Top Five

One of Iain's and my favorite conversational games over dinner or on a road trip or falling asleep at night is Top Five, which is, just as it sounds, listing our Top Five in any category of which we can conceive—best albums, worst songs, most underrated actresses, countries we'd love to visit, places we never want to go again, etc.

We always have fun playing it, and we often find ourselves revisiting memories long uncalled as we search for the perfect five to put on our lists.

So! I thought it might make a neat regular feature, offering a chance for commenters to share something personal and get recommendations (or not, if it's a Worst List!) from one another.

Please feel welcome to share stories about why your Top Five picks are what they are, though a straight-up list is fine, too. Please refrain from negatively auditing other people's lists, because judgment discourages participation.

For our inaugural thread, here is your topic: Top Five Books by Female Authors. Go!