Any suggestions for any kind of books about single women in their late 30s+ that isn’t a romance novel?
I realize this isn’t the most popular heroine style. Everything I seem to find is about women who either are younger, or if they’re older and single it’s because they’re divorced, career obsessed, or they’re just about to meet the perfect, romantic handsome man who will sweep her off her feet.
I’m looking for more reality maybe? Any suggestions?
I’m literally open to anything including nonfiction. Topic isn’t super important but I’d love to read some books I can relate to 😉
Thank you for any help!
by 1920MCMLibrarian
37 Comments
*The Witches of Eastwick* by John Updike?
Remanent Population by Elizabeth Moon.
rachel cusk might fit this category?
The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf is about an depressed women sitting in an chair and analyzing.
Grace Notes by Bernard MacLaverty
The Miss Fisher series. She has lovers, but it’s not a romance.
The Change by Kirsten Miller
Just to give a few examples, I’m reading Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner, and also the tv series Tokyo Girl, are two examples I can think of that fit this description.
At this point maybe I need to write one lol
I don’t think the protagonist’s age is confirmed, but I felt she was in her 30s : The Scar by China Miéville
Easter Parade by Richard Yates could fit. Great read.
Some fantasy novels:
[Broken Earth](https://app.thestorygraph.com/series/123) Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin one of main characters are middle aged woman
[The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/fa1c220d-67f0-4bb9-b993-a94b36edfed3) by S.A. Chakraborty with ex pirate captain in her forties
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud.
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers or Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
Edit to add: in Vladimir she isn’t single and it was recommended to me as a romance novel but it certainly is not
Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata
idk why but the first novel that came to mind is The Burning Girls by CJ Tudor
Convenience store woman. S. Murata. It is about a 36 y. o. woman who works in a convenience store, content in principle, but is surrounded by societal pressures.
Have you read Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo?
The Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemesin. Each book won the Hugo award if that helps tell you how good they are.
You might like [The Last Words of Madeleine Anderson](https://scarletferret.com/books/the-last-words-of-madeleine-anderson) by Helen Kitson
‘Gabrielle has deliberately made an innocuous and mundane life for herself. But 20 years after her one and only brilliant novel was published, her secrets are in danger of being exposed.’
Really enjoyed the fact that Gabrielle is an unreliable narrator, and you’re never 100% sure what’s true or not.
The great believers by Rebecca Makkai
Most cozy mysteries! There is often some romance, but it’s not the focus.
No One Tells You This by Glynnis MacNicol – it’s a memoir about being single after 40
Hummingbird Salamander is about a divorced/separated woman, but that doesn’t play into the story all that much, and she’s definitely not waiting for someone to sweep her off her feet. It’s pretty divorced from reality though, but the character was a badass.
The Paladin of souls by Lois McMaster Bujold has a main character who is middle aged to late middle aged.
Signature of all things by Elizabeth Gilbert is set in the 1800s. I quite enjoyed the story and the main character.
Well, I just read the Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang. The main character is like a 50 something year old woman who’s a battle instructor in a historical-era Chinese army. It’s got lots of fighting, some magic. A lot of feminism. A little cannibalism. No romance.
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
Eleanor Oliphant is completly fine
The main character is in her 30’s dealing with mental health issues, extreme loneliness and alcoholism.
Tamar Myers writes a series of books called the Pennsylvania Dutch Mysteries. The main character is a Mennonite woman whose name is Magdalena Yoder. If I remember correctly, she never actually says how old she is exactly but it’s implied that she is in her 40s. The stories are comedic mysteries set in an inn/BnB. There are even some recipes in some of the books if that interests you. I’m a male and still found her funny and relatable. Good luck.
Convenience Store Woman is about a mid 30s woman, I haven’t read it myself but I’ve heard a lot of praise for it!
I’m always on the lookout for these, too!
I see a lot of people recommending *Convenience Store Woman*, and while the MC is a single woman in her 30s, she’s also neuro-divergent, which may or may not be what you’re looking for.
So, it’s not quite what you’re asking bc my protagonist is technically married, but her husband is elsewhere when disaster hits, so she’s def flying solo but not looking for romance.
My series, Apocalypse Parenting, features a middle-age mom of three trying to keep her kids alive as monsters start roaming the earth.
Mary by Nat Cassidy. It’s a horror novel, I’m currently reading it so I can’t speak on the ending, but it’s about a woman that’s about to turn 50 and she’s struggling with her life, she doesn’t feel like herself anymore, and she’s trying to find herself. It’s dark, it’s messed up, and it’s a thrill of a read!
I haven’t read it, but it sounded intriguing enough that I bought it. One Lavender Ribbon by Heather Burch. Same with Winnifred Cottage by Jennie Alexander.
Some here: https://bookriot.com/books-about-women-over-50/
Also: https://bookriot.com/novels-about-older-women/
Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
Killers of a certain age by Deanna Raybourn it is far from realistic but it’s a fun read and romance is not the focus