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74 Essential Books for Your Personal Library: A List Curated by Female Creatives

"When Open Culture recently published Jorge Luis Borges’ self-compiled list of 74 ‘great works of literature’, commissioned by Argentine publisher Hyspamerica, I, along with many others, saw one glaring issue in the otherwise fantastically diverse list: it included no works by female writers."
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avg. score: 9 of 74 (12%)
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The Mousetrap (Agatha Christie)
The Mousetrap
1
Agatha Christie
L'astragale (Albertine Sarrazin)
L'astragale
2
Albertine Sarrazin
The Colour Purple (Alice Walker)
The Colour Purple
3
Alice Walker
Little Birds (Anaïs Nin)
Little Birds
4
Anaïs Nin
Nights at the Circus (Angela Carter)
Nights at the Circus
5
Angela Carter
Are Prisons Obsolete? (Angela Y. Davis)
Are Prisons Obsolete?
6
Angela Y. Davis
Clear Light of Day (Anita Desai)
Clear Light of Day
7
Anita Desai
Anne Carson Autobiography of Red
Anne Carson Autobiography of Red
8
The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)
The Diary of a Young Girl
9
Anne Frank
Live or Die
Live or Die
10
The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)
The God of Small Things
11
Arundhati Roy
Kitchen (Banana Yoshimoto)
Kitchen
12
Banana Yoshimoto
Ain't I a Woman (Bell Hooks)
Ain't I a Woman
13
Bell Hooks
Master Georgie
Master Georgie
14
West With the Night
West With the Night
15
The Joys of Motherhood (Buchi Emecheta)
The Joys of Motherhood
16
Buchi Emecheta
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
17
Carson McCullers
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)
Jane Eyre
18
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Roche Feuchtgebiete
Charlotte Roche Feuchtgebiete
19
Chris Kraus I Love Dick
Chris Kraus I Love Dick
20
Chéri
Chéri
21
Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier)
Rebecca
22
Daphne Du Maurier
The Golden Notebook (Doris Lessing)
The Golden Notebook
23
Doris Lessing
The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)
The Age of Innocence
24
Edith Wharton
Eileen Myles Inferno
Eileen Myles Inferno
25
Women as Lovers (Elfriede Jelinek)
Women as Lovers
26
Elfriede Jelinek
Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)
Wuthering Heights
27
Emily Brontë
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor (Flannery O'Connor)
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor
28
Flannery O'Connor
Bonjour Tristesse (Françoise Sagan)
Bonjour Tristesse
29
Françoise Sagan
Silas Marner (George Eliot)
Silas Marner
30
George Eliot
The Making of Americans (Gertrude Stein)
The Making of Americans
31
Gertrude Stein
To Disembark (Gwendolyn Brooks)
To Disembark
32
Gwendolyn Brooks
Human Condition (Arendt Hannah)
Human Condition
33
Arendt Hannah
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
34
Harper Lee
Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel)
Wolf Hall
35
Hilary Mantel
Iris Murdoch: The Sea, the Sea
Iris Murdoch: The Sea, the Sea
36
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.
37
Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys)
Wide Sargasso Sea
38
Jean Rhys
Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri)
Interpreter of Maladies
39
Jhumpa Lahiri
Slouching Towards Bethlehem (Joan Didion)
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
40
Joan Didion
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