Book recommendations! Furiosa edition

May 8, 2018 8:27 AM

It’s that time again. Right now I’m feeling in the mood for something that has a sort of...how do I put this? Manic Tarantino-ish energy, but without the misogyny, and with ladies? I do not know if this exists, but I’m sure if it does, it is loved. Furiosa-ish, I guess. I’m looking for Furiosa’s book list. So what have you read lately that left you feeling energized and enthusiastic and all fuck YEAH? Or just what have you loved lately?
posted by schadenfrau to Media & Arts (12 answers total)

If you haven't read The Power by Naomi Alderman then you need to read The Power. An SF set in the present moment, where women around the world suddenly discover that they can discharge a painful electric shock through their hands. Much man-zapping ensues.
posted by nerdfish at 8:29 AM on May 8, 2018 [15 favorites]

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. Not exactly manic but the stories are definitely from a woman’s perspective and reading the stories was really energerizing.
posted by emkelley at 8:40 AM on May 8, 2018 [4 favorites]

Dietland is good, fuck-yeah-women fun.
posted by lunasol at 9:09 AM on May 8, 2018

Also, I just finished reading NK Jemisin's The Fifth Season and it definitely gave me energy. It's much harder to summarise - it's a fantasy set in an earth-like world called Stillness that is, ironically, wracked with apocalyptic earthquakes, and the hero is a middle-aged woman with the much-maligned power to control and suppress earthquakes. Definitely female-centric, definitely an adventure, with some at-times caustic social commentary to boot. Believe the hype.
posted by nerdfish at 9:51 AM on May 8, 2018 [9 favorites]

If you're open to nonfiction, Furiosa would totally be reading Brittney Cooper's Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower.
posted by TwoStride at 9:57 AM on May 8, 2018

Daughters of the North / The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall

One of my favorite books ever is Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle [published in 4 increasingly poor-selling volumes in the US, and one volume in the UK; possibly hard to find], a brutal and weird take on Joan of Arc / science fiction / alternate history.
posted by Jeanne at 10:32 AM on May 8, 2018 [4 favorites]

Not a book, but the first thing I thought of was the web comic Woman World. It is delightful! It's like if Y the Last Man were hilarious and also didn't even have one dude in it.

The graphic novel series Rat Queens is also hilariously gonzo, especially if you like D&D! The Tank Girl series or Fray might also scratch this itch if you're down with more graphic novels.
posted by helloimjennsco at 10:45 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

The two-book (so far) series The Rehumanization of Jace Darcy by Stephen Goldin and wife Mary are really fun, with lots of interspecies dealings and fightings. Here's the author's summation: Jade Darcy's beginnings
posted by MovableBookLady at 10:57 AM on May 8, 2018

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein! It’s a bit of a slow burn, but the ending is like a feminist teen Inglorious Basterds. Awesome female protagonists and an intense friendship.

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin (Ryan is a woman!) An alternate history post WWII with a badass young female protagonist who goes on an around the world motorcycle race. There are some light sci fi elements.
posted by wsquared at 11:20 AM on May 8, 2018 [4 favorites]

For fierce and violent, I would go for God's War by Kameron Hurley. It's fast-moving and intense, with lots of women doing everything.
posted by suelac at 12:24 PM on May 8, 2018

Check out The Blue Place and Slow River by Nicola Griffith.
posted by spindrifter at 1:06 PM on May 8, 2018

Seconding The Blue Place and Slow River and honestly everything by Nicola Griffith, but especially The Blue Place and its two sequels, Stay and Always. These have what you want.

If you'd like to go a little darker / mythological, the Cassandra Neary trilogy by Elizabeth Hand is good for this too: Generation Loss, Hard Light, Available Light.
posted by doteatop at 3:54 PM on May 11, 2018