I absolutely love to read. I always have, and, if the overstuffed state of my bookshelves are any indication, I probably always will. Unsurprisingly, I’ve been seeking out female-centric literature for my entire life. And, also unsurprisingly, a large amount of what I ended up reading is, and should be, considered feminist literature. Some of the books on this list are more obvious than others, but all feature the stories of powerful, amazing women who, fictional or not, have been great inspirations to me and are well worth reading about.

1. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Chances are, if you have spoken to me, I have told you to read this book. Beauty Queens centers around a plane of teenage beauty pageant contestants who crash on a deserted island (that’s actually a secret government base). Throughout the book, each girl undergoes a massive amount of self-discovery, and each is a wonderfully three-dimensional, unique character that you can’t help but fall in love with. And, if this didn’t seem good enough, the book also features commercial breaks for a variety of products and TV shows, character profiles, and footnotes explaining the complex aspects of pop culture that are referenced throughout the story. This book is somehow both satirical and positive, and it’s generally a very uplifting and empowering story of girls learning about themselves and how to survive in a world that seems to be working against their success.

2. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray

I basically have no chill when it comes to Libba. I’ve read everything she’s written at least twice, and I love all of it with a passion. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy is somehow the opposite of Beauty Queens while still maintaining the same girl power message. The books take place in turn-of-the-century England after the untimely death of Gemma’s mother, where Gemma and her friends discover a new fantastical world in an abandoned portion of their boarding school. There’s magic, mystery, and full-on Gothic novel style drama rolled up into one, with a wonderfully diverse cast of heroines spearheading the story.

3. The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce

Please note that, by listing this series, I am also thinking about all of the companion series that go along with it. Tamora Pierce has written a collection of books taking place in the fantastical, medieval style land of Tortall, each series centering around a powerful woman in the land who has, in some way or another, worked to improve the position of women in the patriarchal society of their world. The Song of the Lioness Quartet is the first of these, centering around Alanna of Trebond, the daughter of a nobleman who switches places with her twin brother Thom in order to pursue her dream of becoming a knight. The books are full of adventure, magic, and patriarchy smashing, as are the companion series that follow it, and I can’t think of a better combination of things!

4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Okay, I get that this is a cliché choice. But, honestly, can you really blame me? Elizabeth Bennet is such a powerful, strong-willed, and inspirational heroine who is firm in the knowledge of who she is and what she stands for, and her sisters are equally interesting characters in their own rights. Plus, Jane Austen’s writing is, as always, absolutely fantastic, witty, and amusing, and this, along with every other Jane Austen novel, is well worth the read. This is a classic for good reason.

5. Promethea by Alan Moore

Promethea is one of the books that got me totally hooked on comics. The art of the books is, to date, some of my absolute favorite comic book art to date, and the universe it helps to create is stunningly complex and detailed. The story takes place in an alternate version of 1999 New York City and centers around Sophie Bangs, a young woman who discovers that she is one in a string of historical women capable of turning herself into a demigod known as Promethea through artistic expression. A lot of fantasy and philosophy that references a myriad of historical events and figures and mythologies, resulting in a five-novel series that turns into an intellectual roller coaster.

6. In the Next Room: or the vibrator play by Sarah Ruhl

Picking one of Sarah Ruhl’s plays to include on this list was very difficult. She is one of my absolute favorite playwrights, and her plays are all stunningly beautiful and well worth reading. In the Next Room centers around Catherine Givings, a young wife in the 1880s whose husband treats other young women’s “hysteria” using the early prototype of the modern vibrator. This play tackles the large topics of sexuality and attraction, as well as addresses the warped balance of power present in marriages of the period. And, as would be expected from Sarah Ruhl, the language is gorgeously poetic while still remaining an easy and enjoyable read.

7. The Good Girls Revolt by Lynn Povich

So, this book follows the story of the women of Newsweek who, on March 16th, 1970, sued the newspaper due to discrimination in hiring and promotion, as women hired for the paper worked only as researchers and occasionally reporters, but never as writers or editors. Lynn Povich was one of the women who spearheaded the suit, and she documents the story in detail, as well as comment on the ways in which the suit helped women in the workplace along with what is left to be done. Sidebar - there is a fantastic adaptation of this book on Amazon Prime, also called Good Girls Revolt, currently being shopped around for a second season (as it was unfairly canceled after 30 days of being released despite being one of the most popular shows on the site) that is well worth the watch along with reading the book!

8. How to Be a Heroine: Or, What I Learned From Reading Too Much by Samantha Ellis

This book is, quite literally, a reflection on female characters from classic literature who had some sort of feminist impact on the author. It’s half memoir, half literary analysis, and 100% girl power. Samantha Ellis’s personal story helps to emphasize different aspects of each character she mentions, and her clear love and passion for the books and characters she is writing about is a definite inspiration for the reader to go through and read every single one, regardless of whether or not they’d already done so before. Although a book analyzing other books may not seem like the most interesting of topics, this one was so riveting that I could hardly put it down, and it is also a definite inspiration for me to write this list now!

9. Bossypants by Tina Fey and Yes Please by Amy Poehler

I am in love with Tina Fey. Her unapologetic personality and constant sarcasm are definite inspirations to me, and Bossypants does not disappoint. Amy Poehler’s Yes Please is very similar, demonstrating Amy’s distinctive sense of humor while also inspiring the reader to reflect on themselves. Both books are extremely raw and honest accounts of their lives up until the point they were published, and both demonstrate exactly how strong bothTina and Amy are, whether working together or on projects that are entirely different. I read them back to back, and I highly recommend doing the same.

10. I, Coriander by Sally Gardner

I read this book for the first time in one sitting, and I remember being massively disappointed when I hit the final page and there wasn’t any more story left. The book follows a merchant’s daughter named Coriander, who falls victim to the Puritan values of her stepmother during the time of the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell, and in the process, finds an escape for herself in a fairy world she discovers during the darkest moments of her life. Coriander is an immensely powerful and independent character who undergoes a mass amount of abuse from her stepmother and comes out the other side an even stronger woman, and her strength and compassion is admirable.

11. Sugar Linings by Sierra Sandison

Okay, technically, this might not qualify as “feminist literature,” but it’s an absolutely amazing book written by an even more amazing woman (who does identify as a feminist), so we can overlook that. This book, documenting Sierra Sandison’s journey thus far dealing with her type 1 diabetes diagnosis and triumph as the first beauty queen to wear her insulin pump on the Miss America stage, is a moving, inspirational story that has brought me immense comfort in dealing with my own diagnosis. Although it is pretty specific to her struggle with diabetes, the book is still very accessible to those unfamiliar with the disease, and it is very reassuring to see someone as brilliant as Sierra spreading knowledge of our condition to the rest of the world.