#readwomen2014

via Joanna Walsh

2013 was the year of the hashtag. From Twitter to Instagram to Facebook, from #SFBatKid to #Royalbaby, hashtags were everywhere. And 2014 isn't any different. Hashtags can be serious, inspirational or just plain hysterical. Today nearly every teenager with a phone or computer uses hashtags to comment on #whatever #their #heart #desires.

The other day, as I was procrastinating on Buzzfeed (I promise this rarely happens), I came across an article about #readwomen2014. Joanna Walsh, a writer and artist, created bookmarks of her favourite female authors to send to friends as New Year's cards. Little did she know, she was starting a movement to change reading habits across the literary world. When the bookmarks became more and more popular, Walsh turned to Twitter to produce a reading list of only female authors, using the hashtag #readwomen2014. More and more people jumped on the bandwagon, and began tweeting their own lists of their favourite female writers. A few writers and reviewers have even pledged to only read women authors in 2014.

via Joanna Walsh

Men and women publish about the same number of books, and women read more than men, though male authors are featured far more often in literary reviews and journals. We find ourselves reading histories and mysteries penned by Paul Fussell and Stephen King, instead of Laura Hillenbrand and Dorothy Sayers. #readwomen2014 hopes to diversify the books both men and women read, giving them a new perspective while celebrating the amazing work of women writers. 

At college, I'm usually so busy with classes and activities that I don't have time to read anything, let alone female authors. But this year, I'm going to try! And when I do find time to read, the books won't be the classics of Charles Dickens or Thomas Hardy, but of my favourite female writer, Virginia Woolf. 

Who are some of your go-to female authors? Let us know and we'll check them out!