📚 Her Voice, Our Shelf 📖

lady_wyrm's profile picture lady_wyrm Host

13 participants (233 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
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables #1

L.M. Montgomery

427 pages • hardcover • 1908

fiction classics middle grade funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
Die größere Hoffnung by Ilse Aichinger

Die größere Hoffnung

Ilse Aichinger

286 pages • paperback • 1948

fiction literary reflective medium-paced
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston

219 pages • paperback • 1937

fiction classics historical literary emotional reflective medium-paced
Michel muss mehr Männchen machen by Astrid Lindgren

Michel muss mehr Männchen machen

Emil of LĂśnneberga #2

Astrid Lindgren

2 hours, 14 minutes • audio • 1966

fiction childrens classics adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb

The Golden Fool

The Tawny Man #2

Robin Hobb

632 pages • paperback • 2002

fiction fantasy adventurous emotional slow-paced
Kindheit by Tove Ditlevsen

Kindheit

The Copenhagen Trilogy #1

Tove Ditlevsen

3 hours • audio • 1967

nonfiction classics memoir emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Galatea by Madeline Miller

Galatea

Madeline Miller

46 minutes • audio • 2013

fiction fantasy literary short stories dark emotional sad fast-paced
Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin

Gifts

Annals of the Western Shore #1

Ursula K. Le Guin

320 pages • digital • 2004

fiction fantasy young adult adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced
The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

The Moving Finger

Miss Marple #3

Agatha Christie

6 hours, 23 minutes • audio • 1943

fiction classics crime mystery mysterious medium-paced
Die Tochter des Bildhauers by Tove Jansson

Die Tochter des Bildhauers

Tove Jansson

3 hours, 38 minutes • audio • 1968 user-added

nonfiction memoir short stories lighthearted reflective medium-paced