Apologies for the not very inclusive heading, however there was a list on Google Play Books that had this heading and I was wondering what your suggestions of extraordinary titles that honour this theme.
“My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Ottessa Moshfegh is the ultimate weird book for weird girls! (Personally, I liked Moshfegh’s “Eileen” a little more, but either is a great option).
If you want to go sci-fi, I recommend “The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula K Le Guin. For creepy short stories, try “Her Body and Other Parties” by Carmen Maria Machado. Machado is a stunning writer.
You also cannot go wrong with Shirley Jackson! My favorite Jackson title is “We Have Always Lived in the Castle.”
Hatherence on
Weird books, you say?
* Leech by Hiron Ennes. Not specifically for women, but it’s a good, weird, post apocalyptic sci fi horror novel.
* Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. Very weird. Also not specifically for women.
* Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. This one definitely feels like it was written *for* women.
* She Walks In Shadows edited by Paula R. Stiles and Silvia Moreno Garcia. An anthology of Lovecraftian horror all written by different women authors.
* Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell. Not specifically for women, but it has a female (arguably) protagonist, and most of the major characters are women. Fantasy romance. Marketed as horror, but it didn’t seem especially horror-like to me.
* Ammonite by Nicola Griffith. Sci fi about an anthropologist going to study a space colony where all the men died, yet the female-only colony has survived for generations.
* The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. Space fantasy. This felt to me like it was written for women, or at least the types of cultural references and stuff are aimed at women, but I have many male friends who enjoyed these too.
MegC18 on
Elizabeth Moon’s Remnant Population
Mad old woman stays behind when her space colony is evacuated, and becomes the first human to meet aliens. The main character is a bit mad, and dances round the streets naked wearing a bead cloak…
TrafficInitial7521 on
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin for me is such a peak weird girl book. Normally I’m disappointed by the books that get a lot of hype online but this one really hit for me!
NewBodWhoThis on
Check out r/weirdlit !
– Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Convenience Store Woman both have MCs that are so neurodivergent, you can’t even see the neuro.
– Invisibile Monsters, the MCs are all weird girlies, except Magnus, but he’s getting there.
– I recommend listening to My Year Of Rest And Relaxation, it was an ok listen, but my eyes would fall out of my head if I had to read through it.
Edit: everything written by Mariana Enriquez, shame on me for adding this in an edit! Not necessarily centered around women, but let’s put it this way: I’m a weird woman who loves weird books and I’m absolutely taken with everything I’ve read from her.
SpecialKnits4855 on
Weird being a subjective term, I found Blandine in {{The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty}} to be weird.
crazylemur94 on
“Earthlings” by Sayaka Murata is unhinged. I had to put the book down and take a break towards the end because it was a lot!
“Boy Parts” by Eliza Clark is very good and everyone should read her. It’s a bit like the weird woman version of American Psycho
AxellFlorent on
Piglet by Lottie Hazell
Other People’s Clothes by Calla Henkel
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Tampa by Alissa Nutting (hope you have a barf bucket nearby 🤢🤮)
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
9 Comments
“My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Ottessa Moshfegh is the ultimate weird book for weird girls! (Personally, I liked Moshfegh’s “Eileen” a little more, but either is a great option).
If you want to go sci-fi, I recommend “The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula K Le Guin. For creepy short stories, try “Her Body and Other Parties” by Carmen Maria Machado. Machado is a stunning writer.
You also cannot go wrong with Shirley Jackson! My favorite Jackson title is “We Have Always Lived in the Castle.”
Weird books, you say?
* Leech by Hiron Ennes. Not specifically for women, but it’s a good, weird, post apocalyptic sci fi horror novel.
* Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. Very weird. Also not specifically for women.
* Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. This one definitely feels like it was written *for* women.
* She Walks In Shadows edited by Paula R. Stiles and Silvia Moreno Garcia. An anthology of Lovecraftian horror all written by different women authors.
* Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell. Not specifically for women, but it has a female (arguably) protagonist, and most of the major characters are women. Fantasy romance. Marketed as horror, but it didn’t seem especially horror-like to me.
* Ammonite by Nicola Griffith. Sci fi about an anthropologist going to study a space colony where all the men died, yet the female-only colony has survived for generations.
* The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. Space fantasy. This felt to me like it was written for women, or at least the types of cultural references and stuff are aimed at women, but I have many male friends who enjoyed these too.
Elizabeth Moon’s Remnant Population
Mad old woman stays behind when her space colony is evacuated, and becomes the first human to meet aliens. The main character is a bit mad, and dances round the streets naked wearing a bead cloak…
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin for me is such a peak weird girl book. Normally I’m disappointed by the books that get a lot of hype online but this one really hit for me!
Check out r/weirdlit !
– Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Convenience Store Woman both have MCs that are so neurodivergent, you can’t even see the neuro.
– Invisibile Monsters, the MCs are all weird girlies, except Magnus, but he’s getting there.
– I recommend listening to My Year Of Rest And Relaxation, it was an ok listen, but my eyes would fall out of my head if I had to read through it.
Edit: everything written by Mariana Enriquez, shame on me for adding this in an edit! Not necessarily centered around women, but let’s put it this way: I’m a weird woman who loves weird books and I’m absolutely taken with everything I’ve read from her.
Weird being a subjective term, I found Blandine in {{The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty}} to be weird.
“Earthlings” by Sayaka Murata is unhinged. I had to put the book down and take a break towards the end because it was a lot!
“Boy Parts” by Eliza Clark is very good and everyone should read her. It’s a bit like the weird woman version of American Psycho
Piglet by Lottie Hazell
Other People’s Clothes by Calla Henkel
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Tampa by Alissa Nutting (hope you have a barf bucket nearby 🤢🤮)
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
The Pisces by Melissa Broder