In the wake of the VIDA statistics, John Williams at the The Second Pass asked me, Ranylt Richildis, Emily Bobrow, Jennifer Szalai, Rohan Maitzen, Xarissa Holdaway, and Jessica Ferri to talk about our favorite under-appreciated books by women.

See also former Harper’s book reviews editor Szalai’s interview, where she astutely identifies “some palpable tendencies in the culture at large to condescend toward women’s creative work — the chicks might be “hard-working” and “very smart,” but, with certain exceptions, it’s the dudes who are the real geniuses.”