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. River of Souls by  (River of Souls, #0.5)

    No rating

    Driven by his dreams, Asa will stop at nothing to find Tanja Duhr again: he will leave home, disappoint his …

  2. Assassin's Quest by  (The Farseer Trilogy, #3)

    No rating

    King Shrewd is dead at the hands of his son Regal. As is Fitz—or so his enemies and friends believe. …

  3. The Trap by  (Alias Emma, #3)

    No rating

    She has just one week to stop a killer.

    Emma Makepeace is headed to Edinburgh for the global G7 Summit …

  4. A Fountain Filled With Blood by  (Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne, #2)

    No rating

    In In the Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming's Malice Domestic-winning first mystery, Reverend Clare Fergusson was quickly introduced to a more …

  5. The Mercy of Gods by  (The Captive's War, #1)

    4 stars

    HOW HUMANITY CAME TO THE PLANET CALLED ANJIIN IS LOST IN THE FOG OF HISTORY, BUT THAT HISTORY IS ABOUT …

  6. Red Mars by  (Mars Trilogy, #1)

    3 stars

    For centuries, the barren, desolate landscape of the red planet has beckoned to humankind. Now a group of one hundred …

  7. The Wall by  (Sumer, #1)

    No rating

    ‘Imagine a horizon.’

    ‘I can’t.’

    Mithila’s world is bound by a Wall enclosing the city of Sumer — nobody goes …

  8. Dream Count by 

    3 stars

    Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer living in America. Alone in the midst of the pandemic, she recalls her past …

  9. The Martian Contingency by  (Lady Astronaut, #4)

    4 stars

    Years after a meteorite strike obliterated Washington, DC—triggering an extinction-level global-warming event—Earth’s survivors have started an international effort to establish …

  10. "C" is for Corpse by  (Kinsey Millhone, #3)

    3 stars

    After a near-fatal car accident, a young man asks Kinsey to protect him. When he is promptly murdered, Kinsey vows …

  11. Elder Race by 

    4 stars

    Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.

    But a demon is terrorizing …

  12. The Nigerwife by 

    No rating

    Nicole Oruwari has the perfect life: a hand­some husband; a palatial house in the heart of glittering Lagos, Nigeria; and …

  13. Trouble in Queenstown by  (The Vandy Myrick Mysteries, #1)

    2 stars

    With Trouble in Queenstown, Delia Pitts introduces private investigator Vandy Myrick in a powerful mystery that blends grief, class, race, …

  14. Under Fortunate Stars

    4 stars

    Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven’s freighter the Jonah breaks down …

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