What’s better than a book about a strong woman taking on the world? Not much! There are plenty of stories out there about women overcoming adversity, righting wrongs and finding happiness. Here’s a quick list of some I’ve read. What titles would you add?
FICTION
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell – Scarlett may be strong, but she sure has her weaknesses!
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontё – a story of finding happiness after seemingly endless struggles and catastrophes
Mary Coin by Marisa Silver – a work of historical fiction based on the incredible and difficult life of Florence Thompson and her children
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout – a strong and often misunderstood personality, with a hidden softness
Stieg Larsson Millennium Series – Lisbeth Salander Novels – one of my favorite “take no guff” heroines!
NONFICTION
Helen Keller – The Story of My Life – a remarkable woman who overcame all the odds and made something happen for herself and others
Yes Please by Amy Poehler – Hard work before she became famous makes Amy Poehler a story of success
ENJOYED BUT NOT REVIEWED
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden – bestselling novel about Japan’s most famous geisha
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls – proof that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins – Katniss Everdeen has plenty of physical and mental challenges in this edgy post-apocalyptic series.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant – Dinah and the powerful story of her mothers, the four wives of Jacob
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank – Anne Frank’s remarkable story of hope and inner strength during a desperate time
Thanks for reading – what books would you add?
Book Club Mom 
May I add Divergent by Veronica Roth, I admire Tris courageous Character.😊
Absolutely! I haven’t read Divergent yet, but it’s on my list. Good choice and thanks for reading!
You’re welcome 😊
Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston comes to mind. The current bestseller the Nightingale, too. Great topic! I might have to try my hand at it some time.
These are great selections. I haven’t read either but they are on my list. Thanks for adding to the list!
I really enjoy such posts–I always find some I want to read and it fuels my own blogging. Great job!
Thanks Lisa – at the library where I work everyone is always doing a theme based list or display so that has inspired me!
I like doing some of the link-ups that give a theme each week. They’re fun!
I know me too! I have that in the back of my mind to get into – I’m short on time at the moment. I hope things will slow down for me soon!
Doing the two Top 10 Tuesday and Top 5 Wednesday gives me some structure. I try to do reviews on Monday, a review of a theme Thursday. Friday/Saturday if I do a post it’s What’s Caught My Eye or a “Special” Keeps me at it!
Yes I love seeing those on your blog – keep them coming!!
Bargain Bride by Evelyn Sibley Lampman is a favorite of mine.
Ginny’s arranged marriage ends suddenly and she fights to hang on to her property, becoming in many ways, an outcast due to the people she befriends along the way.
Read this in high school for a book report and I loved it!
Sounds like a perfect fit for the list. Thanks for adding to it. Happy reading!
I really enjoyed A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and although it brought me to tears, I marveled at the strength of the women. I also recently read The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison. It is a dark story with a disturbing plot but the character of the young women in the book was amazing. If you enjoyed the Stieg Larsson series, you may enjoy The Butterfly Garden.
Thanks Lauri – I had forgotten about A Thousand Splendid Sons – I loved that book! I will have to check out The Butterfly Garden and add it to my ever growing list. Hope all is well! 😀🙋
I was just going to suggest A Thousand Spendid Suns myself!
Always good to get a second recommendation!
Fabulous list of books here, Barbara. I’ve enjoyed many of them.
Thanks Jennifer – I have a lot of fun doing these lists!
I’m currently reading “Women of the Silk” by Gail Tsukiyama. Plenty of strong women in that. And one of my favorite series in Sue Grafton’s A to Z Kinsey Millhone series. Kinsey’s a PI in the 80s and manages just fine on her own!
Hi Carrie – thanks for the recommendations- we will put them on the list!
Great list. Thinking about this, I only like books with strong women! Or books with women who perhaps begin soft and squishy, but then find themselves – their strong souls. How about Little Women? That book and A Tree Born in Brooklyn were my first books of strong women when I was a child. I just finished reading Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult – which features the Point of View of two different strong women. Excellent.
Great suggestions – perfect for the list! Thanks!
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman! Real-life shero Antonina Zabinski demonstrated strength in profoundly feminine-principle ways. One of my all-time favorite stories, and an enduring inspiration.
Great addition! Thanks for stopping by, Phyllis!
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon — Claire Fraser is strong, intelligent, and fiercely independent at a time when those traits put her in danger. I just read Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy, and I thought Bathsheba Everdene was quite an unusual strong woman — even though she shows questionable judgement in her romantic entanglements, she insists on running her own farm rather than relying on a man to do it for her.
I second that, Lisa. I’ve enjoyed the Outlander series and admire the character Diana Gabaldon has created in Claire Fraser. Good choice!
Great choices (both fiction and nonfiction) here! Scarlett, Katniss, Anne…and I agree that I’d add Tris to this list. Also, Jo from Little Women.
Thanks for adding to the list. I’m pretty sure I read Little Women when I was a girl, but I don’t remember much of it. I should give it a re-read.