Sasaferrato
Super Refuser!
Absolutely, grew up on Agatha Christie. Just finishing Ann Cleeves Shetland series, and of course her 'Vera' books.
Men - do you read books written by female authors?
- Thread starter Poot
- Start date
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
reading daphne richemond-barak's work on subterranean warfare, don't think there's an equivalent book by a man
ska invita
back on the other side
pretty drab list imo
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
it's like a lot of them just reached for the books by women they last looked at in school or college. middlemarch. mrs dalloway. regeneration. to kill a mockingbird. the sea, the sea. and a book a lot of boys would have read in the 80s, the secret diary of adrian mole.
ska invita
back on the other side
yeah exactly - a bit embarrassing i think
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
A list of books by women compiled by a bunch of men who, by the looks of it, have barely read any books by women. Odd concept, badly done.
8ball
Decolonise colons!
How can you tell they’ve barely read any books by women?
Having an article by men authors about their favourite books by women doesn’t seem like a terrible idea, but it assumes that their opinions and interest in what to read will mirror what male readers are generally interested in reading.
For all I know, their preferences may be closer to that of female authors than the average male reader, whether a Guardian reader or not.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I've barely read any books by women (fiction at least - doing an audit in my head, I'd say definitely less than 20%, maybe quite a lot less; with non-fiction the ratio is more even) and I've read four of the books in the list.
8ball
Decolonise colons!
I think it’s a bit of a leap to extrapolate much from the fact that you have read some of the recommended books.
Regardless, on my bookshelf there is also that skewing of having more female authors on the non-fiction side (esp. economics and psychology, and obv feminism).
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
tbh much as I have affection for Adrian Mole, anyone coming up with that book has probably barely read any books full stop. 
8ball
Decolonise colons!
tbh much as I have affection for Adrian Mole, anyone coming up with that book has probably barely read any books full stop.
Loved it when I read it as a kid. I don’t think it’s so much on anyone’s radar these days but it’s such a great portrait of that period in history from an adolescent view.
I think it’s worth recommending.
ska invita
back on the other side
it is suggested by their staid canonical choices that barely include any contemporary female writers of which there are endless brilliant ones to choose from. Youd think if you asked respected writers theyd have some interesting tips to make a list interesting
Anyhow, I dont get time to read much fiction but last few things i did read happened to be by women - in case anyone is looking for a recommendation:
Natasha Brown - Assembly <jaw dropping in quality literary fiction, basically about race and class in UK
Monique Roffey - loved The Mermaid of Black Conch so much (magical realism/ cultural history in a Caribbean setting) went on to read an older book of hers, House of Ashes based on the Trinidad and Tobago coup <both great.
Also Trifonia Melibea Obono’s La Bastarda, the first ever English-language novel by a woman from Equatorial Guinea - and a lesbian tale at that - an unforgettable story with a very non-European style of writing.
Can recommend all of those, and im a fussy reader who struggles to finish books.
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8ball
Decolonise colons!
Depends on the question you ask them. With the question as asked, I’d expect a certain amount of staid and canonical.
I think the thing they are trying to address comes down to men and women not talking to each other very much about what they are reading.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I loved it as well, but it was massively popular. According to wikipedia, the Adrian Mole books were the best-selling fiction in Britain in the 1980s. And I'm guessing her books were much more popular with boys/men than those of most female authors. If I'd read loads of books by female authors, I think I'd choose to promote someone most men probably haven't read.
ska invita
back on the other side
Talking of lists someone who always makes a good looking end of year list of books I've never heard of is Dennis Cooper
...makes you realise how much gets published that flys below the radar and looks great to boot
as i said i wish i had the time
...makes you realise how much gets published that flys below the radar and looks great to boot
as i said i wish i had the time
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
I had a male ego once but then I read this one book and now I've fixed it. Hooray for me.
Superb trolling there Justin, 10/10
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Not all writers read that much, mind you. Umberto Eco once famously admitted that he didn't read much.
8ball
Decolonise colons!
Donald Trump has written 16 more books than he has actually read.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
'written'
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
I could believe he didn't read much fiction but it's clear from Eco's work that he's read a lot of history books.
hash tag
Books, not bombs
Not sure about women authors as such but I like reading books about strong women or by strong women. I've read a book or two about Elizabeth Shrewsbury and am currently reading a book by Lucy Easthope...what an amazing woman, what an incredible job she does.
By coincidence, I read that Dervla Murphy died a few days ago
a ground breaking cyclist/travel writer.
By coincidence, I read that Dervla Murphy died a few days ago
a ground breaking cyclist/travel writer.
pseudonarcissus
fluttering and dancing
I imagine their equivalent list of male authors would be (predominantly) white and dead too....or maybe not, maybe they'd want to show off how widely read they were.
8ball
Decolonise colons!
Those bloody dead people - where do they find the time to write all this stuff?
pseudonarcissus
fluttering and dancing
Those bloody dead people - where do they find the time to write all this stuff?
Maybe more interesting is what are the last half dozen books written by women that you read...I wonder if Adrian Mole would make it to that list too.
8ball
Decolonise colons!
What, you mean if I had to read all books by women ever, what would I read last?
Probably Ayn Rand or Robin DiAngelo.
Edit: Oh, no, see where I misread there. Good question, though. There was another Scarlett Thomas recently; I don’t know whether Philomena Cunk counts; and Victoria Coren before that; then maybe a re-read of Germaine Greer or Emma Goldman; and there was a sci fi thing whose name escapes me that I lent to someone.
Helen Fielding would pop up well before Sue Townsend.
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bluescreen
tofu eating wokerati
I just picked up an anthology of 'living poets' published in 1974. Of the 64 poets represented, 3 were women. This isn't so suprising: I left school in the 70s having studied Eng Lit at O level (sc. GCSE), A level and non-exam lit without encountering a single female voice. The only women writers I ever encountered at school were in hymns: the appalling Mrs CF Alexander (All Things Bright and Beautiful, There is a Green Hill, etc.) and the rather lovely Christina Rossetti (In the Bleak Midwinter).
It's not so much that women weren't writing, rather that they weren't getting published. It's totally changed now (in poetry, thanks largely to Bloodaxe), but not everywhere. The last French poetry anthology I picked up a couple of years ago had a similarly shocking ratio.
It's not so much that women weren't writing, rather that they weren't getting published. It's totally changed now (in poetry, thanks largely to Bloodaxe), but not everywhere. The last French poetry anthology I picked up a couple of years ago had a similarly shocking ratio.
Agent Sparrow
the age of slippers and migraines
This is a good point, indeed what are the last six books or authors you read (to allow for series) and what proportion were written by women? It’s still only a recent snapshot but it seems more of a litmus test than picking one’s favourites.
Also it identifies the less high brow reading. The authored gender split of more “trashy” books is an interesting question in itself
Edit: which frankly is the category I would have put Adrian Mole under.
Winot
I wholeheartedley agree with your viewpoint
Just looked back at my list for 2021:
Illness as Metaphor & Aids and its Metaphors - Susan Sontag
Outline - Rachel Cusk
Fake Accounts - Lauren Oyler
The Lesser Bohemians - Eimear McBride
Beautiful World, Where Are You - Sally Rooney
The Lonely City - Olivia Laing
Vertigo & Ghost - Fiona Benson
