I looked at several of my favorite books and I realized, a lot of them are written by men. Many have strong, well developed female protagonists and male authors. People have been making excellent arguments for reading female authors or a more diverse author pool in general but I think exposure to excellent female protagonists is just as important.
I'm not saying men can write women better than women themselves or this list would be a lot longer. Men writing women is not easy as noted by The Atlantic. Tor has an excellent piece not only on writing women well but creating a more gender balance narrative as a whole.
The reason this thought occurred to me was that when I think of well written characters that I have loved, these are the books that immediately spring to mind.
The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde
The Checquy Files by Daniel O'Malley
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The idea behind encouraging consumption by female authors is that it strengthens their voice and increases opportunities when their publisher sees that they do well. When I think about female authors with excellent female protagonists, I think:
Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan
The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Longbourn by Jo Baker
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
These are just a handful of personal favorites and is not meant to be in any way comprehensive. I'd love to hear more about what female characters you love and who created them.
Music: Girls Chase Boys by Ingrid Michaelson
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