Book recommendations that aren’t self-help? (Preferably fiction)

mbreteresha · 2021-01-12T12:46:39+00:00

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threedotlove · 2021-01-12T13:08:05+00:00

I just finished reading Red by Christina Henry. The main character is a disabled POC young woman who exhibits very clear FDS values & the entire book has a ton of commentary on male depravity. I really enjoyed it & it was an easy read.

janetheautomaton · 2021-01-12T14:45:28+00:00

The Discworld novels. The Witches cycle is, for me, tied for first place with the Watch cycle. Start with Wyrd Sisters, Equal Rites can wait.

Anything by Ursula K. Le Guin, honestly, but start with The Birthday of the World and Other Stories if you want some exploration of genders and roles and would rather not commit to a series.

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff. Lovecraftian horror + Jim Crow racism.

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha. A novel about the toxic culture of beauty in South Korea.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Worth reading for the descriptions of an "alien" matriarchal society alone.

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. A woman becomes a paladin.

The Bees by Laline Paull. Bee society and matriarchal mysticism.

mbreteresha · 2021-01-12T13:52:53+00:00

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daisy_0720 · 2021-01-12T19:43:27+00:00

Clarissa by Samuel Richardson. Written in the 1700s and one of the longest books in the English language, but good God is it an essential read for any FDS woman.

Clarissa Harlowe is a rich, beautiful, moral and strong-minded heiress who catches the eye of Robert Lovelace, a handsome and charismatic sexual sociopath who is determined to 'win' her at any cost. Due to a series of circumstances, mostly caused by the LVM in Clarissa's family (and a Pickme mother and sister), Clarissa takes a gamble and puts herself in Lovelace's power... and it ends up being the worst mistake of her life.

The whole novel is basically an FDS bible. It shows the dangers of giving men the benefit of the doubt, the extent to which men will lie in order to gain access to sex, how men will put on a performance for weeks and months of being HV - Clarissa is no fool, and is rightfully skeptical of Lovelace, but fails to comprehend the sheer depths of his depravity and manipulative behavior - how a good woman cannot reform a LVM, and how dangerous Pickme women are in being complicit in LVM behavior and will throw their own gender under the bus for male approval.

Perhaps most interestingly of all, it is an epistolary novel, written from the differing points of view of the main characters. Lovelace is so eloquent and charismatic in his point of view chapters that as a reader you keep getting sucked in and believing his lies... and then want to kick yourself for being so easily manipulated. It's one of the most compelling and accurate depictions of a psychopath I've ever encountered in fiction. Also, Clarissa's HVW best friend Anna Howe is like the embodiment of FDS - she's smart, witty, strong, supportive and takes absolutely no shit from men. Throughout the novel there's this man who's desperate to marry her and she's like, nah, I'm good.

Every woman on FDS needs to read this book. It will take you half a year but is so worth it.

Aloe_You_Vera_Much · 2021-01-12T12:56:45+00:00

These aren't particularly FDS-spirit books but off the top of my head, these are a list some of the most memorable books that I've ever read. All are fiction but some of them are based around significant real-life events.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

A Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

11ben478xyz22hrtx12- · 2021-01-12T13:21:27+00:00

The Year One series kept me sooo engaged all the way through. Don’t know if it meets all FDS standards, but the main character is a woman who literally saves the world. It’s futuristic/post apocalypse fiction.

Edit: actually now that I really think about it, this series is probably very FDS friendly. Read it and lmk what you think

unbelyevable · 2021-01-12T15:53:41+00:00

I read mostly fiction because my career is so serious I want to be entertained in my free time so here are my recommendations:

Sue Grafton alphabet series is BY FAR one of my favorites. Main female character has some FDS qualities in my opinion. She's great.

James Patterson NYPD Red series is an entertaining read, and the male protagonist is an interesting character to see thought process wise. His internal struggles may lend some insight into the male thought process..since the books are written by a man.

Janet Evanovich number series. Once again, main female character has some FDS qualities from what I remember. Its been a while since I read this series though

Tess Gerritsen the Rizzoli and Isles series, two kickass females in the TV show based on the book series. Book series has male perspective in it that is again interesting to me..

And lastly, my favorite book of all time is Kevin O'Brien Left for Dead. Its been a while since I've read it but I remember the story line and you might like that one.

P.S. my favorite YA series is Cassandra Clare Internal Devices, Mortal Instruments, and Last Artifice. Relatively badass female leads in all three series'. 😊

divination__ · 2021-01-12T16:41:20+00:00

I know this is kind of basic but I highly recommend rereading Pride and Prejudice in a non-academic way. It feels like the whole point of the story is to show the difference between HVM and LVM.

In terms of more contemporary fiction, I recommend Promising Young Women by Caroline O'Donaghue and Adults by Emma Jane Unsworth. The first is about the dangers of seductive men and how they can be total energy vampires, as well as the women who permit that, and the latter is essentially about the importance of investing in yourself. Neither have perfectly HVW main characters, but I see them as very much warning tales/stories of a sort of realisation that I imagine many women within FDS have gone through.

gingerwabisabi · 2021-01-13T06:33:44+00:00

The Scarlet Pimpernel - I always recommend this to people! It's about two people who are already married at the start of the book, but barely speak. It's set during the French Reign of Terror and involves accidental betrayal, secret identities, a totally yummy HV hero who will undergo all sorts of physical hardship for his love, a brave and intelligent and strong-willed woman who doesn't take shit and has strong morals, and a secondary romance that will also make you swoon.

havingababypenguin · 2021-01-12T14:19:03+00:00

Alice Network- Historical Fiction

Brooklyn Brujas Trilogy- YA fantasy

EffectiveHoneydew422 · 2021-01-12T16:17:08+00:00

Even Cowgirls Get The Blues by Tom Robins is a funny, adventurous, quirky, philosophical novel, with a good strong female lead. I feel like Tom Robbins was very progressive and feminist writer especially for his era, so somethings may have dated but I remember it being really good read, very entertaining and good philosophy rants

palanuik · 2021-01-13T01:17:18+00:00

Queenie- Candice Carty-Williams

papanezismysaviour · 2021-02-07T11:08:20+00:00

I'm not sure this counts and might be controversial, but Scarlett from Gone with the Wind is depicted as a strong and self-centered woman.

Title	Book recommendations that aren’t self-help? (Preferably fiction)
Author	mbreteresha
Upvotes	65
Comments	21
Date	January 12, 2021 12:07 PM UTC (5 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/FemaleDatingStrategy
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/FemaleDatingStrategy/comments/kvqgjt/book_recommendations_that_arent_selfhelp/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/FemaleDatingStrategy/book-recommendations-that-arent-self-help.728993 https://theredarchive.com/post/728993

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