Classic Books Women Novels & Stories

The library was a third illustrious and recognizable library in Wicklow for encompassing historical quixotic and idealistic fictions. They pushed the heavy doors open and entered into the reception area inhaling the smell of old books. "Hello, Ms Kate!" Louisa and Sheila greeted a middle-aged woman, sitting behind her desk reading a book. Ms Kate Long was a frumpy woman, and she was fanatical about books, and had always said; 'There's no-one like her who adored books like a possessive demon.' She was divorced without having children, and she thought of books as her family.

Black slacks, bright blue button up shirt and matching heels showed off her slim figure. “No, ma’am. There’s several teachers in my family and I’ve already read these books.” Dean admitted. She did not want to admit that the majority of the teachers in her family were college professors. And she certainly did not want to admit that the deal with Cheryl, Nicole and Jennifer was that for every ‘classic’ that she read, they would provide her with a ‘smut’ book to read. Especially since the current themes that they had been reading were omega-verse and why choose/reverse harems. But seriously, what woman would give up having three or four men pamper her and please her?

Something waiting. --- Determined not to be paralyzed by fear, I returned to the antique bookstore — to the stories, the secrets, the fragments of forgotten women. The elderly owner greeted me with a knowing smile. “You’re searching for answers,” he said quietly. I nodded. He handed me a leather-bound tome, its cover worn but strong — *Reflections of the Forgotten*. “Read carefully,” he advised. “Sometimes the past speaks through shadows.” --- I spent the night poring over its pages. The book told of women trapped in illusions, caught between worlds — ghosts of themselves, struggling to reclaim their true identities.

Friday was three days away. She sat at her corner desk in the living room, what had become her space, drowning in stacks of books and annotated printouts. The words on her screen blurred together. Post-feminist archetypes in mid-century domestic fiction... It was dry. Safe. Or as Dr. Mendes had so kindly put it, "academic wallpaper."

“For training.” I smiled despite myself. “Tell her thank you.” The maid hesitated. “Actually…” “What?” “She said not to thank her.” I frowned. “Why?” “You’ll understand later.” Strange… very strange. That evening, I wandered into the library again, this time not to read but because I wanted silence. I returned yesterday’s books. The librarian smiled nervously. “I found something else you may enjoy.” He placed a slim volume before me. It wasn’t about kings or bloodlines or prophecies. Its title read; Forgotten Women of the First Kingdom.

I leaned in a fraction of an inch, a teasing glint in my eyes, "I prefer classic literature. Russian realism, psychological thrillers. Dostoyevsky, Fitzgerald, Hemingway. I like substance." "Substance?!" Ruby mocked, completely offended. "Are you implying my romance novels don't have substance? Excuse you, but enemies-to-lovers tropes require intense psychological maneuvering! The angst! The tension! It's art, Alexander. Your little Russian thrillers have nothing on a slow-burn romance."

The absurdity of it—that I'm having a career crisis while staring at a sleeping cat—almost makes me laugh. Almost. I duck inside, shaking off rain, and the owner barely glances up from her register. It's warm and quiet, smelling like old paper and coffee. I wander through the stacks, not looking for anything specific, just needing to be somewhere that isn't a hotel room or Damien's orbit. My hand lands on a book about women who changed careers in their thirties. I pull it out, flipping through pages of stories about lawyers who became farmers, executives who became teachers, women who chose passion over prestige and somehow survived.

"Yeah, I know, but I wanted a distant reference so I would not date either of us... I found my great uncle's stash once, maybe he left it where I could find it, he flew a hot rod and may have considered my parents a little stuffy. I read them, devoured really, and since then I have always had a 'Penthouse' type of fantasy. Did you know that many were written by women?" She said "flew a hot rod?" Whatever could that mean? I responded. "Yes, I have heard that somewhere... yes, it was on an 'Audible' program with Susie Bright. It is an interesting concept: women writing for men, expressing themselves freely in beautiful magazines vilified by other women. The old 'enemy is us' thing." I wondered

Audrey didn’t quite understand him, “what do you mean?” Nathan’s lips curved into a mocking smile as he sat up, “I was thinking there was a book for the likes of you but it seems you don’t have it” She heaved a sigh, he was Making mockery of her again. “I have Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, 1991. I also have Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, 2019,Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 1813. And Seven Days in June by Tia Williams which was written two years ago then I also have love hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood which was also written two years ago”

I looked around the large library on the fifteenth floor of the office. Two years I worked here, I never visited the library because of course work is more important. Besides being used as a display, this library is usually used for programmers who want to work in peace. If Big Man's secretary hadn't taken Rhysand and me to the library, I might have been the only employee who had never visited this room. I love reading. Reading novels. The first novel I read was by Louisa May Alcott; Little Woman, and then moved on to other feminist novels such as Handmaid's Tale and Pride and Prejudice—the book I'm holding right now.