Passes the "Bechdel Test" Public

Created by Phil in SF

This list contains books that:

  • have at least two women in them,
  • who talk to each other,
  • about something other than a man.

Wikipedia has a decent intro on the origins of the metric: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test

Beware that this test is very limited in probative value. "The Bechdel test only indicates whether women are present in a work of fiction to a certain degree. A work may pass the test and still contain sexist content, and a work with prominent female characters may fail the test." This is just one thing a person may want to consider in their reading. There are many others.

I (@[email protected]) track this in my reading as a check to make sure I am including reading that includes non-token female characters because American publishing often overly focuses on men's stories, and that is quite often reflected even more strongly in what American men choose to read.

  1. The Helsinki Affair by 

    No rating

    IT’S THE CASE OF AMANDA’S LIFETIME, BUT SOLVING IT WILL REQUIRE HER TO BETRAY ANOTHER SPY—WHO JUST SO HAPPENS TO …

    Phil in SF says:

    Amanda and Kath are two agents who discuss the case they are working on at length.

  2. Remain Silent by  (Manon Bradshaw, #3)

    No rating

    Newly married and navigating life with a preschooler as well as her adopted adolescent son, Manon Bradshaw is happy to …

    Phil in SF says:

    DI Manon Bradshaw and her boss Glenda McBain talk to each other frequently about the course of the investigation.

  3. Missing, Presumed by  (Manon Bradshaw, #1)

    No rating

  4. Emperor of Ruin by  (Burningblade & Silvereye, #3)

    4 stars

  5. Unconquerable Sun by  (The Sun Chronicles, #1)

    3 stars

    Princess Sun has finally come of age.

    Growing up in the shadow of her mother, Eirene, has been no easy …

  6. Vanish by  (Rizzoli and Isles, #5)

    No rating

    If it's gripping, it's Gerritsen. A chilling Rizzoli and Isles thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen.The beautiful woman …

  7. Lessons in Chemistry by 

    3 stars

    Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that …

  8. The Collapsing Empire by  (The Interdependency, #1)

    3 stars

    The first novel of a new space-opera sequence set in an all-new universe by the Hugo Award-winning, New York Times-bestselling …

    Phil in SF says:

    The next Emperox, Cardenia Wu-Patrick chats with her friend and chief of staff Naffa Dolg early in chapter 1.

  9. The Deep Sky by 

    No rating

    Yume Kitasei's The Deep Sky is an enthralling sci fi thriller debut about a mission into deep space that begins …

    Phil in SF says:

    Story is about a generation ship that is crewed entirely by characters who can bear children. Several are non-binary or trans-men, but the largest portion of the crew are women.

  10. The Traitor by  (Alias Emma, #2)

    No rating

    British spy Emma Makepeace goes undercover on a Russian oligarch’s superyacht, where she’s one wrong move away from a watery …

  11. Station Eternity by  (The Midsolar Murders, #1)

    5 stars

    Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an …

  12. Blanche on the Lam by  (Blanche White, #1)

    No rating

    Blanche White is a plump, feisty, middle-aged African-American housekeeper working for the genteel rich in North Carolina. But when an …

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