Best Books For Women 2013

Isabel Greenberg's debut graphic novel, The Encyclopedia of Early Earth, is a series of imagined fables about our lost history, including the story of two lovers — one from the North Pole and the other from the South — who can't touch each other due to polar magnetization.

Comic-book artist Yumi Sakugawa explores that special bond between platonic friends who would prefer to swap favorite books over saliva in her sweet book I Think I Am in Friend-Love With You.

Satirist Mark Haskell Smith takes on the worlds of celebrity, modern publishing, and reality TV in Raw: A Love Story. It follows the "sexiest man alive" as he goes on a book tour for his ghost-written debut novel and ends up on a "sex-fueled road trip" with the woman trying to take him down.

Barbara Mutch's debut novel, The Housemaid's Daughter, is the heartbreaking tale of an Irish woman who marries a man she doesn't love in Apartheid-era South Africa. In her isolation she befriends and loves as her own the housemaid's daughter but must make a life-changing decision when the girl disappears.

Dean Koontz's mystical thriller Innocence tells a tragic love story of adversity bringing two exiled people together.

Hunted is a romantic suspense novel by Karen Robards that follows a hostage negotiator who must decide which side she's on when a former flame (who's also a detective) holds her estranged father hostage.

Dyan Sheldon's diary-style YA novel One or Two Things I Learned About Love takes a funny and sharp look at a less-than-perfect Summer romance.

You'll want to read Greg Baxter's captivating novel The Apartment with a warm blanket and steamy drink. It takes place over the course of one snowy day in an Eastern European city as an American war vet is shown apartments by a local woman.

Eric Smith's The Geek's Guide to Dating sets out to aid geeky guys everywhere with humorous instructions on finding the Princess Peach to their Mario.

In Handsome Heroes and Vile Villains: Masculinity in Disney's Feature Films, author Amy M. Davis takes a closer look at the portrayal of men in Disney films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Tangled using masculinity studies and feminist film theory.

Adriana Trigiani's The Supreme Macaroni Company is the final novel in her Valentine trilogy, which follows the life of shoemaker Valentine Roncalli. The book begins with her wedding to an Italian 20 years her senior, but married life turns out to be more complicated than they could have imagined. It's a heartbreaking, humorous look at family, work, and romance.

Sebastian Faulks wrote this homage to P.G. Wodehouse's characters Bertie Wooster and his butler, Jeeves, in the funny historical fiction Jeeves and the Wedding Bells. It's a tale of plans run amok, misunderstandings, and unrequited love, which involves Bertie posing as Jeeves's butler in the house of his engaged beloved.

In Joshilyn Jackson's novel Someone Else's Love Story, a single mom has enough going on without things getting complicated by a stranger who saves her and her son from a mugging. It is described as "funny, charming, and poignant novel about science and miracles, secrets and truths, faith and forgiveness; about falling in love, and learning that things aren't always what they seem — or what we hope they will be."

"Disney meets Lena Dunham" begins the description of Tim Manley's Alice in Tumblr-land: And Other Fairy Tales For a New Generation, an illustrated humor book about fairy tale characters trying to find their "happily ever after" via Twitter, Siri, OkCupid, and other modern means.

In her touching self-help book, Second Firsts: Live, Laugh, and Love Again, Christina Rasmussen shares how her own experience as a therapist and crisis intervention counselor didn't prepare her for the loss of her husband to cancer in her early 30s. She shares her own journey as well as personal and professional advice for dealing with grief and moving on after loss.

Dorcas Pelling's cheeky pocket-sized guide to "erotic etiquette," How to Be Irresistible: The Art of Seduction would make the perfect gift for the single ladies in your life with a sense of humor.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe author Fannie Flagg returns with her comic mystery novel The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion about family secrets, strong women, and mother-daughter relationships.

Fire Year is a collection of short stories by Jason K. Friedman that explores "art, sexuality, love, and religion" in Georgia and the Deep South. There's a bar mitzvah-set coming-of-age tale, a story of a gay man's unexpected connection at his high school reunion, and more stories about the Jewish experience in the American South.

Set in London and America during World War I, Anita Shreve's novel Stella Bain tells the story of an American woman who has lost her memory and is taken in by a surgeon and wife. It's a provocative tale of the devastation of war, love, and forgiveness.

In her memoir, Happily Ever After: The Life-Changing Power of a Grateful Heart, Trista Sutter, the very first star of The Bachelorette, shares advice for happiness and successful relationships using her own personal story and those of loved ones and experts.

Ronald Frame imagines a prequel to Charles Dickens's Great Expectations with Havisham, the story of Miss Havisham's life before she was left at the altar.

Ann Patchett's memoir, This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, shares the experiences that have affected her life, including her two marriages, childhood, work as an author and bookstore owner, and close relationships.

The Posh Girl's Guide to Play: Fantasy, Role Play, & Sensual Bondage by Alexis Lass is an introduction to the world of dominance and submission "because little black handcuffs go with everything."

Danielle Steel's latest, Winners: A Novel, will tug at your heartstrings with the story of a young Olympic hopeful who has a tragic accident.

After a decade-long hiatus, Helen Fielding is back with her much-anticipated sequel to her two Bridget Jones books, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. In the funny yet poignant novel, a newly single Bridget must deal with "loss, single motherhood, tweeting, texting, technology, and rediscovering her sexuality in — warning! Bad, outdated phrase approaching! — middle age."

Lynn Cullen's dark historical fiction Mrs. Poe follows the dangerous love triangle between Edgar Allan Poe, his mistress, and his wife.

In The Rosie Project: A Novel, author Graeme Simsion tells the tale of a socially awkward genetics professor who has an orderly process of finding a wife but then falls for a woman who fits none of his carefully selected criteria.

Daniel Stern shares his own personal experiences as well as those of others in the swinger community in Swingland: Between the Sheets of the Secretive, Sometimes Messy, but Always Adventurous Swinging Lifestyle.

Nora Roberts returns with Dark Witch, the first book of her new The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy. Set in Ireland, the story follows a young woman as she is reunited with long-lost family, falls in love with a cowboy, and discovers an evil secret.

Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened is a funny graphic novel of her life that includes "pictures, words, stories about things that happened to me, stories about things that happened to other people because of me, eight billion dollars*, stories about dogs, and the secret to eternal happiness*. (*These are lies.)

Jo Baker imagines what Pride and Prejudice would have been like if told from the perspective of the servants in the historical novel Longbourn, which is sure to be a hit with Downton Abbey fans!

The Book of Jezebel: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Lady Things is a collaboration between the writers and creators of Jezebel.com. It touts itself as a "must-read for the modern woman," covering everything from Abzug, Bella, and Baby-Sitters Club, The, to Xena, yogurt, and zits.

Fashion blogger Leandra Medine has made a name for herself with her adventurous sartorial choices and sense of humor, and now she combines both in her first book, Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls. Leandra shares personal stories, drawing comparisons between her style choices and her love life in this honest and witty collection of essays.

Nicholas Sparks's latest tearjerker, The Longest Ride, tells the tale of two vastly different couples whose lives will intersect in a way they never expected. One is an elderly man who reminisces about his late wife and their love story after a serious accident threatens his own life. The other is a young cowboy with a secret who meets a college student at a bull-riding event.

Cassandra King's gothic romance Moonrise follows a new wife and her husband, a widower, as she attempts to win over his family and friends in a small mountain town. But things are not what they seem as she finds out more about her husband's late wife and her tragic death.

Julianne Donaldson's novel Blackmoore: A Proper Romance is a self-described "page-turning tale of romance, intrigue, and devotion," inspired by the works of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters. Set in Northern England in 1920, the romance follows an independent-minded young heroine who makes a deal with her mother that if she secures then rejects three marriage proposals over a season, she will be allowed to travel to India with her aunt. But an unexpected friendship threatens to ruin her grand plans.

In Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest For Perfection, Barnard College President Debora L. Spar tells her own story and explores the challenges of American women still "living in a man's world" 50 years after the Equal Pay Act.

Subtle Bodies by Norman Rush is a smart novel about the ups and downs of marriage and friendship. The story follows a 40-something man as he flies from San Francisco to Upstate New York to reunite with his college buddies after one of the group passes away. His wife begrudgingly joins the group and offers biting commentary as she's most focused on their pursuit to have a baby.

Trish Doller's romantic YA novel Where the Stars Still Shine follows a teen girl who is being reunited with her family for the first time after being kidnapped and on the run with her mom for more than a decade. She must learn what it's like to be a part of a big family in a small town and, most importantly, how to love and be loved while facing her painful past.

Kathryn Davis tells a romantic tale where "time, place, and mind all bend in extraordinary ways" in Duplex: A Novel. This magical coming-of-age story follows young sweethearts as they face the past and the future, space and time, and sorcerers.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a dark fantasy novel by the author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black. The YA vampire book incorporates a sizzling romance, graphic violence, and a strong heroine who must save her ex-boyfriend, herself, and a mysterious boy from a walled city where vampires are quarantined. It's a horror tale that answers the question: what would be the real-world implications if vampires were discovered today?

In The Yarn Whisperer: Reflections on a Life in Knitting, renowned knitter Clara Parkes uses her love and knowledge of knitting as a framework for funny and poignant stories about her life. The collection of essays utilizes knitting metaphors to take on such universal themes as adventure, privacy, disappointment, love, and celebration.

Fan-fiction fans will appreciate Rainbow Rowell's YA novel Fangirl, a rom-com about a young woman starting college who must decide if she's ready to leave her fangirl days behind and start living and writing her own story. For the first time in her life, she's dealing with strange roommates, love interests, being away from her dad and twin sister, and a professor who finds her favorite genre deplorable.

In The Infatuations by Javier Marías, a routine morning stop at a coffee shop turns into a murder mystery. As one woman tries to find out what really happened, she unexpectedly falls in love and faces her own struggles with death, guilt, and obsession.

The Affairs of Others: A Novel by Amy Grace Loyd follows Celia, a young widow and building owner, who values her privacy more than the average person. But everything changes when a new tenant moves in and starts an affair with a neighbor, sucking Celia into a life of desire.

Hilarity and heartbreak come together in Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke by Rob Sheffield. When one young widower turns to karaoke as an escape, he meets an intriguing woman who helps him move on to the tune of some familiar songs.

Part detective story, part young woman's coming-of-age tale, After Her: A Novel by Joyce Maynard combines a serial killer mystery with a family saga. Highlighting first sexual explorations and the loss of innocence to complicated relationships with father and sister, the book is based on a real-life killer case in 1970s California.

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes explores the themes of love, loss, and time. When one woman's portait ends up in the hands of another woman almost a century later, the coincidence connects them in their determination to fight for their husbands who have left them behind.

Confessions of a Latter-day Virgin: A Memoir by Nicole Hardy is the story of one woman who struggles between being true to herself and her Mormon faith. Using humor and honesty, she questions everything she's ever known.

The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker starts off with a grad student who enters a world where she's transformed into a stunning beauty involved in a deep romance. But as her fantasy turns darker, she must resist temptations and learn magic to survive.

Why would a 27-year-old magazine editor decide to stop having sex? The Art of Sleeping Alone: Why One French Woman Suddenly Gave Up Sex by Sophie Fontanel tells the story of one woman's celibate journey that leads to finding hap­piness on her own.

In The Whole Enchilada: A Novel of Suspense by Diane Mott Davidson, a cook realizes her friend's death at the birthday party she catered was not without suspicion. In reality, she is the target of a murder plot, and it's up to her to do all she can to save herself before time runs out.

Rose Harbor in Bloom: A Novel by Debbie Macomber follows three women, all struggling with their own issues related to love, as they stay at a local inn and ultimately find peace and a second chance.

Love meets technology in the The Hypothetical Girl by Elizabeth Cohen, a book of short stories about the online dating world. An aspiring actress chats with an Icelandic farmer on a matchmaking site, a deer and a polar bear flirt via Skype, and more quirky tales come together all in the hope of finding "the one."

Danielle Steel's novel First Sight takes place in one of the most fashionable cities in the world and follows a talented designer with a tragic past as she falls for a French doctor.

Sarah Butler's heartbreaking novel Ten Things I've Learnt About Love is about a woman on the cusp of turning 30, the black sheep of the family, as she reconnects with her dying, eccentric father.

Alissa Nutting's novel Tampa is a lurid, satirical account of a young female middle-school teacher who seduces a 14-year-old boy in her class.

In her rom-com novel Big Girl Panties, Stephanie Evanovich tells the story of an overweight widow who finds a new lease on life with the help of a very motivational personal trainer who works her out in more ways than one.

Bestselling author Beth Harbison returns with her novel Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger about second chances at love. With humor and heart, the story follows a woman who left her cheating groom for his brother, then dumped him to be alone for nearly 20 years working at, of all places, a bridal shop. But when both men return to her life, she has to make some major life decisions.

Liane Moriarty's latest novel, The Husband's Secret, poses the question: if you stumbled upon a letter by your husband meant to be read after his death, and he's still alive, would you read it? And what if you did and it contained his deepest, darkest secret that changed everything you knew about him?

Callie Wright's debut novel, Love All, follows three generations in New York as they're all forced to live together for the first time following a family tragedy. It's a story of love, betrayal, and the complications of family and growing up.

In Adelle Waldman's heartfelt coming-of-age novel The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., a young man entrenched in the 21st-century literary world of Brooklyn is searching to find himself, learning about women, sex, and love along the way.

Katie Hafner retraces a year she and her mother spent working through their unresolved issues in her memoir, Mother Daughter Me. In this moving and honest look at family, Katie shares her experience inviting her 77-year-old mother to live with her and her teenage daughter for intergenerational healing.

The Lemon Orchard, by bestselling author Luanne Rice, is a steamy novel about an unexpected romance. A mother grieving her daughter's death falls for the man overseeing the lemon orchard on the grounds where she's house-sitting, and he has his own story of loss and grief.

Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman's seductive, page-turning historical novel, Freud's Mistress, is inspired by the real-life affair between Sigmund Freud and his sister-in-law. It's a stirring tale of passion, betrayal, and the choice between family and love.

Sweet Nothings, a novel by Janis Thomas, is about a baker divorcée who picks up the pieces of her life when her husband ends their 18-year marriage for another woman. And after a lifetime of stability, she's learning to let go of perfection and take some chances.

Leslie Zemeckis, who directed the documentary Behind the Burly Q, takes us back to the beginning of American burlesque with Behind the Burly Q: The Story of Burlesque in America. Take a "peek behind the curtain at the burly show" with loads of backstage photos and intimate interviews with former performers.

In her memoir, Secrets of a Webcam Girl, Annabelle T. Baxter tells her story of how she got into sex work to pay the bills. She gives a behind-the-scenes look at the provocative trade as well as sharing her own tales of having a secret profession.

Set in the Depression-era South, Anton DiSclafani's coming-of-age novel The Yonahlossee Riding Camp For Girls follows a teen girl with a mysterious past involving a family tragedy as she's sent away to an equestrienne boarding school for Southern debutantes.

Charlie McDowell turned his popular tweets about his ditzy neighbors into the book Dear Girls Above Me. The book shares the lessons he learned listening to the loud conversations of the 20-something female roommates who live above him.

Take a trip down memory lane with The Totally Sweet '90s: From Clear Cola to Furby and Grunge to "Whatever," the Toys, Tastes, and Trends That Defined a Decade by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper and Brian Bellmont. It's full of fun trivia and facts about all the games, toys, and pop culture that made the 1990s awesome.

Sylvia Day's Entwined With You is the third novel in the Crossfire trilogy, a steamy romance series perfect for any Fifty Shades of Grey fans. The story finds Eva and Gideon facing the dark secrets from their past and the dangerous consequences of their passion.

The novel Ladies' Night by Mary Kay Andrews follows a recently divorced blogger who becomes friends with the members of her divorce recovery support group.

J. Courtney Sullivan's The Engagements spans hundreds of years and follow four very different types of marriages while sharing the story of how diamonds in America became the symbol of forever love.

Dean N. Jensen's magical Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus tells the tale of a star-crossed romance at the turn of the century between world-famous trapeze artist and circus performer Leitzel ("Queen of the Air") and Alfredo Codona of the Flying Codona Brothers.

With sass and humor, radio personality Lisa G. (from The Howard Stern Show), opens up about her scandalous past and sexual exploits in Sex, Lies, and Cookies: An Unrated Memoir. Lisa used her charms and baking skills to win over suitors, so it's only fitting that the book also includes 25 dessert recipes including "Losing My Cherry Cookies" and "Double D-licious Oatmeal Cookies."

Curtis Sittenfeld's haunting novel Sisterland is about twin sisters with psychic abilities who go their separate ways but are brought together again in their hometown when one sister has a premonition about a natural disaster.

It's Okay to Sleep With Him on the First Date: And Every Other Rule of Dating, Debunked is a he said/she said guide by relationship experts Andrea Syrtash and Jeff Wilser. "Don't trust the rules; trust yourself."

Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: And all the Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic, by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, is a behind-the-scenes look at the groundbreaking show. And it follows the female writers who used their own lives as inspiration.

Margaret Thatcher: From Grantham to the Falklands is the first volume in an authorized biography of the late British prime minister. Author Charles Moore interviewed the iron lady herself, as well as her family, for the book and had access to her private and professional papers.

In 1963, successful actress Dolores Hart decided to quit Hollywood and become a nun. In The Ear of the Heart: An Actress' Journey From Hollywood to Holy Vows, she chronicles the spiritual journey.

In Obsessed: America's Food Addiction — and My Own, Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski writes honestly about her unhealthy relationship with food and her obsession with staying thin. She also tries to assess America's obsession with food, with the help of experts in medicine, health, business, the arts, and politics.

In Wedding Night: A Novel, by Sophie Kinsella, Lottie is fed up with boyfriends who don't want to make a long-term commitment. But when an old boyfriend wants to cash in on a pact they made to marry if they were still single at 30, she takes him up on it.

Everything Is Perfect When You're a Liar, by comedian and Twitter funny lady Kelly Oxford, is written with her typical no-nonsense brand of honesty. It's a collection of essays about her husband, drunk adventures, and attempts to become a model in small-town Canada.

I Can Barely Take Care of Myself is Jen Kirkman's funny take on why some women, including her, decide not to have kids — ever.

Mike Greenberg is known as an ESPN host, but in his debut novel, All You Could Ask For, he writes about how friendship, love, and heartbreak have impacted the lives of three women.

In Her: A Memoir, Christa Parravani tells the story of what happened after her twin sister died and she was left with a big void to fill.

Making Marriage Simple promises a relationship revolution with 10 truths about successful relationships, including "Frustration is a wish in disguise."

Autobiography of Us: A Novel, by Aria Beth Sloss, is a coming-of-age story of friendship, loss, and love, set in 1960s Pasadena, CA.

The Teleportation Accident, by Ned Bauman, is a funny and creative tale of time, space, sex, and violence, following protagonist Egon Loeser to the theaters of Berlin, bars of Paris, and laboratories of LA.

Frances and Bernard, by Carlene Bauer, takes you to an artist colony in 1957 and tells the story of two lovers through letters.

Vow: A Memoir of Marriage (and Other Affairs), by Wendy Plump, follows the author's journey after finding out her husband was having an affair.

Tara Conklin's The House Girl: A Novel tells the story of two women: Lina working on a lawsuit on behalf of descendants of American slaves in 2004, and Josephine, a 17-year-old house slave living in 1852.

The Dinner: A Novel, by Herman Koch, takes place on a Summer evening in Amsterdam where two couples meet for dinner. Over the dinner, the topic of each couples' 15-year-old sons, who were involved in a criminal act, comes up, and things get ugly.

Lucky Me: My Life With — and Without — My Mom, Shirley MacLaine is Sachi Parker's story of growing up as the eccentric actress's only daughter.

Bestselling author and comedian Heather McDonald is back with her latest hilarious memoir My Inappropriate Life: Some Material Not Suitable for Small Children, Nuns, or Mature Adults. The Chelsea Lately writer gives us insight into her wacky life as "pretend grown-up" with a stay-at-home husband and kids she raises a bit unconventionally.

Fans of Fifty Shades of Grey can get their lust fix with Lara Santoro's The Boy: A Novel. In it, a middle-aged single mother can't seem to resist her 22-year-old neighbor.

Tracy Chevalier, the author of Girl With a Pearl Earring, is back with another piece of historical fiction, The Last Runaway. When a Quaker woman leaves England and moves to Ohio, she connects with women who help with the Underground Railroad.

Wendy Lawless's memoir, Chanel Bonfire, follows the story of Wendy, her sister, and their glamorous but troubled mother, Georgann. The sharp, witty book offers insight into their social-climbing life: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

In The Aviator's Wife: A Novel, author Melanie Benjamin dives into the marriage of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Writing duo Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly's The Husband List follows a young woman whose mother insists on setting her up with suitors. Set in New York City in 1894, the story comes to a head when Caroline falls for someone her mother would never choose.

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan blends real historical figures with fictional characters. Set in 19th-century Paris, the book follows one of Degas's ballet dancers through a French adventure.

Here I Go Again by New York Times-bestselling author Jen Lancaster tells the story of a 30-something woman who longs for the glory days of high school — and may just get the chance to go back.

Jennifer Chiaverini's Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker dives into the unique friendship of Mary Todd Lincoln and her slave-turned-seamstress, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley.

The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler tells the story of an abandoned daughter who delves into her mother's life by reading her diary, only to discover that her mother wasn't who she claimed to be.

Alisa Valdes's memoir The Feminist and the Cowboy: An Unlikely Love Story highlights how her feminist views were challenged when she fell in love with a rough and rugged cowboy.

The Good House by Ann Leary tells the darkly comic story of a quirky New England woman who befriends a town newcomer, only to get caught up in a web of secrets.