Books with Female Protagonists

So this weekend, my girlfriend had an interesting question for me... When's the last time I read a book with a female main character? When she asked the question, I couldn't even come up with an answer. The only thing that came to mind was Macbeth, which I read way back in high school.

Today I realized the answer is probably Carrie by Stephen King, which I reread a couple years ago. It's probably his best book in my opinion and I think it actually delves into the problems faced by adolescent women pretty well. But it's kind of sad that the last time I read a book about a woman, it was a frickin' Stephen King book about a woman who uses superpowers to get revenge on people who've done her wrong.

I don't think I intentionally avoid books about women, but, at any given time, I have a good five books already in mind that I want to read, so I' don't go out seeking books additional books. And I don't think many books with female protagonists are marketed toward men. I have to admit, I'm not going to go out and read Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood any time soon. But even a book like Memoirs of a Geisha, which I think I might like if I ever get around to reading it, isn't marketed towards men.

Books written by women are a somewhat different story... I've read the first three Harry Potter books, and while I'm kind of bored by them and don't want to go any further, I've at least read books by a woman recently. I'm reading Angels and Demons right now, which I'm finding extremely overhyped and a little boring, but that's a different post altogether... anyway, after I read that, the next book on my list is Team of Rivals, an 800 page or so biography of Abraham Lincoln written by Doris Kearns Goodwin, who happens to be a woman. So that should keep me busy for a while.

Anyhow, I'm feeling a little guilty about the lack of female protagonists in books I read, so I'm willing to take advice (I won't promise to read the books suggested, but I'll at least listen).