Lets Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: Women in STEM in Books

Dini @ dinipandareads19 Comments

✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨

Sorry that my post is quite late today—this week has been hellacious and I just did not have the energy after each work day to work on this beforehand!

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.

This week’s topic is:

Women in STEM in Books

Prompts: Over the years, there have been an increasing number of books about women in STEM. What do you think of this trend? Do you like it or is it/can it be poorly done? In honour of International Women’s Day tomorrow (March 8), what are your favourite books ft. women in STEM and what books are still on your TBR?

✨ Happy International Women’s Day (for tomorrow)! ✨

Over the years, there have been an increasing number of books about women in STEM. What do you think of this trend? Do you like it or is it/can it be poorly done?

If you’re unsure, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. These fields have been male-dominated for decades however, it’s probably unsurprising to learn that key contributions by women in these areas have been overlooked.

In recent years, there has been an uptick in fiction and non-fiction books featuring women in STEM. I’ve really enjoyed seeing this trend in books! I hope it continues and that we also get to see a wider range of stories because I think there’s so much to explore and learn from them. I obviously can’t speak to the “accuracy” of the portrayals in these books as I’m not in STEM directly, but also because personal experiences vary so much and what is true for one person may be completely different to someone else. However, I do enjoy reading about these experiences and I find it creates an interesting backstory for the characters. It’s illuminating to learn about both the joys and challenges of working in such male-dominated ego-driven fields and it genuinely makes me admire these women more.

As with representation of every kind though, I think it’s important to see these experiences by women in STEM reflected in stories. I especially think it’s a great way for young women to see where dreaming big can lead them and what’s possible to achieve even with barriers or challenges. I particularly hope that we can get more stories from BIPOC women in STEM, particularly Asian/Southeast/East Asian women because I feel like I see fewer books with that specific representation. I’d also like to see more stories of women uplifting each other in STEM because more than ever, that’s a crucial element for success and it’s so important for us to not bring each other down!

What are your favourite books ft. women in STEM and what books are still on your TBR?

I’ve admittedly got more books featuring women in STEM on my TBR vs ones that I’ve already read but here are a few that I’ve read and loved or really enjoyed. The role of these women in STEM varies in each of these books and while some have a stronger presence, some also have other aspects of the character take over.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth, Sourdough by Robin Sloan, Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, True Love and Other Impossible Odds by Christina Li, Chemistry by Wieke Wang, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Review: The Love Hypothesis
Review: My Mechanical Romance
Review: Sourdough
Review: Get A Life, Chloe Brown
Review: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Review: Love and Other Impossible Odds

Then there are the countless books that are still on my TBR that feature women in STEM, some of which I hope to read this year! These are a mix of fiction and non-fiction.

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood, Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, The Radium Girls by Kate Moore, Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez, The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers who joined the discussion this week! 👇🏽

Elle @ Unwrapping Words
Leyre @ Read Your Leyre
Yolanda @ Past Midnight
Raji @ Worlds Unlike Our Own
Abyssal Librarian
Shoto @ Magic & Maybes
Lin @ Lin’s Perspective
Felice @ Tea and Cats and Books
Leslie @ Books are the New Black
Emma @ Pages of Emma
Bookflowerpath
Vero @ Dark Shelf of Wonders
Kerri @ Kerri McBooknerd
Delaney @ Reading with Delaney
Lila @ Hardcover Haven

If I’ve missed your post this week, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments and I’ll add you to this week’s list of community posts ASAP!

How do you feel about the trend of books featuring women in STEM? What are some of your favourites and what’s still on your TBR? Have you read any of the ones on my list?

19 thoughts on “Let’s Talk Bookish: Women in STEM in Books”

  2. This is a great prompt and hits home for me! I have some of these books on my TBR and a couple I have read 🙂 I totally agree with you about the representations that are lacking, and I wish to see more of them myself, too

    Here is my post on today’s LTB 🙂

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  4. I loved this week’s prompt! I have read a few of the books on your TBR and I hope you enjoy! I LOVED Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and of all books that involve coding, I thought it had a very realistic depiction of the industry. I hadn’t thought about it till I read your post but there is lesser representation of BIPOC women in STEM and I hope that starts to change.

    My Mechanical Romance is such a good name HAHA, added to my TBR! Great post, Dini!

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  5. My undergrad degree is engineering and my grad degree is Science Education, so I am a fan of all that is STEM and love seeing so many great stem romances. Hazelwood is always dependable. I loved Lessons in Chemistry, Jo Segura’s books, A Princess in Theory, Give Me Butterflies, Bend Towards the Sun, and Miranda in Retrograde.

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  6. As a woman in STEM, I love this topic! I haven’t read much fiction on the subject, so I’ll definitely be taking some books from your list. I actually have Sourdough on my immediate tbr so I’ll check out your review.

    I’ve mostly read nonfiction, so the representation has been great there since it’s all the authors personal experience, but hopefully the fiction books continue to become more diverse.

    Here’s my post for this week!

    https://pagesofemmacouk.wordpress.com/2025/03/07/lets-talk-bookish-women-in-stem-in-books/

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  7. Completely agree!! I love that you have found so many. Those two Hazelwood and Transcendent Kingdom are on my TBR. haha! Not surprising. This is such a great topic and I would hope everyone agrees that this is so important!

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  9. I love this trend. Even if it is their profession, but not a huge part of the story, it is a benefit. Gone are the days where the protagonist works in a bakery, shop, or restaurant. They can be scientists, mathematicians etc. I enjoy books where they are house flippers and work in trades at well. Of course there is lots of Nonfiction, but it is nice to see it in fiction.

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  10. At first I had only thought of the ali hazelwood (Ive read not in love, love on the brain & love theoretically) but i’ve also read code for love & heartbreak (programming do counts, eh?)

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  11. I have not read many books that feature women in STEM, but I love it when I do and want to read more, and I love that it’s something we’re seeing more of! The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Radium Girls are some I want to read too! Oh, and I read and loved Get A Life, Chloe Brown but I forgot to mention it oops 😫
    I just posted mine now 🙂

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  12. i LOVE this list!!! the only one i’ve read from it, unfortunately, is my mechanical romance BUT IT IS ONE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITES. bel is such an inspiration 🥹

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  13. I love the increased number of women in STEM in books recently. Once upon a time, they were seen as “nerds” and not worthy of being the main character. While I don’t work in a STEM field, I do have a university degree in STEM. And my youngest daughter thrives in STEM classes. All of the teachers in her school’s science department know her, and are excited to see her in their classes.

    Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!

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  14. Ooh! Love this post (& the prompt)! ❤️ I had an Ali Hazelwood obsession a while ago, and I went through all her books within a span of five days haha — The Love Hypothesis was too cute! I’ve also been wanting to read My Mechanical Romance for a long long time, and your 4 pandas have convinced me 🙂

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  17. While I love women in STEM books in theory, I have read very few that I actually enjoy, or that I feel were written by someone who understands the women in STEM experience.

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  18. I’m always up for reading books featuring women in STEM, especially if I get to learn something in the process. The Ali Hazelwood books are the obvious one’s I can think of, but I’m excited to read Lessons in Chemisty as well because I loved the TV show.

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