I haven't read anything by Yoshimoto, but I keep on hearing good things about her. I'll put a hold on this one, as sleep (or the lack of, weirdness of) is something that has been on my mind recently.

I'll also take a look at Merrick's book. I find that sci-fi is a genre where pretty consistently also male writers display feminist attitudes (such as Iain Banks, and--although he's often accused of having misogynist characters--even Heinlein). It's the genre where I'm least likely to rip my hair out of because of stupid gender roles. :)