Reading women in 2012

In 2012, I embarked on a project to read only novels by women for a year. So over the course of twelve months, I read some short stories and non-fiction by men, but all the novels were written by women. I read forgotten classics, lowbrow genre, literary spec fic, YA, NYT best-selling Real Literature, and highbrow genre. I read some books I hated (The Colony), some I forgot as soon as I turned the final page (A Discovery of Witches), and some I loved (Zazen). I read famous authors (Barbara Kingsolver) and obscure (Regina O'Melveny). Some classics I intended to read I didn't get to because they are hard to find anywhere but Amazon. And plenty of interesting new books by men came out that I had to post to my wishlist for 2013. I still am processing what I learned from the experience, but here are the top novels I read, in no particular order:

• The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
• China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh
• Zazen by Vanessa Veselka
• Giant by Edna Ferber
• The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall
• A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan