Recs if you like Wild Seed...

Need a gift for your extremist family member, but they already have a red baseball cap AND a Don't Tread on Me shirt? Were you told "Don't bring up politics at family dinner" and need some safe books to discuss instead? Well we have a full menu for you to choose from! Each just for fun book comes with our guarantee: No real world political messages under the 100% fictional plot! 😉 (Taking Recommendations!)

my favorite genre. elvia wilk’s essay is the best on what this genre is, but here’s an excerpt: “Weird knowledge does not deny the capacity of the human mind and body to produce knowledge, but it does not reduce the world to human subject experience either. Unlike science fiction—in which there is a rational explanation for everything—and fantasy—where magic explains it all—weirdness hovers between poles of explainability.”

This is for the classics, the old and new, the lesser known books, the short stories and the translated speculative fiction. Sci-fi could be argued to be one of the best and most expansive genres out there - it’s just a matter of finding the right book for you.

If there is a series, I will only be putting the first book unless they are unrelated.

what it says on the tin

A collection of older, lesser-known, fantasy (or science fantasy) books written by incredible women. In a time when female fantasy authors were few and far between, these authors carved out their own space in the genre. These stories might not be mainstream hits today, but they are full of brilliant magic, deep characters, and/or worlds that helped shape the genre. (First in Series / standalones only for now - open to suggestions!)

this is the order i plan to read Octavia’s books, based on overall vibe. i have read Kindred but plan to reread it when the time comes.

Fantasy stories where the main character working through trauma is a focus of the story, sometimes in healthy ways and sometimes not so much.

Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" is one of my favorite series. It's heavily flawed, involves an incredible amount of Stephen King books that aren't labeled as "Dark Tower book", and it's soooooo many pages. (But I love it.) This list is made up of non-King books referenced in, or have parallel narratives/themes to. It's also just a great set of books.

Books that highlight the ways gender roles have harmed women, often through assigning an inherent wickedness to the entire gender and using suffering or punishment to “liberate” women from our wickedness. Starting with The Yellow Wallpaper, in which Victorian standards for women expected purity and perfection. Imperfection, whether it be postpartum depression or strong opinions, was labeled as female hysteria and treated in a way that only further harmed women. Exploring empowerment & autonomy

This is based on a lot of best list researching and only some of my own opinions. It is mostly a wish to read list. Please add your best lady writer picks so we can all have an army of lady writers to recommend to each other and celebrate!