Hi everyone! ✨ For International Women’s Day, let’s share books that inspire, challenge, and expand our thinking about feminism.

What are your favorite feminist books, and why? (:

I’m looking for anything that questions patriarchy, critiques power, and imagines more just futures. They can be from any genre: fiction, non-fiction, essays, theory, memoir, fantasy, horror, poetry… anything that moves you or makes you think.

These books matter more than ever. Right now: ★ In Iran, nearly 180 schoolchildren were killed in the bombing of Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school. ★ In Mexico, 10 women are murdered every day for being women, and thousands of girls are sold into marriage. ★ In the US, the Epstein files expose global sexual exploitation of girls and young women, hidden beneath elite power. ★ In Gaza, women report being promised food, money, or work in exchange for sexual interactions. ★ In Sudan, women endure starvation, rape, and bombs while fleeing El Fasher.

These realities show why we need literature that teaches, challenges, and empowers.

Some examples of what I mean: ☆ Feminist theory ☆ Anti-patriarchal fiction ☆ Essays or political non-fiction ☆ Fantasy or horror that critiques gendered power ☆ Books about resistance, autonomy, and liberation

I’d especially love to hear works from diverse feminist perspectives, for example: ★ Marxist feminism ★ Anti-racist / intersectional feminism ★ Anti-colonial or decolonial feminism ★ Queer and trans-inclusive feminisms ★ Radical critiques of patriarchy

Here are some of my recent favorites to get us started: ☆ Fiction (horror): Woodworm by Layla Martínez 🖤; generational oppression, patriarchy, and abuse collide in this eerie, class-conscious story where women and ghosts fight for justice. ☆ Non-fiction: Career and Family by Claudia Goldin 📊✨; explores a century of women balancing careers and family, with data, examples, and insights that make systemic barriers real and relatable. ☆ Non-fiction: No son micro. Machismos cotidianos; shows how everyday jokes and microaggressions are part of a bigger patriarchal system, clear, sharp, and eye-opening. ☆ Memoir / True Crime: Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice 🌞; tells the story of Liliana Rivera Garza, her brilliance, autonomy, and the gender-based violence she faced, while demanding justice for her femicide/feminicide and celebrating her life. ☆ Fiction (historical/horror): Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates 🔪👩‍🦳; a chilling, immersive story set in a 19th-century women’s asylum where Dr. Silas Weir conducts grotesque experiments on women, fueled by obsession and unchecked ambition. Narrated by his eldest son, the novel blends historical fact and horror, exposing patriarchy, abuse, and the terrifying consequences of power gone wrong. ☆ Fiction (historical/magic): Weyward by Emilia Hart 🧙‍♀️🐦; across five centuries, three extraordinary women—Kate, Altha, and Violet—navigate abuse, societal limits, and dangerous legacies. From 17th-century witch trials to WWII estates to modern escapes, this story weaves female resilience, magic, and the natural world, showing how women survive, resist, and transform their destinies. Before reading please check the content warnings!

To everyone protesting today: stay safe and take care of each other ✊💜. Remember to bring your backpack with the essentials. :) To those who can’t or won’t go: we can still learn, read, discuss, and build community. Change grows through knowledge, conversation, and collective reflection.

💬 Let’s make this thread a living feminist reading list!

What books have challenged the way you think about patriarchy, exploitation, or power? Classics, hidden gems, fiction, theory… let’s hear it! (:

ETA: Updated formatting, wording, and added the real-world case examples I forgot to include before. (:

ETA 2: I just made a list with all your rec's in mind! It's called Girl Boss? More Like System-Buster #8M2026 (if you have a better name, pls tell me bc I don't know how to feel about this one, jeje) and you can find it here: https://pagebound.co/lists/e15f06fb-e2b4-44ca-aa24-d2874ce63e47. Pls keep them coming and I'll be updating the list!! 💜🔥🫶🏻

Hi guys! I hope you’re all doing amazing. 🫶🏻✨

I’m hoping some of you can help me find a book that captures a very specific feeling.

I’m looking for stories about the kind of love that feels ancient, tragic, and almost unbearable in its intensity.

The kind where lovers might wait centuries (or even lifetimes) to find each other again.

The kind of love that is built on slow burn, yearning, devotion, and that aching feeling of loving someone so deeply it almost hurts.

I especially love when there’s something standing in their way like time, immortality, destiny, tragedy, curses, fate, or circumstances that keep them apart. That sense that they should be together, but something keeps pulling them apart… and that just makes the love feel even more powerful.

I also adore stories with a gothic atmosphere. 👀 Dark, romantic, emotional, dramatic… maybe even a little doomed. 🥀

Vampire stories often capture this feeling really well, but I’m open to any genre: paranormal, fantasy, horror, romance... anything, as long as the emotional core is there.

What I’m really looking for is romance that feels soul-deep.

I don’t mind steam at all (I actually enjoy it!), but I prefer when the romance is rooted in deep connection, devotion, and longing, not just physical attraction. I want the love to feel like it comes from their souls, not just physical chemistry.

Some themes I especially love:

❤︎ Lovers separated by time, immortality, or tragedy ❤︎ “I would sacrifice everything for you” type devotion ❤︎ Reincarnation or lovers finding each other again ❤︎ Intense slow burn and emotional yearning ❤︎ Gothic, dramatic, atmospheric vibes

For reference, the emotional energy I’m thinking of is similar to the tragic romance vibe in the films Dracula (1992) and Dracula: A Love Tale (2025); that feeling of love enduring across centuries.

They’re not perfect films, of course, but they capture the kind of epic, tragic devotion I’m talking about.

One small clarification:

When I asked this before, some people recommended classic books like Dracula, Carmilla, Wuthering Heights, or Anna Karenina. I truly appreciate those suggestions, but I’m already somewhat familiar with them, and they’re not quite what I’m looking for right now.

I love those stories in their own way, but I’m hoping to discover other books that capture that same emotional intensity, not necessarily classic literature.

I’m open to any pairing (straight or queer). If it’s queer I especially enjoy sapphic romances, but honestly any type of romance is welcome as long as it captures that feeling of devotion, destiny, longing, and emotional intensity.

Happy endings or tragic endings are both completely fine. I actually prefer tragic endings, but please don't tell me the ending. 🫠

I just want something that makes me feel deeply; the kind of love that almost hurts because it’s so powerful.

If you know any books that capture this kind of love, I’d absolutely love to hear your recommendations! 🩷✨

What stories gave you that same feeling?

PS: A few months ago I very made a similar post, but since there are more people here on PB now, I thought I’d try again and hopefully get a wider variety of recommendations. (:

ETA: I made a list called “I promise to find you in every lifetime” where I’m collecting some of the recommendations people mentioned in this thread. 🩷✨ If you’re curious or want to browse them all in one place, you can check it out here: https://pagebound.co/lists/761174a1-00da-483b-b1c3-c619033c3766

And if you have more recs that fit the vibe, please keep them coming! I’m always happy to add more!