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I was always captivated by strong female characters – starting with icons such as Junie B. Jones, Cam Jansen or babysitting extraordinaire Kristy Thomas and eventually moving on to the likes of Lizzie Bennet and Jo March. But weaving all these works together is an important distinction: They are all written by women. Who better to record the experiences of women than women themselves?
But women have faced an uphill battle in having their work considered on the same level as men. Take this list of the 100 best novels, curated by industry giant Penguin. Only 10 are by women, and not a single one is by a woman of color. When legends such as Toni Morrison, Sylvia Plath and Zora Neale Hurston are left off such lists, it can be easy to feel cast aside.
So, in 2025 I challenged myself. I would only read books written by women for the entire year. This exposed me to new perspectives and allowed me to indulge in relatable stories. It reframed how I thought of books and female characters.
If you’d like to join me, read on for some of our recommendations from Times Union staff, guests and readers, starting with my own.
“The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath and “The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service” by Laura Kaplan. (Amazon)
‘The Bell Jar’ by Sylvia Plath
I mentioned a list of 100 great novels. This is one title I was gobsmacked didn’t make the list. Maybe I’m biased: It is my personal favorite and I’ve probably read it five times. With metaphors that stay with you years later, the book is both profoundly relatable and uniquely poignant. The prose is captivating even when its world is dark. A difficult but necessary read by one of the great women authors of the 20th century.
‘The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service’ by Laura Kaplan
Speaking of difficult but necessary, I think every woman should read this. “The Story of Jane” chronicles the work of early abortion activists who both conducted the procedure illegally and advocated for its legalization. It absolutely peels your eyes back and forces you to confront what exactly women had to do to fight for the rights we have today, and it is especially relevant in a post-Roe v. Wade America. Told in a more narrative-forward style than other nonfiction works, it’s a great one to pick up if you’re looking to get into more educational books.
Staff and guest picks
“Zami: A New Spelling of My Name” by Audre Lorde. (Amazon)
‘Zami: A New Spelling of My Name’ by Audre Lorde
I love memoirs, and “Zami: A New Spelling of My Name” by Audre Lorde is one of my favorites. Written in 1982, the activist, poet and rulebreaker – not to mention librarian – offers an intimate glimpse into her experiences in New York and abroad as a Black lesbian in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s. She is explicit in her self‑mythologizing, even classifying the book as a new genre she calls “biomythography.” I read this more than 20 years ago, and I’ve never forgotten how cool she seemed to me or how grateful I felt that she gave readers this peek into her private life. – Lauren Moore, New York State librarian
“Villette” by Charlotte Brontë. (Amazon)
‘Villette’ by Charlotte Brontë
You know about “Jane Eyre,” and Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” is enjoying some time in the limelight, but “Villette” is in some ways Charlotte Brontë’s strongest work. It follows Lucy Snowe, a woman who teaches at a girls’ boarding school and strives for independence, while struggling with isolation and unrequited love. Perfect for anyone craving a dark and brooding atmosphere, with a protagonist that’s easy to root for. – Indiana Nash, Fables at the Ferry bookstore
“A Psalm for the Wild-Built” by Becky Chambers. (Amazon)
‘A Psalm for the Wild-Built’ by Becky Chambers
I just listened to this audiobook and I loved it. It is a gentle story about self-discovery and purpose that just happens to be set on the moon Panga where robots became sentient and went to live in the wilderness, causing a total transformation of human society. A chance meeting of the robot Mosscap and the protagonist, Dex, leads to a journey to a long-lost temple and many discussions of what it means to be alive. If you want a lovely, calming and uplifting story, this is for you. – Jennifer Saunders, New York State Museum director
Want to know more about Jennifer? Here are 20 things.
“Deenie” by Judy Blume. (Amazon)
‘Deenie’ by Judy Blume
This 1973 young adult novel tells the story of a 13-year-old girl who is diagnosed with scoliosis and prescribed a back brace, much to her mother’s dismay. Often described as the “beauty” compared to her sister’s “brains,” Deenie learns to navigate the challenges of adolescence with this new condition despite her mother’s pressure to become a model. This book was one of my earliest experiences with family dramas, a genre I am still particularly drawn to today. – Caroline Murray, Fables at the Ferry bookstore
“Lonely Castle In The Mirror” by Mizuki Tsujimura. (Amazon)
‘Lonely Castle in the Mirror’ by Mizuki Tsujimura
This book is a story about seven teenagers that are avoiding going to school for different reasons. While they are home, a portal opens in each of their mirrors to a castle where they can all hang out during school hours and take a break from their normal lives. The students meet a mysterious figure and are tasked with locating a key, hidden somewhere in the castle, that will allow whoever finds it to be granted one wish.
Tsujimura’s writing is thoughtful and personal, while bringing up topics of mental health, bullying, and human connection. It is a slow but rewarding read for any age! – Tori Behrmann, secretary, Colonie Friends of the Library
“The Guns of August” Barbara W. Tuchman. (Amazon)
‘The Guns of August’ by Barbara W. Tuchman
Barbara Tuchman was a trailblazing historian who did her best and most popular writing in the 1950s and ’60s. Though she won multiple Pulitzer Prizes, she is not widely read these days, but she should be. Her loose trilogy of books on the First World War and the societies that were left in its wake, “The Zimmermann Telegram,” “The Guns of August” and “The Proud Tower” demonstrate a literary verve that is absent from nearly all history writing that preceded them and have rarely been equaled since. In particular, the classic opening chapter of “The Guns of August” is almost stylistically unimprovable. There have been many better researchers and historians that came before and after her, but few better history writers. – Joe Burke, library director, Altamont Free Library
“Sandwich” by Catherine Newman. (Amazon)
‘Sandwich’ by Catherine Newman
A family vacation in Sandwich, Mass., brings to light a secret that the protagonist, Rocky, has hidden from her husband and her two now-adult children for years. While addressing heavy themes of grief, aging, and menopause, Newman infuses the narrative with laugh-out-loud humor and creates characters that you wish were part of your own life. – Caroline Murray, Fables at the Ferry bookstore
“Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernardine Evaristo. (Amazon)
‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Bernardine Evaristo
This reads like a tightly woven tapestry of short stories, with each chapter focusing on a different character. Witty and beautifully written, it’s a richly textured social novel following a group of Black British women whose lives are interconnected. It was the winner of the 2019 Booker Prize and is well worth revisiting. – Indiana Nash, Fables at the Ferry bookstore
“The Chronology of Water” by Lidia Yuknavitch. (Amazon)
‘The Chronology of Water’ by Lidia Yuknavitch
This 2011 memoir, recently brought to life in a 2025 film adaptation directed by Kristen Stewart, is a book so good I didn’t want to finish it.
Parts of this book have stayed with me for many years. This is not a light read, but a deeply meaningful one.
“The Chronology of Water” follows Yuknavitch as she leaves her abusive childhood home for college. She struggles with drug and alcohol abuse, loses her college scholarship, and is set adrift. She later reenrolls in another school and joins a group of writers working with Beat Generation writer Ken Kesey (of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” fame) on his next novel. She finds her voice as a writer, comes to terms with her bisexuality and finds her way back to solid ground.
This book offers a brutally honest representation of what it is to live life with trauma and the difficult, often winding road to discovering who you are in the aftermath of it. – Elizabeth Izzo, Times Union news editor
“Velvet Was the Night” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. (Amazon)
‘Velvet was the Night’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I discovered this author when I picked up a copy of “Silver Nitrate” during an airport layover and was immediately hooked. It’s a ghost story that celebrates early horror films. I followed it with “Mexican Gothic,” which feels in the beginning like a classic haunted house tale but has a twist you don’t see coming.
I just finished Moreno-Garcia’s latest book, “The Bewitching,” a thrilling page-turner where witches drink blood and prey on their victims to become more powerful. I thought I was done with her for the month, but then I spotted “Velvet Was the Night” in the library. No ghosts or witches this time, but I motored through this gritty tale of Mexican government operatives, student activists, a lazy cat and a lonely spinster caught up in the politics and violence of 1970s Mexico in just a few days. I haven’t found a dull read from this writer yet. – Sarah Diodato, Times Union newsletter manager
“Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism” by Amanda Montell. (Amazon)
‘Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism’ by Amanda Montell
This book, which explores the role language plays in building influence and cultivating belief in an ideology, has changed the way I look at the world.
What do the cult NXIVM, multi-level marketing company Amway, fitness company CrossFit and your everyday Instagram influencer have in common? In “Cultish,” Amanda Montell argues that whether for good or for bad, each has used some linguistic tricks designed to build power, influence, community or control. In her book, she takes a look at those tricks, expertly weaving her analysis with engaging storytelling. – Elizabeth Izzo, Times Union news editor
“We Can Fix It” by Jess Fink. (Amazon)
‘We Can Fix It’ by Jess Fink
The question of “What would you do if you had a time machine?” has been explored in myriad ways in literature (and every other medium, for that matter), but never quite like comic creator Jess Fink does in this 2013 graphic novel. The Troy-based writer and artist (yes, she’s local!) describes the story as a “time travel memoir,” and it follows her adult self as she journeys back through her past to offer herself advice, mete out punishment to bullies, pull off pranks and explore how experiences both good and bad shape who we are. She also spends a significant amount of time making out with her frustrated, horny younger self – which might come as a bit of a surprise to anyone unfamiliar with Fink’s previously best-known work, the erotic robot-love comic, “Chester 5000.”
Romantic moments aside, “We Can Fix It” navigates some extremely serious, dramatic themes as Fink’s bodysuit-clad adult self (because everyone wears bodysuits in the future, obviously) wrestles with the notion that even our most awkward experiences are important in one way or another. Fink manages to balance the humor and sincerity in this story remarkably well, and the end result is a tale that feels very poignant and relatable, even if you’re not inclined to wear a skintight bodysuit or make out with your younger self. – Rick Marshall, Times Union arts and entertainment editor
Reader picks
Reader collage for March 2026 Book Swap newsletter. (Amazon)
‘Good Dog. Stay.’ by Anna Quindlen
How our pets affect our lives in untold ways. – Scott Keenholts, Guilderland
‘The Farseer Trilogy’ by Robin Hobb
It is one of the best fantasy series I have ever read, a well-thought-out and emotionally complex young boy whom you follow through maturity and into adulthood while navigating medieval politics and intrigue, relationships, and secretly being trained as an assassin. – Tyler, Wynantskill
‘The Woman with the Cure’ by Lynn Cullen
Dr. Dorothy Horstmann was determined to find a cure for polio, and her dedication did lead to ending the dreaded disease. However, credit for the vaccine seldom mentions the brilliant, driven Horstmann – significantly, often the only woman in the room dominated by male researchers. Lynn Cullen’s well-researched novels are always based on stories about women overlooked by history. – Cheryl McKeon, Delmar
‘Middlemarch’ by George Eliot (a pen name for Mary Ann Evans)
Eliot’s 19th-century novel of life in an English provincial town is a masterpiece of empathy and nuance. The novel’s theme of how individuals and groups respond to change resonates today. The protagonist, Dorothea Brooke, is a testament to the best of the human spirit. – William Hogan, Albany
‘How the Light Gets In’ by Louise Penny
This is the ninth book in the Inspector Gamache series – really start at the beginning to meet the wonderful people who are in this Canadian world. “How the Light Gets In” is gritty, magical and showcases how goodness can exist even in the worst of times. – Julie Dwyer, Ballston Lake
‘Baking Bad’ by Kim M. Watt
Dragons that love eating baked goods and also love helping the Women’s Institute chapter of a small village in Britain’s Yorkshire district solve mysteries? Kim M. Watt’s “Beaufort Scales” book series has all this and more (along with plenty of puns) and when the local vicar is poisoned by a cupcake, Lord Beaufort Scales and the W.I. are on the case! – Marcia Lee Metzger, Castleton-on-Hudson (another small village, but without dragons, alas!)
This article originally published at Book Swap: 20 best books by women authors.
