Reddit mentions of The Left Hand of Darkness: 50th Anniversary Edition (Ace Science Fiction)

Yeah, this list is bizarre overall. Ayn Rand? Cory Doctorow? Puh-leeze. And as usual, Ursula LeGuin gets snubbed.

EDIT:

If you've never heard of The Left Hand Of Darkness:
>If there were a canon of classic science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness would be included without debate. Certainly, no science fiction bookshelf may be said to be complete without it. But the real question: is it fun to read? It is science fiction of an earlier time, a time that has not worn particularly well in the genre. The Left Hand of Darkness was a groundbreaking book in 1969, a time when, like the rest of the arts, science fiction was awakening to new dimensions in both society and literature. But the first excursions out of the pulp tradition are sometimes difficult to reread with much enjoyment. Rereading The Left Hand of Darkness, decades after its publication, one feels that those who chose it for the Hugo and Nebula awards were right to do so, for it truly does stand out as one of the great books of that era. It is immensely rich in timeless wisdom and insight.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin (Science Fiction, Gender Equality)

I know some of these have already been mentioned, so just consider this a second vote for those titles. Also, my list skews heavily towards sci-fi/fantasy, because that is what I tend to read the most of.

By women, featuring female protagonists:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

The Female Man by Joanna Russ

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Circus in Winter by Cathy Day (It's not entirely fair to characterize this as a book about women; it's really a set of interconnected stories featuring both male and female characters. On the other hand, many of the most memorable characters, IMO, are women, so I'm filing it in this category anyway. So there!)

The Protector of the Small Quartet by Tamora Pierce, beginning with First Test (Really, anything by Tamora Pierce would fit the bill here. They're young adult novels, so they're quick reads, but they're enjoyable and have wonderful, strong, realistic female protagonists.)

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer (Heyer wrote really fun, enjoyable romances, typically set in the Regency period, though These Old Shades is actually Georgian. This one is probably my favorite, but they're really all quite wonderful. Not super heavy stuff, but don't write her off just because of the subject matter. She was a talented, witty writer, and her female protagonists are almost never the wilting "damsel in distress" type - they're great characters who, while still holding true to their own time and place, are bright and likeable and hold their own against the men in their lives.)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Another young adult book. And, again, I think it's worth noting that L'Engle's books almost always feature strong and interesting female characters. This one is probably her most famous, and begins a series featuring members of the same family, so it's a good jumping off point.)

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi


By men, featuring female protagonists:

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (This is another one that is perhaps not a perfect fit for this category; the titular unicorn is female, but the book is as much about Schmendrick the magician as it is about her. However, there's also Molly Grue, so on the strength of those two women, I'm classifying this book as having female protagonists.)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Coraline by Neil Gaiman (It's a children's book, but there's plenty to enjoy about it as an adult, too.)

By women, featuring male protagonists

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Most of the characters in The Windup Girl are Thai or Chinese.

The Left Hand of Darkness messes around with gender in interesting ways. (Also, Ursula K. Leguin is an all-around fantastic author.)

Robert Heinlein can be a controversial author, but many of his works had non-white protagonists. Manuel Garcia O'Kelly-Davis from The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress is multiracial, and Johnny Rico from Starship Troopers is Filipino, if I recall correctly.

Someone else in this thread recommended The Brief But Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, and it's not exactly SFF (more in the vein of magical realism) but it is easily one of the best books I've ever read.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin

Anything by Joanna Russ

Floating Worlds and Great Maria by Cecelia Holland

The Shattered Chain by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Titan by John Varley

Ammonite by Nicola Griffith

Walk to the End of the World by Suzy McKee Charnas

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh

Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir

• Ursula K Le Guin's Hainish Universe books: Worlds of Exile and Illusion, The Word for World is Forest, and The Left Hand of Darkness
  
• Iain M Banks' Culture Series
  
• Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series
  
• Vernor Vinge's Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky
  
• Charles Stross' Singularity books
  
• Robert A Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers, and Have Space Suit, Will Travel
  
• Michael Marshall Smith's Only Forward and Spares
  
• Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age and Cryptonomicon
  
• William Gibson's Neuromancer
  
• Larry Niven's Ringworld and The Mote in God's Eye
  
• Frank Herbert's Dune series
  
• John Scalzi's Old Man's War series

The Lathe of Heaven is pretty accessible. It's a great story about a guy who claims that his dreams change reality.

The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness are good starting points too.

You should really check out Ursula K. Le Guin. I recommend starting with The Left Hand of Darkness.