Did you know that March is Women’s History Month? We’re kicking off our celebration with one heck of a contest this week. We’re giving away four of our favorite books by women writers published so far this year—which also happen to be some of the most buzzed about books of the moment.
Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes—our Fiction Top Pick for January—is an unconventional love story between small-town gal Lou and wealthy quadriplegic Will. Reviewer Abby Plesser calls the novel a “twisting, turning, heartbreaking novel” that “raises provocative moral questions while developing a truly unique relationship between two people brought together by chance.”
Saturday Night Widows, by Becky Aikman, is a memoir about Aikman’s struggle to move on from the loss of her husband by assembling the Blossoms, a group of fellow midlife widows who lean on each other for support and embark on new adventures together. Reviewer Kelly Blewett calls the book a “compassionate, inspirational and deeply personal read.”
Schroder, by Amity Gaige, is a heartbreaking tale of a desperate father who kidnaps his own 6-year-old daughter. According to reviewer Sheri Bodoh, Gaige “mixes warmth, lovely tenderness and wit with fear and loathing, nakedness and shame, moving her narrative swiftly to an end that hits like a punch in the gut.”
Drinking with Men, by Rosie Schaap—our Nonfiction Top Pick for February—is a deeply entertaining coming-of-age memoir that focuses on the bars Schaap has frequented—and the fascinating people she has met in them—over the years. Reviewer Henry L. Carrigan Jr. calls Schaap “a cracking good storyteller.”
TO ENTER: In the comments, tell us what your favorite book by a female writer is.
CONTEST DETAILS: One winner will be chosen by random.org from among entries received by 5 pm CST on Friday, March 8. The winner will receive copies of the four books listed above. Prizes must be shipped to a North American address, and Rhode Island residents are not eligible. (Full contest rules here.) Good luck!
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ETA: Thanks to all who entered! Congratulations to the winner, Pamela Snelling! The contest is now closed.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
My favorite female author is Sue Grafton -there is no one that I would rather read.
There are many books by female authors I love but I’ll go with “Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth Strout.
Wild by Cheryl Strayed….OUTSTANDING.
Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott. Makes me laugh out loud every time I read it.
This is the book that made me fall in love with Anne Lamott!
“Above All Things” by Tanis Rideout is one of my newest favorites.
So many… but if I had to pick one, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Jojo Moyes
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.
The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly.
The monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
The Time in Between by Maria Duenas.
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte.
There are so many choices but I’ll pick the book I just finished. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult. Fantastic!
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand- although it’s very hard to only pick one!
Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons.
The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht.
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Favorite book is “Emmeline” by Judith Rossner.
I think it would be Debbie Macomber, Turn in the Road. Just took a trip in November with my daughter and mother and we had our adventures and this book just reminded me of that. A special book for me. I recently gave a copy to my daughter who took the trip with us.
Still have to go with Anne of Green Gables, I have such memories of it! Pick me!!
“The Mists of Avalon” by Marion Zimmer Bradley is one of my top 5 – too tough to say it’s the favorite.
I loved this book too. I wrote to the hardcover publisher trying to get a photo of the book cover. I never heard from them though
I’m reading The Aviators Wife by Melanie Benjamin right now and it is excellent!
To Kill a Mockingbird……….Harper Lee rocks!!!
Let’s go old school… Erica Jong!
“The Accidental Tourist,” by Anne Tyler
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
I have to agree… Anne of Green Gables made me love reading and it’s just as good today as it was when I was a kid.
Edna Ferber’s Giant
Tough to pick just one, but I’d say Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is way up there on my list.
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
Melanie Benjamin is my favorite female author! I loved her first two books, Alice I Have Been and The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, and now her latest, The Aviator’s Wife, is at the top of my To Read list!
Women, Race, & Class by Angela Davis. As a Women and Gender Studies student, I’m so excited for Women’s History Month!
I absolutely loved The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. Can’t wait to read it again, actually.
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Love my regional authors.
Classic: Little Women–Louisa May Alcott
Contemporary: Anything by Amy Tan
There are so many women authors I love it is hard to pick just one! One of my favorites over the yesrs is the late Maeve Binchy. I also love the mysteries of Dorothy L Sayers, Agatha Christie, Deborah Crombie and literary writers Joyce Carol Oates and Jane Austen.
I am reading one of her books right now. I was sad to hear of her passing. I just love her people. I wish I had friends like them
There are so very many, but the books listed above put me in mind of one of my all time favs: Caroline Knapp’s Drinking: A Love Story. An honest, clear memoir of addiction. A true standout in the field.
That was an excellent book. I guess I identified with it because I am an alcoholic myself
It’s true what everyone has been saying – there are so many to choose from! But the first that came to mind as an all time favorite is The Secret Garden by Frances Hogdson Burnett with illustrations by Tasha Tudor.
More contemporary and more adult is Evensong by Gail Godwin.
Maeve Binchy and Rita Mae Brown for comfort.
and always Pride and Prejudice…
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen. All of her books are excellent!
Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson
It’s impossible for me to select just one.
hard to choose but if I have to…
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
I always go back to Madam Secretary written by Madeline Albright. I love plenty of fiction, but her memoir is amazing…
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
I loved The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield!
I love Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Envy by Sandra Brown
I have enjoyed the books Laura Hillenbrand has written,especially Unbroken.
Chocolat Joanne harris
The Emperor’s Last Island, by Julia Blackburn. The author explores Napoleon’s exile on Elba using a variety of lenses. History and biography are at the forefront; the author’s musings and travels add depth and breadth to the story.
The Shell Seekers…Rosamunde Pilcher
“And Ladies of the Club” by Helen Hooven Santmyer. I know it’s an odd choice but when I had a little time to read for fun, I could open the book anywhere and read a fascinating story.
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
I just finished The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin and loved it. Just starting Under a Wing by Reeve Lindbergh her daughter.
Margaret Mitchell, Janet evanovich, Barbara kingsolver, tana French, Lisa lutz
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
How do you pick just one??
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
These Is My Words by Nancy Turner
So, so many….
Too many great women authors to choose from! I’ll mention Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain, however, since that was the first non-fiction book that’s ever truly grabbed my attention.
So difficult to pick just one, but since I am a giver for World Book Night coming up and I will be giving The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, that’s the one I’ll pick. It’s great!
Recently I read a first published book by Carolyn Claypoole White, “The Unfinished Garden” as a widow myself I could relate to her heroine Tilly who helps a man with OCD but then he also helps her to find joy in her life again. There are many wonderful books written by women, it is hard to pick. Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes also writes of women and encouragement for their lives. I liked Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray,Love” as well – just so many to pick from. Love finding a new favorite author though. Cannot wait until White has another on the market; I’ll be waiting for it.
Way to many excellent reads to pick just one, but when I think of a favorite, Jane Eyre always comes to mind first since I remember how much I enjoyed it when I read it all those years ago.
The Lonely Doll by Dare Wright. I must have checked that out of the library 100 times. I was so mystified by the pictures of Edith and Little Bear.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
More and more I am drawn to female authors. I would love to win these books since I’m unfamiliar with all. As far as my favorite, there is no one. But any and all books by Tracy Chevalier, Alice Hoffman or Barbara Delinsky are must reads.
Gone girl by Gillian Flynn
The Bell Jar
Gone With the Wind
One of my all time favorite authors is Tracy Chevalier. I really enjoyed FALLING ANGELS, and actually visited the cemetary Highgate, in London, where a good part of this story takes place.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.
Is SE Hinton a female? I always thought he was a male. Great young adult book anyway
I like many books by female authors but one favorite is The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher.
To Kill A Mockingbird
Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind..a shame it was the only one she wrote
So many to choose from,but I think To Kill A Mockingbird,by Harper Lee..and later the movie was good too
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Little House on the Prairie (series) by Laura Ingalls-Wilder
Wild by Cheryl Strayed…..and so many more.
My favorite book by a woman writer is the Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. It’s a sad, touching story about the lives of a grandmother and her granddaughter living in poverty in India. In spite of the harsh conditions and situations she faces, the grandmother retains her dignity and has amazing strength.
my favorite female author is Nora Roberts.
I just loved Me before You!
The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver – most definitely.
I like all Sophie Hannah… twisted
My favorite is The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, but Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is in my top five books ever.
Anything by Jane Austen
Harry Potter by JK Rowling!
Kathryn Stockett wrote The Help and I can’t wait till she writes another one.
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
My latest favorite book by a woman writer is Me Before You by Jojo Moyes.
I have a deep fondness for the “Love Comes Softly” series but……….
my very favorite book is “Roses for Mama” by Janette Oke. This is the one that started me on all of Janette’s books.
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
I love Thorn Birds by Coleen McCollough, but in more recent writing loved “Room” by Emma Donohue. The audio version was totally compelling.
I loved both these books
!
Erin Hillenbrand, Unbroken
Barbara Kingsolver, Posionwood Bible
Lisa Genova, Left Neglected, etc.
Jenna Blum, Those Who Save Us
Joan Didion, Blue Nights, etc.
My favorite female author is Laura Ingalls Wilder!
On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee…I would vote for it 1000 times if zi could!
I love the British writer Ruth Rendell; guaranteed to get me out of a reading slump.
I like the mystery writers. Catherine Coulter, Elizabeth George, Sue Grafton, and Janet Evanovich are only a few of my favorites.
I have to agree with others who said, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee was a brilliant writer.
Impossible to choose a favorite, but I will go with Margaret Atwood & her novel Cat’s Eye.
My favorite is Beth Hoffman’s, Saving Ceecee Honeycutt.
Definitely “Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver.
So far this year my favorite book written by a woman author has turned out to be four favorites:
The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers, The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin, The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley, and Why Can’t I Be You by Allie Larkin.
All of these are wonderful books by four amazing women.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
There is so many. I love Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Berg… But if I had to pick one it’s Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
The Secret History by Donna Tartt is the first book that comes to mind, though there are so many I can think of. It was a very compelling read.
My favorite woman author is Dana Stabenow, and I can’t name a favorite from her Kate Shugak series, 20 wonderful books!
Wow! Hard question. There are so many. My choice is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Please pick me.
Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
So many wonderful women writers. I guess I’d have to say Kathryn Stockett for THE HELP.
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny.
There are so many wonderful women authors that it’s hard to choose from. I would have to say Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy. I love each and every book by her. She draws you in to her stories. When I’ve finished her books I find myself wondering how the people in them are doing. She makes the characters so real.
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmerman Bradley is one of my all time favorites!
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Left Neglected and Still Alice by Lisa Genova are all beautifully written and impact the reader long after finishing the books.
My favorite book by female author is, hands down, Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
Although Broken Harbor by Tana French or Outlander by Diana Gabaldon are very close seconds !!
My vote goes to Barbara Kingsolver for the Poisonwood Bible
Any of Sue Graftons books starting with “A is for Alibi”
Tough call, so many great books and authors to choose from. The Saving Graces, Patricia Gaffney.
I love to read titles by Ann Patchett… all her books are gread reads
Without a doubt “Beside the Sea” by Veronique Olmi.
lots to pick from, but my vote is for J. K. Rowling…loved Casual Vacancy and all her Harry Potter books
Barren Ground by Ellen Glasgow
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. It makes me laugh out loud, cry and beg for it to never end.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett helped me relive the 60′s for better or worse.
So many books to choose from and some many already mentioned but I will say Rita Gelman’s Tales of a Female Nomad. I have never actually wanted to be someone I read about until I read this book and I wanted to her her so badly.
There are so many, but if I have to choose just one, it would be Home Front by Kristin Hannah.
“The Round House” by Louise Erdrich
I love all of the books about Claire and Jamie in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.
There are many, but Me Before You by JoJo Moyes has become my new favorite.
It’s hard to pick but my “old-time” favorite is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Sara Gruen- Ape House AND Water for Elephants!
My favorite all-time book just happens to be To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I read it first as a young child and have read it many times since. I have also given it away to others to read.
“Case Histories” by Kate Atkinson. It’s such a well-crafted story–thrilling, moving, funny, and so clever. I wanted to re-read it the moment I finished it.
The Distant Summer by Sarah Patterson
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My newest favorite female author is Louise Penny. Her latest novel, “The Beautiful Mystery” is so enticing that I could not put it down. She is such a thoughtful writer. It is very easy to become involved with her characters, you so want the good ones to come out on top and the bad ones to lose, but that is not always life! She captures you on page one and you hate to see the end of the book. Always hoping that it is not too long a wait for her next read. If you enjoy a good mystery, read her.
The best female author I have read in a long time is Lisa Genova. All of her books have been top notch. She wrote Still Alice, Love Anthony, and Left Neglected. Can’t wait for her next one!
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is amazing.
ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand
Just in case you might not consider that as written by a female author because it was actually written by committee, my next favorite is
UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand
dressmaker of khair khana by gayle tzemach lemmon
A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford.
I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven is beautifully written with characters you won’t forget. I sob at the ending every time I read the book. My mother introduced me to this novel in 1997 and she loved it as well.
Middlemarch, by George Eliot; The Color Purple, by Alice Walker; Love Medicine, by Louise Erdrich; To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink was my favorite book as a child and I reread it last month. It will be a favorite for a lifetime.
Too hard to narrow it down to one favorite, but I just read The Weird Sisters and also Silver Sparrow and loved them both. I also loved Room.
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
I LOVED The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot!
The Help
Tough choice, but what first came to mind was Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund.
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Has to be Harry Potter
At the moment, it’s Michel Stone, author of The Iguana Tree.
Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice. She’s awesome!
One of my favorites is THE CATSWOLD PORTAL by Shirley Rousseau Murphy.
It’s a tie. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and Swamplandia by Karen Russell!
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
When Katie Wakes by Connie May Fowler
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
I loved THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. It really stayed with me.
Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes! Just reread and watched the movie cause I’m going to Italy next WEEK!!!!!!
My favorite read is bel canto by ann patchett
there are so many, but i really like the novels by IRENE HANNON.
Just about anything Nora Roberts puts out!
I love many, many, many female authors but my very first love was Louisa May Alcott and “Little Women”. Just finished reading “March” by Geraldine Brooks about the family and thoroughly enjoyed that.
I loved the Shoemakers Wife by Adriana Trigiana
could not put it down
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I have enjoyed Colleen McCullough’s book over the years…..but my most favorite is “The Thorn Birds”.
This is a tough choice, but I guess I would have to say Three Junes by Julia Glass.
I have to go with my long-time favorite, Gone With the Wind!
My favorite book by a female author is “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Pulitzer Prize winning author Isabel Wilkerson. It tells of the 55 year migration of Southern Blacks to the North and West.
Wash by Margaret Wrinkle
Dale Loves Sophie To Death by Robb Forman Dew is a very old favorite.
Have to go with Harper Lee. More recently Barbara Kingsolver.
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
Gone with the Wind
MY FAVORITE BOOK IS A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN by BETTY SMITH ; read it when I was 11 years old and several times since the 1st reading, many years since. THANK YOU
So hard to chose – I love the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and the first 2 of the All Souls Triology by Deborah Harkness, but there are so many more!
I read so much and have for so many years that it is hard to pick a favorite. I’m going to go all the way back to “Gone With The Wind” by Margaret Mitchell and/or “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver. This is off the top of my head; if I really spend time thinking about it, I probably would come up with many more.
Hope to win!
All-time favorite is Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, but right now I am reading Jodi Piccoult. Her stories are amazing!
It changes but right now I would have to say The Aviator’s Wife
by Melanie Benjamin. I just finished it last week and loved it.
The entire “Mistress of the Art of Death” series by Ariana Franklin. She also wrote as Diana Norman. She was great at historical fiction. I wish she was still with us.
Anything by Jodi Picoult
The Twentieth by Indu Sundaresan
“The Thornbirds” by Colleen McCullough!
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diefenbach is my most recent favorite.
I have so many favorite authors that I can’t even begin to tell you all my favorite books. However my most recent read was “The Light Between Oceans” by Stedman. But I like Jance, Binchy and Quindlen and have read all their books.
So many – but having to pick one that stood out among would be Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Wow!
But for laugh out loud ones – I read Janet Evanovich….
I have read and love all of Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult and Diana Gabaldon’s books.
Love so many! Eat, Pray, Love by Gilbert. Wild by Strayed. The Help by Stockett. Always want more time to read the great books coming out!
Shirley W.
So many great women authors — Jodi Picoult’s stories come to mind. I like the way she handles comtemporary topics, makes you think, and works it all into a great story.
“The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver, among many other fabulous books/authors…
Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan..Loved it
and Motherless Daughters by Hope Edelman
There are so many to choose from, but my favorite is Middlemarch by George Eliot – her real name Marian Evans.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I have many favorite female authors, but my all-time favorite book (from childhood and still, yet) is Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. What a great contest! Thanks for the chance to win.
Currently my favorite recently read novel by a female author is: The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley
I’m torn between my two favorite rereads: White Oleander by Janet Fitch and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
Pride and Prejudice, by the indomitable Jane Austen!
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Hard to pick just one favorite and there are so many good female authors but I guess I am partial to “Cowboys Are My Weakness” by Pam Houston and I love all her books.
How can you not love any book by Mary Higgins Clark!
The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
My favorite recent book written by a woman is The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. My all-time favorite is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. So visionary, so brave.
The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas it is full of twists & turns & Sandra is a versatile writer. All of her books take me on enjoyable & memorable journeys’
A big fan of Laurie R. King.
My favorite book by a female author is The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.
Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver (if I can only pick one!)
No question it is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
I agree with others that there are so many enjoyable women writers that it is hard to choose one book. I guess Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell is a favorite through the years. I also love Garden Spells because it introduced me to Sarah Addison Allen’s books. Then I enjoy Gail Carriger’s books because they are different. I enjoy different genres and there are very good women writers in all of them.
I HAVE ALOT OF FAVORITE BOOKS BUT I’LL GO WITH
GONE GIRL BY GILLIAN FLYNN
The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
Gone With The Wind
Anything by Ann Patchett. Love Barbara Kingsolver, too!
Anything by Barbara Kingsolver. At the top of the list are The Poisonwood Bible and The Lacuna.
Also, Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
What a hard question! I adore the Slynx by Tatyana Tolstoya.
Recently I read “Me Before You” and it was amazing. I love Jodi Piccoult books because she makes the reader see so many sides…which in turn makes you think “outside” the box! I also think Adriana Trigiana, Gillian Flynn, Kristin Hannah and LuAnne Rice are all some great female writers (but truly, the list is long!).
My favorite book by a female author is “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett. Thanks for this opportunity. Mailing address provided upon notification.
No contest: Louise Penny! BEST BEST BEST!
A fantastic book by a woman author
“The Glass Castle”
By Jeanette Wells
I agree!
Carole L. Glickfeld “Swimming Toward The Ocean” – touching and memorable!
Soooo many great women writers! Love all Lisa Genova’s books, anything by Lorna Landvik, Elizabeth Berg, Jan Karon, Kim Edwards, etc, etc, etc. If forced to pick just one it would be Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is one of my absolute favorites of all time… an amazing novel! <3
An old read, but a good one! The Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice.
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird wins out – probably the greatest American novel by any author, male or female.
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Three Weeks in December by Audrey Schulman
Can’t wait for another Sue Grafton. Every one of her books is well worth the wait!
I agree ! Great characters who stay in my thoughts .
My favorite recently is Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
All of the magical books by Joanne Harris
Anything by Barbara Kingsolver but my all time favorite continues to be Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
My favorite book (at the moment) by a female writer is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
That is a tie between THE GOOD EARTH by Pearl S. Buck and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee. Two of my all time favorite reads!!!!
Love Geraldine Brooks – People of the Book was amazing
Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Any book by Elizabeth Berg. BTW, where is she???
She has a new book coming out next month!
Jane Eyre.
I have enjoyed reading Lian Tanner’s Keepers Trilogy as I am a librarian for teens and try to keep abreast of exciting new books (an impossible task!). Lian has a vivid imagination and the story is intriguing. I hope a movie is in the works!!! I highly recommend it to all ages!
Favorite book by Jodi Picoult
19 Minutes
I love many of the writers already mentioned. But, in particular, I like Kate Atkinson for her intelligent mystery series with Jackson (Case Histories is the start , and I am lending it out to friends to get them started). Also the Jacquelin Winspear series with Maisie Dobbs. They both create characters the reader really cares about.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith is my favorite–couldn’t say why, but I can just disappear inside it’s covers.
I love all the crime / mystery writers … from the easy-going Susan Albert to Tess Gerritsen to J.D. Robb … but a title from a good story-teller is Jenny Wingfield’s “The Homecoming of Samuel Lake”.
My all time favorite is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
To Kill A Mockingbird
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – the story moved me and now I want to travel to the places she visited.
I love Dayna Dunbars books, “The Saints and Sinners of Okay County” and its sequel “The Wings That Fly Us Home”. These books bring me back to the Oklahoma childhood of my youth.
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith
As an elementary school teacher, I always had my classes read Molly’s Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen before the Thanksgiving holiday. It never failed to bring me to tears.
I’m sort of ecclectic. I loved Harper Lee and I love Faye Kellerman and I adore Maeve Binchy (because I love anything Irish).
My favorite book by a female author is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I just read 22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson and it was a great read!
Ellen Hopkins- amazing storyteller
I would have to say “The Accidental Tourist,” by Anne Tyler.
Anything by Margaret Atwood, but especially The Handmaid’s Tale.
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Favorite of all, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher,the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling, and everything by Maeve Binchy.
Anything by Lisa Scottoline.
Please Look After Mom
By Kyung-Sook Shin
When I see the word “akimbo,” I immediately recall a story of a beautiful and headstrong young maiden who, through no fault of her own, finds herself in dire circumstances. She is rescued by a dashing and perfectly formed hero who is of questionable morals and background. No matter how hard she tries to fight it, she is drawn to the handsome rogue as he is to her. Finally admitting that their love is above all others, they come together blissfully and live happily ever after. The only author who can transport me to her novels with one word is Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, queen of historical romance.
Sorry that I left out the last and most important sentence of my submission. It should be “Although all of her books are fun reads, my favorite is Shayna.”
This is a great giveaway, hope, to win! I love many female authors, but, my 2 fav. choices, would be Cold Sassy Tree & To Kill A Mockingbird, which, as I figured, I saw has already been said in past comments. I also love Tami Hoag, Linda Howard, Elin Hilderbrand, so, many! Also, would have to say The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, is another personal fav!
My favorite book by a female author is without a doubt Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons!
The Illuminator, by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
I fell in love with reading by spending my time with Judy Blume and Caroline Keene. No one loved Nancy Drew more than me. Right now my favorite in Alice Hoofman, there is so much magic in her stories! My favorite is the Dovekeepers.
So many wonderful female writers out there now it’s difficult to pick just one! Julia’s Chocolates by Cathy Lamb is one of my all time favorites though.
Hi! This is a tough question. My favorite that sticks out in my mind is “The Mummy” by Anne Rice.
Camilla lackberg is my favorite female writer and The Preacher starts the series which constitutes my favorite book(s).
All books by Diana Gabaldon including Outlander.
My longtime favorite: Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
My favorite book by a female writer, is “White Oleander” by Janet Fitch.
Anything by J.D. Robb – she writes strong women and greate escapist fiction.
Nora Ephron – I knew, after reading her first book years ago, that this gal was going somewhere! I’ve read all her books since then, and she has more than once picked me up out of the doldrums and hit the nail on the head! I miss her already.
Anything by Ann Patchett… such as The Magician’s Assistant
I like anything by Debbie Maccomber
Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver, or any of her books, she is a great author.
My latest favorite book by a female author – Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Yes!!
“Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood
Hmmmm…if I have to choose, I’ll say A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine l’Engle and The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
It’s very difficult to choose just one. Tillie Olsen’s book of short works, Tell Me a Riddle, is certainly high on any list of mine. However, reading through the other comments, I’m reminded of many others I’ve enjoyed as well. (And seen some new authors to check out.)
I’ve enjoyed many of the books named, but have to go with The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Brought me to my knees.
As a reader for me it all began with Judy Blume
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier
There are many incredible female authors. It is very difficult to choose only one. One of my favorite authors is Kristin Hannah. Out of all the books she has written, my favorite is Winter Garden. I feel this is her best story. It is emotional with an unexpected ending.
There are so many, but I’ll have to go with Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s the one I’m always encouraging friends to read.
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
I guess I would have to say Jane Austen. But this is tough – so many great women writers out there! Pride and Prejudice? Any book by Barbara Kingsolver? Anne of Green Gables by L.M.M. Montgomery? The Roundhouse by Louise Erdich? I could go on and on…..
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
I have so many favorite women authors it is difficult to chose. I will go with Isabel Allende’s In the House of the Spirits.
Jodi Picoult is my favorite woman author.
House Rules – Jodi Piccoult
The Grass is Singing, Doris May Lessing
Right now, Louise Erdrich’s Round House.
“The Snow Child” by Eowyn Ivey
To Kill A Mockingbird / Harper Lee
My favorite book is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. She shows that women can deal with all the troubles of life and still continue to cope. It also shows the love of family.
Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Bronte
Heidi
I don’t know if I could choose just one. So here are my top two faves. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin and To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. And a million others!
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Because it is Bitter and Because it is My Heart by Joyce Carol Oates
Oof, such a toughie to pick just one. But I’m going to go with one I just finished: The Astral by Kate Christensen. Dying to read all these books though!
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Hmmm…..very difficult!! There are soo many that I love, but I will go with Judy Blume, because her books have made such an impact on young girls, and adult women as well.
Crazy about local authors,
Thus, Jane Kirkpatrick: where lilacs bloom or a daughter’s walk
I forgot to say what book!! “Are you there God, it’s me Margaret”
Ceremony in Death by J.D. Robb. Any of the Eve Dallas books will keep me up late!
My favorite is the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. A friend told me how great it was, and at the time I really read only historical romance. I’m so glad I read the first one who knew I liked contemporary mysteries more?
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
So many great books already mentioned and I loved most of them!
Can’t diagree with anyone. But I didn’t see Anne Rivers Siddons mentioned, who is another of my favorites.
(And I will add a few that I haven’t read to my future reading list. Thanks.)
I love anything by Jeanne Ray! Recently started reading Jenn McKinlay who reminds me of janet Evanovich, another favorite.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood is among my favorites. I have many more to list but you would soon tire of reading it. I will keep looking …
My favorite female authers are Jodi Picoult and Neta Jackson. I loved the Yada Yada Prayer Group series.
Around the House and in the Garden by Dominique Browning
I just finished reading The Ambassador’s Daughter by Pam Jenoff. It was a great story.
Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen
There are so many – one favorite is Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund. I also like the Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Thompson and the books by Elizabeth Peters and Earlene Fowler
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett is my favorite
Wild by cheryl strayed
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Louise Erdrich consistently wrutes books that jump to the top of what I want to read; no matter the season or subject.
Hmmm…. Choosing just one is difficult for this bibliophile. Guess I’ll have to go back to where it all began. “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott.
am waiting for the next Diana Gabaldon book. loved them all.
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny or ANYTHING by Ms Penny; she is a superlative and exquisite writer….
“Pull of the Moon” by Elizabeth Berg
Great book! Great author!
My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman — absolutely beautiful
novel about a family in Australia!
I’d also have to go with Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani
Turtle Moon and all books by Alice Hoffman
Open House by Eliz. Berg
Harper Lee’s
To Kill A Mockingbird – to be sure.
Any and all by Beatrix Potter.
It’s hard to pick only one. Lionel Shriver’s book We Need to Talk About Kevin was stunning.
It is very hard to pick just one book out of the many…
I’ll go with one that has stayed with me years after I read it -The Glass Castle by Jennette Walls.
Love that book!
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’engle
Me before you by JoJo
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
I know this is so cliche but i love Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. More modern, nothing has made me laugh more ever than Bossypants by Tina Fey
Goodness, it’s hard to pick just one. Loved The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Love most of Jodi Picoult’s books. Love Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. And okay… love Charlaine Harris and Kathy Reichs. And one of the best books I’ve read was “unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand. I could go on. I have eclectic taste.
My all time favorite is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier,
but my current favorite is The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Fav women author? Tough question!
For Mystery: Sue Grafton, Southern Lit: Rebecca Wells or Joshilyn Jackson, Historical Fiction: Erika Robuck or Kate Morton (I just finished The Secret Keeper- and LOVED it!)
But Sue Grafton is probably hands down my fav. Although it’s still too tough to decide!
Beloved.
Geraldine Brooks. Keep looking for something new from her.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Favourite book by written by a woman?
Middle march by George Eliot?
Maybe but perhaps a hand maid’s tale by Margaret Atwood?
No I think it must be Toni Morrison’s Cat’s Cradle?
Ah I know …. For making me cry it must be
Alice Walker’s The Color Purple…
Then Carole Shields us pretty amazing too
With the Stone Diaries
Oh thank you women for wielding your pen
It is mightier than the wooden spoon!
Xx
JoJo Moyes for her stunning Me Before You.
Anything by Mary Higgins Clark. I’ve read all her books and they’re all good.
My most recent favorite book by a female author is ” The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society” by Darien Gee.