Passes the "Bechdel Test" Public

Created by Phil in SF

This list contains books that:

  • have at least two women in them,
  • who talk to each other,
  • about something other than a man.

Wikipedia has a decent intro on the origins of the metric: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test

Beware that this test is very limited in probative value. "The Bechdel test only indicates whether women are present in a work of fiction to a certain degree. A work may pass the test and still contain sexist content, and a work with prominent female characters may fail the test." This is just one thing a person may want to consider in their reading. There are many others.

I (@kingrat@sfba.club) track this in my reading as a check to make sure I am including reading that includes non-token female characters because American publishing often overly focuses on men's stories, and that is quite often reflected even more strongly in what American men choose to read.

  1. Blindsight by  (Firefall, #1)

    Two months since the stars fell...

    Two months of silence, while a world held its breath.

    Now some half-derelict space …

  2. In the Bleak Midwinter by  (Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne, #1)

    No rating

    It's a cold, snowy December in the upstate New York town of Millers Kill, and newly ordained Clare Fergusson is …

  3. River of Souls by  (River of Souls, #0.5)

    No rating

    Driven by his dreams, Asa will stop at nothing to find Tanja Duhr again: he will leave home, disappoint his …

  4. Assassin's Quest by  (The Farseer Trilogy, #3)

    No rating

    King Shrewd is dead at the hands of his son Regal. As is Fitz—or so his enemies and friends believe. …

  5. The Trap by  (Alias Emma, #3)

    She has just one week to stop a killer.

    Emma Makepeace is headed to Edinburgh for the global G7 Summit …

  6. A Fountain Filled With Blood by  (Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne, #2)

    In In the Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming's Malice Domestic-winning first mystery, Reverend Clare Fergusson was quickly introduced to a more …

  7. The Mercy of Gods by  (The Captive's War, #1)

    HOW HUMANITY CAME TO THE PLANET CALLED ANJIIN IS LOST IN THE FOG OF HISTORY, BUT THAT HISTORY IS ABOUT …

  8. How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by  (Dark Lord Davi, #1)

    Groundhog Day meets Deadpool in Django Wexler’s raunchy, hilarious, blood-splattered fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending …

  9. Red Mars by  (Mars Trilogy, #1)

    For eons, sandstorms have swept the barren desolate landscape of the red planet. For centuries, Mars has beckoned to mankind …

  10. The Wall by  (Sumer, #1)

    No rating

    ‘Imagine a horizon.’

    ‘I can’t.’

    Mithila’s world is bound by a Wall enclosing the city of Sumer — nobody goes …

  11. Dream Count by 

    No rating

    Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer living in America. Alone in the midst of the pandemic, she recalls her past …

  12. The Martian Contingency by  (Lady Astronaut, #4)

    No rating

    Years after a meteorite strike obliterated Washington, DC—triggering an extinction-level global-warming event—Earth’s survivors have started an international effort to establish …

  13. "C" is for Corpse by  (Kinsey Millhone, #3)

    No rating

    After a near-fatal car accident, a young man asks Kinsey to protect him. When he is promptly murdered, Kinsey vows …

  14. Elder Race by 

    Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.

    But a demon is terrorizing …

  15. The Treatment by  (Jack Caffery, #2)

    No rating

    In a quiet residential area in London, a couple is discovered bound and imprisoned in their own home. Savagely battered …

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