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. The Nigerwife by 

    No rating

    Nicole Oruwari has the perfect life: a hand­some husband; a palatial house in the heart of glittering Lagos, Nigeria; and …

  2. Trouble in Queenstown by  (The Vandy Myrick Mysteries, #1)

    No rating

    With Trouble in Queenstown, Delia Pitts introduces private investigator Vandy Myrick in a powerful mystery that blends grief, class, race, …

  3. Under Fortunate Stars by 

    No rating

    Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven’s freighter the Jonah breaks down …

  4. Project Hail Mary by 

    Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission–and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will …

  5. Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by  (Dark Lord Davi, #2)

    Dark Lord Davi rules the kingdom, but she must now break the time loop that binds her in this hilariously …

  6. Void by  (The Far Reaches, #2)

    No rating

    An intergalactic luxury cruise to a distant port is a world unto itself in this piercing short mystery by #1 …

  7. Dead Connection by  (Ellie Hatcher, #1)

    In Alafair Burke's electrifying thriller, Dead Connection, a rookie detective goes undercover on the Internet dating scene to draw out …

  8. Billy Boyle by  (A Billy Boyle WWII Mystery, #1)

    No rating

    What’s a twenty-two-year-old Irish American cop who’s never been out of Massachusetts before doing at Beardsley Hall, an English country …

  9. The Guest by 

    No rating

    “Alex drained her wineglass, then her water glass. The ocean looked calm, a black darker than the sky. A ripple …

  10. The Unkillable Frank Lightning by 

    Catherine Coldbridge is a complicated woman: A doctor, an occultist, and, briefly, a widow.

    In 1879, Private Frank Humble, Catherine’s …

  11. Money Shot by  (Angel Dare, #1)

    THEY THOUGHT SHE’D BE EASY. THEY THOUGHT WRONG.

    It all began with the phone call asking former porn star Angel …

  12. San Diego 2014 by 

    A Newflesh novella from the New York Times bestselling author that brought you Feed, Mira Grant.

    It was the summer …

  13. Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by 

    Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, …

    Phil in SF says:

    Babel is told from the perspective of a young man named Robin, so the narrative can only see the conversations of women when Robin is there for them. However, Robin does get to witness his friends Letty and Victoire discuss balls and translation and probably a few other things I haven't got to yet.

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