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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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1
The Mousetrap (Agatha Christie)
The Mousetrap
Agatha Christie
2
L'astragale (Albertine Sarrazin)
L'astragale
Albertine Sarrazin
3
The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
4
Little Birds (Anaïs Nin)
Little Birds
Anaïs Nin
5
Nights at the Circus
Nights at the Circus
6
Are Prisons Obsolete? (Angela Y. Davis)
Are Prisons Obsolete?
Angela Y. Davis
7
Clear Light of Day
Clear Light of Day
8
Anne Carson Autobiography of Red
Anne Carson Autobiography of Red
9
The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl
10
Live or Die
Live or Die
11
The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)
The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy
12
Kitchen
Kitchen
13
Ain't I a Woman
Ain't I a Woman
14
Master Georgie
Master Georgie
15
West With the Night
West With the Night
16
The Joys of Motherhood (Buchi Emecheta)
The Joys of Motherhood
Buchi Emecheta
17
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
18
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
19
Charlotte Roche Feuchtgebiete
Charlotte Roche Feuchtgebiete
20
Chris Kraus I Love Dick
Chris Kraus I Love Dick
21
Chéri
Chéri
22
Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier)
Rebecca
Daphne Du Maurier
23
The Golden Notebook
The Golden Notebook
24
The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)
The Age of Innocence
Edith Wharton
25
Eileen Myles Inferno
Eileen Myles Inferno
26
Women as Lovers (Elfriede Jelinek)
Women as Lovers
Elfriede Jelinek
27
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
28
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor
29
Bonjour Tristesse
Bonjour Tristesse
30
Silas Marner
Silas Marner
31
The Making of Americans (Gertrude Stein)
The Making of Americans
Gertrude Stein
32
To Disembark (Gwendolyn Brooks)
To Disembark
Gwendolyn Brooks
33
Human Condition (Arendt Hannah)
Human Condition
Arendt Hannah
34
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
35
Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel)
Wolf Hall
Hilary Mantel
36
Iris Murdoch: The Sea, the Sea
Iris Murdoch: The Sea, the Sea
37
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.
38
Wide Sargasso Sea
Wide Sargasso Sea
39
"Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
40
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
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