10 must-read books for women in 2017

2016 was a great year for women in literature. From Zadie Smith's Swing Time and Jessica Valenti's Sex Object, to Emma Cline's The Girls and Rebecca Solnit's Men Explain Things to Me (to name just a few), the year brought plenty of must-reads from a variety of talented female writers.

With the New Year comes a fresh selection of anticipated fiction and nonfiction books. To get you started, we've selected 10 works from brilliant women that you'll want to add to your list in 2017.

Difficult Women, by Roxane Gay

The award-winning author of Bad Feminist and An Untamed State returns with Difficult Women, a collection of stories about "rare force and beauty, of hardscrabble lives, passionate loves, and quirky and vexed human connection". Gay's new stories are filled with heartache and hardships, but also love and strength.

Available on Amazon

Idaho, by Emily Ruskovich

Idaho centres around a long-married couple, Ann and Wade, who have created a life for themselves in northern Idaho. As Wade's memory begins to fade, Ann decides to learn more about her husband's first wife, Jenny. Ruskovich's debut novel centres around issues of love, loss, memory and trust, and is ultimately a moving story about forgiveness and resilience.

Available on Amazon

Homesick for Another World, by Ottessa Moshfegh

Ottessa Moshfegh - whose debut novel, Eileen, was met with critical acclaim in 2015 (a finalist for the Man Booker Prize) - returns with a collection of highly-anticipated stories. Likely one of the best of the year, Moshfegh's new book explore loners, losers and misfits, and uses humour to delve into the hidden parts of the human condition.

Available January 17 on Amazon

A Separation, by Katie Kitamura

When a young woman's soon-to-be-ex-husband goes missing from a Greek island resort, she has to go searching for him. What follows is a story of infidelity and intimacy, a suspenseful look into the end of a marriage, and a woman on the edge.

Available February 7 on Amazon

South and West, by Joan Didion

In very (very) exciting news, the legendary Joan Didion is back in 2017 with two extended essays from her never-before-seen notebooks from the 70's. The first takes readers on a roadtrip through the southern United States, through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The second, "The California Notes", takes readers through Didion's familiar California landscape during the Patty Hearst trial of 1976.

Available March 7 on Amazon

The Rules Do Not Apply, by Ariel Levy

New Yorker writer Ariel Levy's memoir builds on her 2013 essay about a miscarriage she suffered during a reporting trip to Mongolia. The Rules Do Not Apply follows the writer as she takes the path less travelled - it's a story of love, work, loss, and the realities of being "a woman who is free to do whatever she chooses".

Available March 14 on Amazon

All Grown Up, Jami Attenberg

All Grown Up follows the story of Andrea Bern, a single and childfree thirty-nine year old. Exploring the idea of what being an adult really means, this book is a funny and whip-smart story of a woman who lives life on her own terms.

Available March 7 on Amazon

When You Find Out the World is Against You: And Other Funny Memories About Awful Moments, by Kelly Oxford

Following her New York Times bestseller, Everything's Perfect When You're a Liar, Kelly Oxford is back with a new collection of essays that explore anxiety, parenthood, life in Los Angeles, fame and pop culture. Not only is the Canadian writer one of the funniest people on social media, she also started the viral #notokay campaign this year for women to share their stories of sexual assault (following President-elect Donald Trump's vulgar comments about sexually assaulting women). Oxford's new book is sure to be as biting as it is hilarious.

Available April 18 on Amazon

Into the Water, by Paula Hawkins

The bestselling author of The Girl on the Train returns with a highly-anticipated psychological thriller. Into the Water focuses on two victims: a teenage girl and a single mother, who are both tragically found dead at the bottom of a river.

Available May 2 on Amazon

One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, by Scaachi Koul

Scaachi Koul's debut collection of essays focuses on a number of subjects, including growing up the daughter of Indian immigrants in Canada, sexism, dating, racism, stereotypes, and what it's like to be an outsider. With her sharp humour and unique yet relatable perspective, Koul offers a must-read take on modern life.

Available May 2 on Amazon