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 Treatment (Jack Caffery, #2)

    4 stars

    In a quiet residential area in London, a couple is discovered bound and imprisoned in their own home. Savagely battered …

  2. 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 …

  3. 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, …

  4. 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 …

  5. Project Hail Mary by 

    4 stars

    Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth …

  6. Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by  (Dark Lord Davi, #2)

    4 stars

    Dark Lord Davi rules the kingdom, but she must now break the time loop that binds her in this hilariously …

  7. Void by  (The Far Reaches, #2)

    2 stars

    An intergalactic luxury cruise to a distant port is a world unto itself in this piercing short mystery by #1 …

  8. Dead Connection by  (Ellie Hatcher, #1)

    4 stars

    In Alafair Burke's electrifying thriller, Dead Connection, a rookie detective goes undercover on the Internet dating scene to draw out …

  9. The Guest by 

    No rating

    “Alex drained her wineglass, then her water glass. The ocean looked calm, a black darker than the sky. A ripple …

  10. The Unkillable Frank Lightning by 

    4 stars

    Catherine Coldbridge is a complicated woman: A doctor, an occultist, and, briefly, a widow.

    In 1879, Private Frank Humble, Catherine’s …

  11. Money Shot by  (Angel Dare, #1)

    4 stars

    THEY THOUGHT SHE’D BE EASY. THEY THOUGHT WRONG.

    It all began with the phone call asking former porn star Angel …

  12. San Diego 2014 by 

    3 stars

    A Newflesh novella from the New York Times bestselling author that brought you Feed, Mira Grant.

    It was the summer …

  13. Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

    4 stars

    From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to …

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