"Women in Fantasy" reading list

[alias_sqbr]

Via oyceter, a "Women in Fantasy" reading list. Apparently my favourite genre is "optional", aka science fiction. I think I'd be more likely to actually use a "Women in SciFi" reading list. Actually, that gives me an idea for a post...
EDIT: I failed to notice that this list is what the staff were expected to read at a con. This explains the things some people found a bit weird, sorry to oyceter for requoting without context! 


Required
Johnson, Alaya Dawn: Racing the Dark AND Moonshine
Kushner, Ellen: Thomas the Rhymer AND The Fall of the Kings
LaFevers, Robin: Grave Mercy
McCall, Guadalupe Garcia: Summer of the Mariposas

Two of the following (warriors)*
Bell, Hilar: Fall of a Kingdom
Britain, Kristen: The Green Rider
Carson, Rae: Girl of Fire and Thorns
Cashore, Kristin: Graceling
Chadda, Sarwat: Devil’s Kiss
Chima, Cinda Williams: The Demon King
Clare, Cassandra: City of Bones
Cremer, Andrea: Nightshade
Gaughen, A. C.: Scarlet
Goodman, Alison: Eon
Healey, Karen: Guardian of the Dead
Kushner, Ellen: The Privilege of the Sword (ok)
Lackey, Mercedes: Any Valdemar book (eh)
Maas, Sarah J. Throne of Glass
Marchetta, Melina: Finnikin of the Rock
Pierce, Tamora: The Song of the Lioness OR Lady Knight OR Terrier (loved when I was 15)
Oliver, Jana G.: The Demon Trapper’s Daughter
Roth, Veronica: Divergent
Smith, Sherwood: Crown Duel OR Coronets and Steel
Vande Velde, Vivian: Heir Apparent
Young, Moira: Blood Red Road

Two of the following (faeries)*
Anderson, R. J.: Knife
Black, Holly: Tithe
Black, Jenna: Glimmerglass
Brennan, Marie: Midnight Never Come
Bull, Emma: War for the Oaks (enjoyed!)
Dean, Pamela: Tam Lin
Dolamore, Jacklyn: Magic under Glass
Hamilton, Laurell K.: A Kiss of Shadows
Jones, Diana Wynne: Fire and Hemlock
Lindholm, Megan (w/ Brust, Steven): The Gypsy
Livingston, Lesley: Wondrous Strange
Marr, Melissa: Wicked Lovely
Marillier, Juliet: Wildwood Dancing
McGuire, Seanan: Rosemary and Rue
Melling, O. R.: The Hunter’s Moon
Mirrlees, Hope: Lud-in-the-Mist
Pope, Elizabeth: Perilous Gard
Sherman, Delia: Changeling
Simner, Janni Lee: Bones of Faerie
Tomlinson, Heather: Aurelie
Warner, Sylvia Townsend: Kingdoms of Elfin
Windling, Terri (w/ Datlow, Ellen): The Faerie Reel

Two of the following (monsters)*
Billingsley, Franny: Chime
Blake, Kendare: Anna Dressed in Blood
Bronte Charlotte OR Rhys, Jean: Jane Eyre OR Wide Sargasso Sea (loved!)
Carriger, Gail: Soulless (enjoyed)
Clement-Moore, Rosemary: Prom Dates from Hell
Compestine, Ying Chang: A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts: A Collection of Deliciously Frightening Tales
de la Cruz, Melissa: Blue Bloods
Garcia, Kami and Stohl, Margaret: Beautiful Creatures
Grant, Mira: Feed
Halam, Anne: Dr. Franklin’s Island
Harris, Charlaine: Dead until Dark
Hodkin, Michelle: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Jenkins, A. M.: Repossessed
Kostova, Elizabeth: The Historian
Larbalestier, Justine: Liar
Link, Kelly: Pretty Monsters
Meyer, Stephenie: Twilight
Murphy, Pat AND Padgett, Lewis: His Vegetable Wife AND Mimsy Were the Borogroves
Okorafor, Nnedi: Who Fears Death
Peterfreund, Diana: Rampant
Reeves, Dia: Bleeding Violet OR Slice of Cherry
Ryan, Carrie: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Scheckley, Alisa: The Better to Hold You
Shelley, Mary: Frankenstein
Smith, Cynthia Leitich: Eternal
Stiefvater, Maggie: Shiver
Taylor, Laini: Lips Touch: Three Times
Whedon, Joss and Jeanty, Goerges: The Long Way Home (Buffy, Season 8, Vol. 1) (eh)
Yovanoff, Brenna: The Space Between

Two of the following (retold tales)* **
Anderson, Jodi Lynn: Tiger Lily
Atwood, Margaret: The Robber Bride
Barnhouse, Rebecca: Peaceweaver
Bernheimer, Kate: Any Gold sister book
Black, Holly: White Cat
Bradley, Marion Zimmer: Mists of Avalon
Block, Francesca Lia: Roses and Bones
Bunce, Elizabeth C.: A Curse Dark as Gold
Carter, Angela: The Bloody Chamber
Collins, Suzanne: The Hunger Games
Cross, Sarah: Kill Me Softly
Diemer, Sarah: The Dark Wife
Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee: Palace of Illusions
Donoghue, Emma: Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins
Durst, Sarah Beth: Into the Wild OR Ice
Flinn, Alex: Beastly OR A Kiss in Time OR Cloaked
George, Jessica Day: Princess of Glass OR Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
Hale, Shannon: The Goose Girl OR Book of a Thousand Days OR Rapunzel’s Revenge (enjoyed!)
Hopkinson, Nalo: Midnight Robber OR Brown Girl in the Ring
Johnson, Kij: The Fox Woman
Kerr, Peg: The Wild Swans
Kontis, Alethea: Enchanted
Lanagan, Margo: Tender Morsels
Levine, Gail Carson: Ella Enchanted
Lin, Grace: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon OR Starry River of the Sky
Lo, Malinda: Ash (ok, and not bad for lesbian fantasy)
Lord, Karen: Redemption in Indigo
Mantchev, Lisa: Eyes Like Stars
Marillier, Juliet: Heart’s Blood
McKillip, Patricia: In the Forests of Serre OR The Cygnet and the Firebird
McKinley, Robin: Deerskin OR Rose Daughter OR Spindle’s End OR Beauty (HATE HATE HATE)
Napoli, Donna Jo: Bound
Nyoka, Gail: Mella and the N’anga: An African Tale
Obrecht, Tea: The Tiger’s Wife
Oyeyemi, Helen: Mr. Fox
Patou, Edith: East
Pearce, Jackson: Sisters Red OR Sweetly
Petrushevskaya, Ludmilla: There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby
Reilly, LeAnn Neal: The Mermaid’s Pendant
Satrapi, Marjane: The Sigh
Sedia, Ekaterina: The Secret History of Moscow
Simner, Janni Lee: Thief Eyes
Springer, Nancy: I Am Morgan le Fay
Tacheuchi, Naoko: Sailor Moon Vol. 1
Tomlinson, Heather: The Swan Maiden OR Toads and Diamonds
Turgeon, Carolyn: Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale
Ursu, Anne (w/ Erin McGuire): Breadcrumbs
Valente, Catherynne: Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden OR Orphan’s Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice
Vande Velde, Vivian: The Book of Mordred
Wein, Elizabeth: Anything Arthurian
Wrede, Patricia C.: Snow White and Rose Red
Yolen, Jane: Brian Rose OR Snow in Summer

Three of the following*
Beukes, Lauren: Zoo City
Blackman, Malorie: Naughts and Crosses
Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee: The Conch Bearer
Enchi, Fumiko: Masks
Fagan, Deva: The Magical Misadventures of Prunella Bogthistle
Hulme, Keri: The Bone People
Goto: Hiromi: Half World
Hairston, Andrea: Redwood and Wildfire
Hamilton, Virginia: Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
Hopkinson, Nalo: The Chaos
Jemisin, N. K.: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Lowachee, Karin: The Gaslight Dogs
Meminger, Neesha: Into the Wise Dark
Ogiwara, Noriko: Dragon Sword and Wind Child
Okorafor, Nnedi: Akata Witch
Ono, Fuyumi: The Twelve Kingdoms Vol. 1: Sea of Shadow (enjoyed!)
Parra, Kelly: Invisible Touch
Pon, Cindy: Silver Phoenix
Rhodes, Jewell Parker: Ninth Ward
Suma, Nova Ren: Imaginary Girls
Uehashi, Nahoko: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
West, Michelle: Anything

Four of the following*
Anderson, R. J.: Ultraviolet
Armstrong, Kelly: The Summoning
Berry, Julie: The Amaranth Enchantment
Bow, Erin: Plain Kate
Bracken, Alexandra: Brightly Woven
Bray, Libba: Beauty Queens
Briceland, V.: The Glassmaker’s Daughter
Bunce, Elizabeth: Star Crossed
Burgis, Stephanie: Kat, Incorrigible
Cashore, Kristin: Fire OR Bitterblue
Chima, Cinda Williams: Warrior Heir
Cooper, Susan: The Dark Is Rising (loved as a kid)
Cypess, Leah: Mistwood
Derting, Kimberly: The Body Finder
Duey, Kathleen: Skin Hunger
Durst, Sarah Beth: Vessel
Farmer, Nancy: The House of the Scorpion
Fisher, Catherine: Incarceron
Flewelling, Lynn: Anything
George, Jessica Day: Tuesdays at the Castle
Hale, Ginn: Wicked Gentlemen
Hartman, Rachel: Seraphina
Hoffman, Alice: Green Witch
Hoffman, Nina Kiriki: Anything fantasy
Jones, Diana Wynne: Anything (enjoyed most)
Jones, Jaida and Bennett, Elizabeth: Havemercy
Kittredge, Caitlin: The Iron Thorn
Knox, Elizabeth: Dream Hunter
Lanagan, Margo: The Brides of Rollrock Island
McEntire, Myra: Hourglass
McKillip, Patricia: Ombria in Shadow OR The Alphabet of Thorn
Pierce, Tamora: Trickster’s Choice OR The Will of the Empress
Prineas, Sarah: Winterling
Rees Brennan, Sarah: Unspoken
Reese, Jenn: Above World
Rubino-Bradway, Caitlen: Ordinary Magic
Schwab, Victoria: The Near Witch
Sherman, Delia: The Freedom Maze
Smith, Sherwood: The Spy Princess
Spotswood, Jessica: Born Wicked
Stiefvater, Maggie: The Scorpio Races OR The Raven Boys
Stevermer, Caroline: A College of Magics
Taylor, Laini: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Thompson, Kate: The New Policeman
Wein, Elizabeth: Anything fantasy (? Is this the same as "Anything Arthurian" above? Or does she have more books I don't know about?!)
Weingarten, Lynn: The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers
Whalen Turner, Megan: The Thief (enjoyed)
White, Kiersen: Paranormalcy
Wilce, Ysabeau: Flora Segunda
Yolen, Jane: Anything (ok? It was ages ago)

Four of the following*
Allen, Sarah Addison: The Girl Who Chased the Moon
Andrews, Ilona: Magic Bites (Kate Daniels Book #1) (hate hate)
Atwood, Margaret: The Handmaid’s Tale
Bear, Elizabeth: Anything fantasy
Berg, Carol: The Soul Mirror
Bernobich, Beth: Passion Play
Bradley, Marion Zimmer: Any Darkover book
Carey, Jacqueline: Kushiel’s Dart
Clarke, Susanna: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Daniells, Rowena Cory: Anything
Dart-Thornton, Cecilia: The Ill-Made Mute (The Bitterbynde Book #1)
de la Cruz, Melissa: Witches of East End
Elliott, Kate: Cold Magic
Freeman, Pamela: Blood Ties (Castings Book #1)
Friedman, C. S., Black Sun Rising (Coldfire Book #1)
Gilman, Greer: Anything
Hamilton, Laurell: Anything
Hand, Elizabeth: Anything
Harris, Joanne: Rusemarks
Hobb, Robin: Anything
Jones, Tamara Siler: Ghosts in the Snow
Katsu, Alma: The Taker
Kerr, Katharine: Daggerspell (Deverry Book #1) OR Darkspell (Deverry Book #2)
Kiernan, Caitlin R.: The Red Tree
Lackey, Mercedes: Anything (some were enjoyable enough)
Lee, Tanith: Any adult book
Le Guin, Ursula: A Wizard of Earthsea (liked as a teenager)
Marks, Laurie J.: Fire Logic (Elemental Logic Book #1)
McCaffrey, Anne: Any Dragonriders of Pern book (initially liked as a teen, outgrew them)
Moon, Elizabeth: Anything fantasy
Moore, C.L.: Jirel of Joiry
Morganstern, Erin: The Night Circus
Neumeier, Rachel: House of Shadows
Novik, Naomi: His Majesty’s Dragon (enjoyed)
Paxson, Diana: Anything
Priest, Cherie: Boneshaker
Rice, Anne: Interview with a Vampire
Riley, Judith Merkle: The Oracle Glass
Sedia, Ekatarina: Alchemy of Stone
Snyder, Maria V.: Poison Study
Snyder, Midori: Soulstring OR New Moon
Valente, Catherynne: Palimpsest
Whitfield, Kit: In Great Waters
Wisoker, Leona: Secrets of the Sands

Optional: One of the following*
Elgin, Suzette Haden: Native Tongue (irritating)
Kagan, Janet: Hellspark
Bujold, Lois McMcaster: Curse of Chalion (loved!)
Butler, Octavia: Anything (ADORED)
Le Guin, Ursula: The Left Hand of Darkness (loved!)
May, Julian: Anything (blech)
Norton, Andre: Anything (ok? Was a long time ago. May be mixing up with Jane Yolen :))
Rusch, Kristine Kathryn: Anything (loved! Was ages ago though)
Russ, Joanna: The Female Man (enjoyed)
Tiptree, Jr., James: Anything (enjoyed)
Willis, Connie: The Doomsday Book (eh. I like most of her other stuff more)

Comments

[lea_hazel]

I've never heard of a lot of these books.

[alias_sqbr]

Me either! And not all of the things I've heard about the ones I haven't read are good.

[tree]

Clare, Cassandra

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Meyer, Stephenie: Twilight

WHAT.

also, in what universe are 'the handmaid's tale' and 'jane eyre' fantasy?

hrmph. i take umbrage at this list.

[bunny_m]

Is it just me, or does this list have an exceedingly high-handed peremptory tone, almost 'passing down of wisdom to the mere ignorant mortals'?

Gah!

There's a lot of good writers and good books on this list, a whole lot where I've never heard of either (which makes them exceedingly obscure when it comes to SF/F,) and some I'd rather gouge my eyes out than attempt to read (again)

[alias_sqbr]

Ah! I am not much of a fantasy reader, so wasn't sure if the seeming obscurity of so many of them was just my ignorance showing.

[oyceter]

For context, it's actually the staff reading list for the Sirens 2013 con, which is focused on women in fantasy. I suspect it gets pretty obscure both because of the focus of the con (women in fantasy, sadly not a huge thing in the mainstream!) and because it's the reading list for the staff, not participants or anything.

ETA: changed "sf/f" to "fantasy" per the con's website, since that probably also helps explain the lack of sf.

[alias_sqbr]

SUDDENLY IT ALL MAKES SENSE. Sorry for not getting or getting across that context!

[alias_sqbr]

I decided the first two were a result of making sure people are aware of what's popular right now or something, but that's a good point about the second two.

[coffeeandink]

In the original post, it's not identified as a general Women in Fantasy reading post. It's a post for the staff members of a hybrid fan/academic conference with set themes and guests of honor, so presumably it focuses on making sure the staff have an understanding of the current and/or historically significant books related to those themes, as well as books by the guests of honor, or similar or influences on tbooks by the guests of honor. So it includes books that aren't fantasy as well as books that the recommenders may or may not think are good.

[tree]

thanks for the context. that makes it make a lot more sense.

[alias_sqbr]

*nods* I somehow missed that detail, I have edited my post to clarify.

[pedanther]

also, in what universe are 'the handmaid's tale' and 'jane eyre' fantasy?

Well, Jane Eyre does have the bit near the end where the bond between Jane and Rochester is demonstrated by them spontaneously developing a temporary telepathic mindlink. (Not that I think that qualifies it as fantasy either.)

For The Handmaid's Tale... I don't know. Non-contemporary setting with a sort of medieval flavour, plus enough "landmark text" to nudge it over the line?

[kerravonsen]

May I ask why you hate "Beauty" so much?
Are you confusing Robin McKinley with Sherri S Tepper?

[alias_sqbr]

Nope, I liked Robin McKinley's Beauty well enough.

I read it a loooong time ago, hmm. As I vaguely recall, it was like it left a nasty aftertaste in my mouth, it felt like the author despised the mass of humanity and that wasn't a headspace I liked being in. Also it was smug and meanspirited.

I much more recently read a rant by Sherri S Tepper where she expressed loathing and a lack of compassion for large sections of humanity in a mean spirited and smug way which made me even less inclined to give her other writing a go.

[lea_hazel]

The new context makes this much more interesting. I'd actually love to hear some informed opinions comparing C.Claire's fandom and original stuff.

[alias_sqbr]

I've heard they're very similar, but mostly from people who really dislike C. Claire for being a plagiarist.