📚 Her Voice, Our Shelf 📖

lady_wyrm's profile picture lady_wyrm Host

11 participants (157 books)

01 Aug 2025—31 Jul 2026

Overview

Building a bookshelf full of women’s perspectives.

When you look at your shelves (or scroll through your e-reader library), how many of those books are authored by men? I you took them away, how many would be left?

Many readers are surprised when they examined their shelves and realize that the majority of the books they own (and have read…) are written by men. I certainly was a couple of years ago. Once I noticed the imbalance, I made a conscious choice to seek out books by women and set aside men’s voices - at least for now. 

This isn’t because books written by men are bad or unworthy, or because their voices lack variety, but because I wanted to intentionally honor and make space for women’s voices in my reading life.

This challenge is your invitation to do the same: rebalance your reading, add diversity to your shelves, and discover just how rich and varied women’s writing can be. Over the course of the challenge, you’ll explore books written (or translated by women) from around the globe, across genres, time periods and perspectives.

Whether it’s a classic penned a century ago, a contemporary bestseller, or a hidden gem in translation, every book you choose will spotlight the creativity, insight, and influence of women writers.

‼️ For this challenge, ‘women authors’ includes cis women, trans women (and non-binary authors who identify with women’s perspectives). The aim is to celebrate and amplify the wide spectrum of voices and experiences within women’s writing.


Goal:
The challenge is set at 100 books. It’s an ambitious number, yes, but think of it as an invitation rather than a demand. This isn’t about pressure or perfection, it’s about curiosity and exploration. You might reach the full 100 or you might discover that even a handful of books by women transforms your reading life. Every step toward balancing your shelf counts. 

Why Join?
Because every story told by a woman adds another thread to the rich tapestry of human experience. The more we read them, the stronger those threads become.

Challenge Books

All books added
The Lamb by Lucy Rose

The Lamb

Lucy Rose

7 hours, 48 minutes • audio • 2025

fiction horror lgbtqia+ literary dark emotional tense medium-paced
Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

Rubyfruit Jungle

Rita Mae Brown

6 hours, 27 minutes • audio • 1973

fiction classics lgbtqia+ emotional reflective medium-paced
White Torture: Conversations with Women Prisoners in Iran by Narges Mohammadi

White Torture: Conversations with Women Prisoners in Iran

Narges Mohammadi

6 hours, 53 minutes • audio • 2022 user-added

nonfiction essays politics dark emotional informative slow-paced
Autocracy Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World by Anne Applebaum

Autocracy Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World

Anne Applebaum

4 hours, 48 minutes • audio • 2024

nonfiction history politics informative fast-paced
What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski

What Happened to Rachel Riley?

Claire Swinarski

343 pages • hardcover • 2023

fiction contemporary middle grade mystery hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

Skin of the Sea

Of Mermaids and Orisa #1

Natasha Bowen

11 hours, 28 minutes • audio • 2021

fiction fantasy young adult adventurous emotional medium-paced
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

The Knight and the Moth

The Stonewater Kingdom #1

Rachel Gillig

389 pages • hardcover • 2025

fiction fantasy romance adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry

Bonnie Garmus

400 pages • hardcover • 2022

fiction historical literary emotional funny inspiring medium-paced
Book People by Paige Nick

Book People

Paige Nick

368 pages • paperback • 2025 user-added

fiction contemporary
Life on Mars: Poems by Tracy K. Smith

Life on Mars: Poems

Tracy K. Smith

1 hour, 22 minutes • audio • 2011

poetry science fiction emotional reflective medium-paced