, Fifth. Probably I will mostly follow where you lead, but it whatever happens I know it will be interesting.

Ah! Okay then. I hope my other suggestions were useful, anyways.

Hi Lyrkren :) oh yes I love The Tale of Genji, it's a marvellous book and I agree probably one of the best ever written. If you enjoy Genji, and like epic books, you might also enjoy Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. I read them both in the same year (and Middlemarch, it was a year of epic reading) and I found both wonderful books. I hadn't come across Gabriela Mistral so I'll look her up; Arundhati Roy I have encountered, though never read. I'll add her to my list. Thanks :)

Qimi - glad to see you along for the ride :D

Can't say I'm along for the ride.

I'll be reading the books in 2014 that most interest me, regardless of their gender. Because I read for enjoyment and what interests me, not to achieve social aims.

Arundhati Roy's book "The God of Small Things" is one of the best books I read last year. You could also try Virginia Woolf, Elizabeth Bowen, Doris Lessing,Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Didion and Pat Barker to name a few.

The thing I found interesting when I joined in when we had the woman's author challenge last year is that it makes me more actively aware of the books I read by women and how how many books are by men I read vs how many are by women.

Can't say I'm along for the ride.

I'll be reading the books in 2014 that most interest me, regardless of their gender. Because I read for enjoyment and what interests me, not to achieve social aims.

My thoughts exactly.

The problem with American literature in general is an absence of first rate female authors, even in modern times. We can pick and choose, but generally the top list is male.

Canada as a counterexample seems to lack much of male talent, and the majority of major authors, in both prose and verse writing Canadian content are female.

That being said, reading American female authors, even novelists doesn't feel as rewarding as reading male American authors. I am looking for the sort of outstanding "literary" author that dominates the past 30 years or so of American literature, but it is hard to name one who has a style that seems to stand out. Morrison seems to be a pick, but much of her best work is already in the past. The others seem more popular than successful, especially non-minority authors.

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Originally Posted by JBI

The problem with American literature in general is an absence of first rate female authors, even in modern times. We can pick and choose, but generally the top list is male...

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Rubbish. I'm a British male, but I've read three first rate, modern, female, American authors in the last few months: Harper Lee, Alice Munro, and Flannery O'Connor. And I take very eclectic approach to reading, so I haven't been trying to read American female authors in particular.

The American author, male or female, who has made the biggest splash this side of the pond in the last month, appearing on Radio 4 book club, interviewed everywhere..., is Donna Tartt, who I'll definitely be reading some time soon.

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Originally Posted by mal4mac

Rubbish. I'm a British male, but I've read three first rate, modern, female, American authors in the last few months: Harper Lee, Alice Munro, and Flannery O'Connor. And I take very eclectic approach to reading, so I haven't been trying to read American female authors in particular.

The American author, male or female, who has made the biggest splash this side of the pond in the last month, appearing on Radio 4 book club, interviewed everywhere..., is Donna Tartt, who I'll definitely be reading some time soon.

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Before you "Rubbish" bin my post, first watch out. Munro is Canadian. Harper Lee is mostly the product of editors for her one children's novel, which isn't all that great (and she only wrote one novel, with less influence on the actual state of literature than the common genre author). As for Flannery O'Connor, she was a genius, if limited in scope, yet ultimately she was never a big-guns American author the same way some of her male contemporaries did.

I was not saying women authors are mediocre, if you had read my post you would note that I mentioned it as a general trend, and contrasted it with Canada where the major successful authors are female, and not male.

Still, one is hard pressed to come up with a "Contemporary novels best of" survey and list the same number of important novels in the past 50 years lets say than male. Simply put, it's a stretch to come up with novels, or literature in general, by American women that compares to their male counterparts in terms of innovation and quality, as well as scholarly reception.

Let's put aside "Women's literature" as a concept for five minutes, and think "literature" as a concept. If we were to draft "best authors" or best novels from the US in the past 50 years, who would we include - I would have to say that it is quite difficult to come up with as many female authors as male.

As for Donna Tartt, I do not know who she is.

This year so far I have read only female authors (just coincidence not by design):


1. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (N1/W1) ~ 7/10

2. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (N2/W2/SO1) ~ 8/10

3. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell (N3/W3) ~ 8/10

4. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers (W4) ~ 9/10


JBI> Why don't you start a separate thread for this? Because my top 10 American authors are likely to be dominated by female authors and it would be nice to see how everyone else rate as well.

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Originally Posted by Seasider

Arundhati Roy's book "The God of Small Things" is one of the best books I read last year. You could also try Virginia Woolf, Elizabeth Bowen, Doris Lessing,Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Didion and Pat Barker to name a few.

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Thanks Seasider. I’ll be picking up the Arundhati Roy book from the library today I think. Doris Lessing is marvellous, as is Elizabeth Taylor, and Woolf of course. Never read any of the others, but will add them to my list. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Pierre Menard

I'll be reading the books in 2014 that most interest me, regardless of their gender.

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*is now furiously examining books for presence of genitalia*

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Originally Posted by Dark Muse

The thing I found interesting when I joined in when we had the woman's author challenge last year is that it makes me more actively aware of the books I read by women and how how many books are by men I read vs how many are by women.

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I understand that DM; when I examined my reading habits a couple of years back I noticed there was a predominance of men (particularly the ubiquitous western white men) so deliberately shifted my reading habits. I haven’t regretted including more women writers in my reading, or writers from non-Western cultures. If anything I’ve found my reading experiences to be more enriching and varied. I would like them to be even more so.

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Originally Posted by stlukesguild

My thoughts exactly.

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*Locates magnifying glass Nope, still no testicles in sight. Must be really small.*

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Originally Posted by JBI

The problem with American literature in general is an absence of first rate female authors, even in modern times. We can pick and choose, but generally the top list is male.

Canada as a counterexample seems to lack much of male talent, and the majority of major authors, in both prose and verse writing Canadian content are female.

That being said, reading American female authors, even novelists doesn't feel as rewarding as reading male American authors. I am looking for the sort of outstanding "literary" author that dominates the past 30 years or so of American literature, but it is hard to name one who has a style that seems to stand out. Morrison seems to be a pick, but much of her best work is already in the past. The others seem more popular than successful, especially non-minority authors.

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That it’s hard to find American female writers who are as influential as the men, isn’t too surprising when you consider that female writers are generally given less exposure, less promotion and less respect than their male counterparts. It seems this is particularly the case in both America and UK. Certainly there is heavy media bias in UK as the last Booker shortlist showed only too clearly. That doesn’t mean to say, therefore, that the great American female writers aren’t out there, just that they’re harder to find and their ‘influence’ will naturally be lesser than their male counterparts. That’s the problem with cultural hegemony, it’s inherently hard to break and it's difficult to talk about 'excellence' when the measure for 'excellent' is so weighted in the favour of what suits and interests and reflects the 'world view' of men (which is not universal by the way). It is good to hear, however, that Canada has a more balanced approach.

For excellent American female novelists, you might want to try any of the following: Marilynne Robinson, Helen DeWitt, Donna Tartt, Barbara Kingsolver, Joyce Carol Oates, Lionel Shriver, Siri Hudsvedt, A M Homes, Zora Neale Hurston, Carson McCullers, Renata Adler, Madeline Miller, Megan Abbott, Claire Messud.

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Originally Posted by Scheherazade

JBI> Why don't you start a separate thread for this? Because my top 10 American authors are likely to be dominated by female authors and it would be nice to see how everyone else rate as well.

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I'd agree with that Scher, my list of favoured American writers would be female dominated.

I don't start threads in general, but if someone wants to start one, I would be glad to comment. Be aware though, that we must also include poetry and drama (As well as non-fiction) into our sort of discussion.

Do whatever you want, try not to be tempted to read The Luminaries. Booker prize or not, the book is too big, the plot is too ambitious and flawed which overshadow the excellent characterization and style.

Somebody mentioned Donna Tartt. I enjoyed The Secret History. The Goldfinch and The Little Friend are sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. I will definitely read the latter but don't feel much excitement for The Goldfinch.

sorry, double post!

Hilary Mantel?? 2 Booker Prizes in consecutive years. Anita Brookner.? Lionel Shriver?

So far this year the only female authored book I have completed is I hear them cry by Shiho Kishimoto.
I am working on two short story collection at present. Dear Life by Alice Munroe and A Most Ambiguous Sunday by Jung Young Moon. If you are looking to read something by a Korean female I will personally vouch for at least the first story in the collection.

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Originally Posted by TheFifthElement

One of the things I'd really like to explore this year is reading women from non-Western cultures. I'm already familiar with a number of Japanese female writers (Banana Yoshimoto, Natuso Kirino, Yoko Ogawa) but would like to extend that to other cultures. A woefully small amount of literature is translated into English, and a disproportionate amount of what is tends to be by male writers. So if you have any recommendations of Indian, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Chilean, Palestinian, Israeli, Nigerian, South African, Paraguayan or any otheran female nationals who have written excellent books, please pass them on.

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For African literature by females there are a few I'd highly recommend.

So Vast the Prison ~ Assia Djebar
Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade ~ Assia Djebar
Our Sister Killjoy ~ Ama Ata Aidoo
Nervous Conditions ~ Tsitsi Dangarembga
The Book of Not ~ Tsitsi Dangarembga
Half of A Yellow Sun ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Efuru ~ Flora Nwapa
Faceless ~ Amma Darko
So Long a Letter ~ Mariama Ba
The Icarus Girl ~ Helen Oyeyemi
The Slave Girl ~ Buchi Emecheta
The Bride Price ~ Buchi Emecheta

Another two books I'd highly recommend, but out of Eastern Europe are:

Primeval and Other Times ~ Olga Tokarczuk
The Museum of Abandoned Secrets ~ Oksana Zabuzhko

The first of those two might just be my favourite novel written by a female author. It's just brilliant.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Donna Tartt as a contender. Her latest book "the Goldfinch" has generated a lot of excellent reviews and as it is concerned with Art might be something that St Luke's Guild would be interested in.


sorry I see it has been mentioned,though the writer seems not to be interested in the prospect. I intend to start it next week.

Stella GIBBONS, Cold Comfort Farm
Sylvia PLATH, The Bell Jar
Alice WALKER, The Temple of My Familiar
Jane AUSTEN, Persuasion
Iris MURDOCH, The Bell
Zadie SMITH, On Beauty
Marivi SOLIVEN, The Mango Bride
Isabel ALLENDE, La Maison aux Esprits
Elizabeth BOWEN, The Last September
Edna O'BRIEN, The Country Girls
Kate CHOPIN, The Awakening and Other Stories
Edith WHARTON, Summer
Jean RHYS, Quartet
Willa CATHER, The Professor's House
Muriel SPARK, The Public Image
Nadine GORDIMER, Burger's Daughter
Pat BARKER, The Ghost Road
Joyce Carol OATES, Them
Siri HUSTVEDT, What I Loved
Toni MORRISON, Sula
Margaret ATWOOD, The Blind Assassin
Rebecca WEST, The Thinking Reed
Susan HILL, I'm the King of the Castle
Anne BRONTE, Agnes Grey

Let's see how many female authored books I have read in 2014.

Virginia Woolf - To the Lighthouse
Shazaf Fatima Haider - How It Happened
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Leila Aboulela - Minaret
Uzma Aslam Khan - Trespassing
Anne Enright - The Gathering
Anita Desai - Fire in the Mountain
Rukhsana Ahmad - The Gatekeeper's Wife
Kamila Shamsie - Burnt Shadows

That's 9 of 62 books I read in 2014. That's less than 15%. Not good. I'm disappointed, and my list doesn't even feature many top female writers.

I read Elisabeth Gaskell (Mary Barton), George Elliot (Middleman) and Ursula Le Guin (Left Hand of Darkness)

Edit: I think I read a Doris Lessing book too (A Proper Marriage). I will have to look back over the books I read in 2014, because I am surprised I did not read more female authors. I do intend to read a Jane Austen and a Charlotte Bronze in 2015, and a Daphne du Maurier. Otherwise I think my TBR list is mostly male.

Edit: Now I am back at home and can look at my shelves, I see I also read North & South by Mrs Gaskell, Up the Junction by Nell Dunn, and a non-fiction book called The Drugs Don't Work: A Global Threat by Professor Dame Sally C. Davies. In addition to those, The Odd Women by George Gissing had a feminist theme. I am also reading a biography of Florence Nightingale. I am virtually a new man.

9 of 62 books I read in 2014 (were by female authors). That's less than 15%. Not good. I'm disappointed, and my list doesn't even feature many top female writers.

How many great female authors can you name prior to the 20th century? The mid-19th century? My library houses literature across the centuries. For reasons we are all certainly aware of there were not many female authors, artists, or composers of great merit until recently.

As I have stated elsewhere, I don't read with a political aim. I don't read in order to rectify the imbalance between male and female writers... black and white writers... Western and Non-Western writers. I read for personal pleasure. Quite honestly I don't spend a lot of time reading late Modern/Contemporary literature, and I spend far more time reading poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction/essay than I do reading novels so I'm not likely to be delving into the latest "flavor of the month" whether it be Donna Tartt or Deepak Chopra or Yann Martel. On the other hand, I have spent time recently reading Anne Carson, Marina Tsvetaeva, Yosano Akiko, Sappho, and a few other women writers.

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Originally Posted by stlukesguild

How many great female authors can you name prior to the 20th century? The mid-19th century? My library houses literature across the centuries. For reasons we are all certainly aware of there were not many female authors, artists, or composers of great merit until recently.

As I have stated elsewhere, I don't read with a political aim. I don't read in order to rectify the imbalance between male and female writers... black and white writers... Western and Non-Western writers. I read for personal pleasure. Quite honestly I don't spend a lot of time reading late Modern/Contemporary literature, and I spend far more time reading poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction/essay than I do reading novels so I'm not likely to be delving into the latest "flavor of the month" whether it be Donna Tartt or Deepak Chopra or Yann Martel. On the other hand, I have spent time recently reading Anne Carson, Marina Tsvetaeva, Yosano Akiko, Sappho, and a few other women writers.

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If we are talking about quality literature across the centuries and even most of near-contemporary or contemporary literature, then without doubt it is male authors we'd be reading. Which is fine by me because I make no attempt to read female authors as a duty to find some sort of parity between genders but as a way to diversify my reading to hear female voices directly, especially female voices from non-white, non-Western background. You may notice the female authors I listed above come from said backgrounds. Sometimes it gives me valuable insights on life but it can equally be a waste of time. Despite laudatory reviews and prizes, quality literature is just not produced very often. So yes...

Uh I read Daniel Deronda, three books of short stories by Alice Munro, The Waves and The Years for the first time and reread To the Lighthouse...

So 7 of something like eighty.

Edit: Oh and I probably read an entire volume of Dickinson once or twice throughout the year, though not every poem. There are probably a few other female poets I'm forgetting right now as well.

Dickinson is indeed a pleasure. She was almost ruined by my grade-school teachers who played up the image of the Virginal woman in white locked in her bedroom... and then again by college professors who tried to turn her into a Patron Saint of Lesbian/Feminist Lit & Crit. It was only when I sat down with a heft volume of her work and read it through on my own terms, that I came to appreciate her so.

First poet I actually liked when I was still a poemaphobe whose eyes glazed over even looking at poetry, actually I liked Auden too but that was pretty much it. Her poems are easy to memorize as well, at least I've memorized probably a few dozen without ever consciously trying to do so.

2014 was not a good reading year for me but almost half of the authors I read turned out to be female (even though I was not trying to concentrate on female authors in particular): 17/36.

17. Mrs de Winter by Susan Hill (N21/W17) ~ 4/10

16. We The Living by Ayn Rand (S4/W16) ~ 6/10

15. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (N18/W15) ~ 9/10

14. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (S3/W14/P) ~ 9/10

13. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (W13/N14) ~ 7/10

12. After Leaving Mr Mackenzie by Jean Rhys (W12/S1) ~ 7/10

11. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (W11/R1) ~ 7/10

10. Little Vampire Women by Lynn Messina ~ (W10/SO4) ~ 6/10

9. Penelopiad by Atwood ~ (W9/SO3) ~ 7/10

8. Anthem by Ayn Rand (N13/W8) ~ 6/10

7. An Accidental Man by Iris Murdoch (N10/W7) ~ 5/10

6. Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James (W6/N7/SO2) ~ 4/10

5. MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood (W5) ~ 4/10

4. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers (W4) ~ 9/10

3. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell (N3/W3) ~ 8/10

2. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (N2/W2/SO1) ~ 8/10

1. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (N1/W1) ~ 7/10

I've never been very skilled at reading women.

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Originally Posted by Pompey Bum

I've never been very skilled at reading women.

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^ Will you be here all week? Should I try the veal? :)

I read Gillian Flynn, Belinda Bauer, and that African Lady who wrote Americanah, whose name I'm too lazy to look up the spelling for.

I could care less about reading women authors. I care about reading good books that interest me, and if they happen to be written by females then so be it.

2015 is going to be the year of reading whatever I want in whatever order I choose without worrying about the gender of who wrote it.

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Originally Posted by Vota

I could care less about reading women authors. I care about reading good books that interest me, and if they happen to be written by females then so be it.

2015 is going to be the year of reading whatever I want in whatever order I choose without worrying about the gender of who wrote it.

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Yep. Count me in as well.

I'll be reading what most interests me at the time, regardless of gender. I look forward to delving into my new Anne Carson book at some point, not because she's a woman, but because she's good writer. I also can't wait to read some more Conrad too.

I just listened to Kim Campbell on CBC radio urging for forced gender parity in parliament, seems about as democratic as being forced to read 50% female authors.

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Originally Posted by easy75

^ Will you be here all week? Should I try the veal? :)

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Try your waitress, tip the veal.

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Originally Posted by Pierre Menard

Yep. Count me in as well.

I'll be reading what most interests me at the time, regardless of gender. I look forward to delving into my new Anne Carson book at some point, not because she's a woman, but because she's good writer. I also can't wait to read some more Conrad too.

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Which Carson book?

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Originally Posted by Lykren

Which Carson book?

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Glass, Irony and God.

Looking forward to it!

Nice! I'm reading Eros the Bittersweet right now, very slowly. It has that characteristic quality of Carson's, the quirkiness, the logical leaps that don't always make sense but sound delightful, the oddly powerful tone of frailty.