Welcome, readers and book lovers!

At BookWomen we celebrate the joys of reading and the importance of women’s writing.

Our goal is to celebrate women’s words and literature, create communities of readers, and honor the reading life through our magazine online offerings.

We are based in Ocean Grove, NJ, but members of our community can be found all over the United States as well as Canada and the United Kingdom.

Our Magazine

For more than thirty years, our quarterly print magazine has explored the place of reading and books in our lives. Each issue features reader and subscriber contributed content, book reviews, and articles about women writers, independent booksellers and publishers, and libraries.

The “Greatest Books” List

Since 1986, women in our book groups have selected titles for our list of Great Books — books that most intrigued and inspired them, provoked the strongest discussions, and deserve to be read. Here are the 200 books that were chosen by multiple groups. Browse by author, title, year, or genre.

EXPLORE THE LIST

Our History

BookWomen began in 1996, growing out of Minnesota Women’s Press, where founders Mollie Hoben and Glenda Martin started reading groups devoted exclusively to books by women. More than three decades later, the magazine continues from Ocean Grove, New Jersey, under the leadership of Janet Mazur Cavano and her daughter Katharina — still celebrating women’s words and connecting readers who love women’s literature.