My Favourite Books by Female Authors

I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.

~ Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

Female authors have inspired women for years from their writing. From Jane Austen to J. K. Rowling, Toni Morisson to Jhumpa Lahiri and Harper Lee to Margaret Atwood, all of them have captivated beautiful stories, portrayed strong female characters, raised serious issues and inspired other women to write.

In history many female authors used to write with a male name because they had fear that no one will take them serious and due to other reasons. Authors like Virginia Woolf have talked about these issues in their books.

I also love to read books featuring strong female characters or talking about serious issues. I may have not read all these powerful female authors. But still there are some whom I have read and loved.

In this post, I will be talking about my favourite books by female authors. I have not mentioned those books which I have already talked in previous posts.

To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This book is one of the most loved classic and one of the 100 books to read in a lifetime. Harper Lee had won Pulitzer Prize for this book.
This book starts with Scout telling about her brother, Jem’s broken hand and takes us to Maycomb (a fictitious town) of the 1930s. Their father Atticus is defending Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman. Despite disagreements of people of Maycomb, Atticus continues to defend him. How this whole incident affects his kids, what they feel about and how Atticus clarifies everything to them is described in this book. There are other adventures of these kids too. How Scout tries to comprehend the way adult behaves. Her female family members advise her to be feminine. But Scout is a little girl who does not understand what it means.

This book is such a heart-warming book and it teaches lots of things when you read it. The way it deals with racial discrimination and other social and traditional roles is really commendable.

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.

2. The Queen of Jasmine Country by Sharanya Manivannan

This book by Sharanya Manivannan doesn’t merely have beautiful cover, but also a very beautiful story.
The writer has described the life of Andal who was a poetess. She is one of the 12 poets from devotional poets known as Alvar. Andal was earlier known as Kodhai. She was found in Tulsi Grove by a poet and disciple of Vishnu. Kodhai’s character is a bit intriguing. The book describes her perspective from being a child to an adult.

Kodhai’s father taught her how to read and write. It helped her in discovering the power of words, and she started composing poems. She also realized the undying longing for an immense love that does not suppress her desire for freedom. And this part of her character made me love her.

This book is written in poetic style, and it’s absolutely irresistible. The way she has portrayed Kodhai’s character is just marvelous. It felt like Andal has written these lines by herself. The other description about flowers, nature and Madurai has also won my heart.

This book is first book that I have read by the author, and I’m looking forward to read all her books. And I heartily recommend everyone to read her work.

Tonight, under this arena of starlight, I take up my stylus and press it by the glow of a clay lantern into dry palmyra leaves. It is on this night that I dedicate myself – to my self, to who I truly am, to what is invincible and without bondage of time, that predates me, that will outlive me.

3. Woman to woman by Madhulika Liddle

This book is a collection of short stories about women. These women from distinct parts of society, economic status and age groups. They all are suffering from many issues such as sexual abuse, childlessness, old age, loneliness, etc. They are victims of this patriarchal society.

The author has beautifully fabricated these flawless stories. It keeps you gripped and in the end of these stories, you would find a dark twist. You will smile, keep your book aside for few minutes and then will think about it for long time. This is one book which will remain with you forever.

Before reading this book, I have not heard about this author, but now I have become her fan. If you are looking for a fabulous collection of short stories, then this is the book you must pick.

4. Small Acts of Freedom by Gurmehar Kaur

Maybe there will be a young girl for whom my story will resonate, and maybe someday I’ll write a book that will make her feel less alone.

I got to know about Gurmehar Kaur in 2017 when some conflicts happened in Delhi University. There were lots of people opposing and defending her. I too was studying in Delhi University that time and was very depressed from the events. I searched about her and got to know she was basically an ambassador for some peace campaign. She does not support the idea of war and have lost her father in Kargil war.

Small Acts of Freedom is a memoir in which she has described the story of women of three generations: her grandmother, her mother and herself. How her grandmother and her mother handled their kids as single mother. This story is about these brave women whom you can find around you. I really liked how she has described her feelings. It was so innocent from a child’s perspective. It has touched my heart. It has made me cry a lot.
The way she talks to every person who had known her father and tries to imagine those things about him. This part makes me cry as well as smile.
One of the best parts about reading this book was that I was reading it with my mother. She also loved this book so much. This book is about strong women. It is about a child for whom her mother’s colourful dupatta was her sky which later became colourless.
According to me, everyone should read this book for once. Even if you don’t read, please give it a try. You will never regret.

5. Selected Poems by Kamala Dass

Kamala Das, a poet who wrote in English and Malayali. Her work has been taboo-breaking and explores themes of love, betrayal, spiritual, social, feminist, political issues. She was way ahead of her time. The most rebellious woman having a unique style of poetry.
I have only read few poems written by her during my school days. But, reading this book has made me her fan. I have not read much English poetry especially by an Indian woman. So, this is such a heart-warming book for me. Each poem has lots of layers and leads to a string of thoughts in your mind.

If you love reading poetry, then this is highly recommended.

I am sinner, I am saint. I am the beloved and the betrayed. I have no joys that are not yours, no aches which are not yours. I too call myself I.

That’s it for today. Although, there are more books which I could list down here, but I have tried to talk about the ones that you must read.

Have you read any of them? What are your views? Which books by female authors are your absolute favourite? Share in comments.

I have written this post for #AtoZChallenge and my theme is “Love for the books”