Men - do you read books written by female authors?

[seeformiles]

what's the ratio?

Not sure - I read a lot of biography and that’s probably more male biased (authors and subjects) but art and design and history books seem to be split more evenly. On the whole (looking at my bookshelves) it’s about 2:1 in favour of male authors. I’ve not really properly thought about it before but I’m pretty sure there’s not been any real conscious bias. Be interesting to see how the split is generally according to subject matter. I don’t really have many books that would fall into a really crude gender targeted readership i.e. Andy McNabb / Jenny Colgan but am pretty put off by either extreme. Good question

 

[D'wards]

I hold no prejudice when choosing books to read- positive or negative- but I suspect I read a lot more male authors.

I've just checked my stats for this year 23 read or reading - 22 by male authors.

I would say I'd try and read more by female authors, but I feel life is too short to select my next book on gender rather than what I fancy.

I'd just like to caveat that I have read loads and loads by female authors- all Sue Townsend, most Agatha Christie, most J.K Rowling, Lionel Shriver, Donna Tartt, Hilary Mantel etc and they have been amongst the best books I've read

 

[Winot]

Just checked:

2020 - 11/25 women
2021 - 6/21 women

Most of the books written by women were fiction. The non-fiction I read tends to be 17th century history which is very male.

 

[killer b]

I hold no prejudice when choosing books to read- positive or negative- but I suspect I read a lot more male authors.

I've just checked my stats for this year 23 read or reading - 22 by male authors.

You aren't aware of holding any prejudice. The stats suggest something other though.

 

[D'wards]

You aren't aware of holding any prejudice. The stats suggest something other though.

Appens as maybe

 

[nogojones]

I've read one of those. Not got round to the others but mean to at some point.

Currently reading this if anyone's interested.

A Memory Called Empire - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

But of the particular techie scifi sub genre, the male bias is more pronounced.

Another one for the list

 

[wtfftw]

For years I only bought books or music by women. I remember as a teen being so fed up of everything visible being so male dominated - including the stuff we studied for English GCSE.

Now I barely read but nine times out of ten it'll be a woman author. I've no time for TV and films with no women in either. I'm sure in some ways I'm missing out but in other ways I'm not.

 

[bimble]

I hold no prejudice when choosing books to read.. I've just checked my stats for this year 23 read or reading - 22 by male authors.

This does make me laugh.
What do you think's going on there just coincidence a roll of the dice ?

 

[JimW]

Hard to do the stats as don't keep a reading diary but should think men predominate most years, though not always as when I was working through Meiskins Wood or when I got into a series of potboiler detective novels set in Rome that meant a spree of about twenty books.
Mostly get asked to translate male writers but obviously probably more likely to look for a woman to translate a woman's original. though know the bloke who translated Shanghai Baby which is mostly sex and shopping and he could hardly have been a less suitable choice.

 

[D'wards]

This does make me laugh.
What do you think's going on there just coincidence a roll of the dice ?

Nah. I just largely seem to prefer books by men that is all.
Its not a policy, I just read wherever I want to read free of "diversity quotas".
Or certainly not concerned that any sod is gonna judge me cos my reading list is not diverse enough

 

[killer b]

FTR I'm not judging you - I found similar when I checked a few years ago, it's totally normal. Aren't you at least a bit curious why you prefer male writers to such a degree though?

 

[Orang Utan]

Nah. I just largely seem to prefer books by men that is all.
Its not a policy, I just read wherever I want to read free of "diversity quotas".
Or certainly not concerned that any sod is gonna judge me cos my reading list is not diverse enough

Not a prejudice, just a preference. Righto!

 

[D'wards]

Not a prejudice, just a preference. Righto!

Whatever you like.

I'm not interested in engaging with an oddball off the Internet policing my reading lists, so you crack on

 

[Pickman's model]

Nah. I just largely seem to prefer books by men that is all.

how do you know if you prefer books by men if you read so few books by women?

 

[Orang Utan]

Whatever you like.

I'm not interested in engaging with an oddball off the Internet policing my reading lists, so you crack on

No one’s doing that. Just found that comment funny

 

[bimble]

i wasn't having a go D'wards your post was funny thats all

 

[D'wards]

how do you know if you prefer books by men if you read so few books by women?

I have read loads of books by women- some of my favourite books are by women- examples can be given. And I read a Martina Cole book which was the worst book I've read for years

But I obviously have an unconscious bias as looking through my reading lists on your threads through the years the majority of the books I read are by men (which is far far from uncommon I think you'll find if you have a scan of all the lists by people).

 

[D'wards]

i wasn't having a go D'wards your post was funny thats all

Sorry to you and Orang Utan - when challenged on these here boards I tend to take it as a potential pile on and come out swinging.

I'll read three Sophie Kinsella's and two Jenny Colgan's as penance

 

[Superdupastupor]

Hillary MAN-TELL , damn right-the only other author whose entire oeuvre I've tried to read is Graham Greene.

 

[Pickman's model]

Just checked:

2020 - 11/25 women
2021 - 6/21 women

Most of the books written by women were fiction. The non-fiction I read tends to be 17th century history which is very male.

is it? you read fuck all about pirates, then, or you'd be singing claire jowitt's praises. then there's c.v. wedgwood's classic history of the thirty years' war - a couple of the top of my head. Oh and lyndal roper's work on witchcraft in germany

 

[killer b]

FWIW I'm still not doing that great - I just checked and I'm on 12 men vs 7 women since I started my most recent list...

 

[agricola]

Never really thought about this before, but although I've got few female-authored books in my almost entirely non-fiction history collection probably about half of my favourite books would qualify - Frances Stonor Saunders' Diabolical Englishman (a life of Sir John Hawkwood), Kathryn Tempest's Brutus (the best book I've read over the last few years) and Antonia Nevill's English translation of Serge Lancel's Hannibal.

 

[Pickman's model]

I've recently been enjoying Marilyn Peterson's works on criminal intelligence, gisela bichler's 'understanding criminal networks' and Manon hedenborg White's fascinating 'the eloquent blood: the goddess babalon and the construction of feminism in western esotericism'

 

[nagapie]

For years I only bought books or music by women. I remember as a teen being so fed up of everything visible being so male dominated - including the stuff we studied for English GCSE.

Now I barely read but nine times out of ten it'll be a woman author. I've no time for TV and films with no women in either. I'm sure in some ways I'm missing out but in other ways I'm not.

Me too. Definitely not missing out, women are better.

 

[Poot]

Me too. Definitely not missing out, women are better.

Oh, I think it can be rewarding to sometimes read a book that was written by a man. Some of them are quite good.

Hee hee.

 

[nagapie]

Oh, I think it can be rewarding to sometimes read a book that was written by a man. Some of them are quite good.

Hee hee.

I know but somehow even though I read one really good one, I still only read a book by a man one in one billion books.

 

[D'wards]

FTR I'm not judging you - I found similar when I checked a few years ago, it's totally normal. Aren't you at least a bit curious why you prefer male writers to such a degree though?

Yah, I like quite hard bleak stuff. Hubert Selby, McCarthy etc.

However, I do also like quite lighthearted cosy stuff too - I've read every word Sue Townsend put to paper, and I love the Darling Buds of May series.

I like to plan my reading ahead, cos I'm odd like that, and next and third I'm reading books by Hanya Yanagihara and Susanna Clarke- not because they're female but because they came highly recommended and I found the premises (sp?) intriguing.

 

[toblerone3]

You bumped this nine-year-old thread to say yes you read a book by a woman? That’s, well a bit tragic.

Nothing tragic about it. Don't know why the thread came to my attention but I just answered the question in the thread title and mentioned a book that I'd enjoyed recently written by a woman.

Didn't realise it was an old thread. Its still a valid question and still an interesting question. I've read and enjoyed many books written by woman. For a couple of years I, for instance, only read fiction written by 20th Century American Woman.

 

[yield]

Those that think it's by quota or some sort of virtue signally make me laugh.

How about you read something that makes you uncomfortable?

The first book is often biographical. See what it's like with the shoe is on the other foot.

 

[D'wards]

This seems un-great, just found when looking for stats.

View attachment 293248
it is from 'goodreads' which i have an idea is a bit like richard & judy bookclub so not sure if it means very much really but still.

Tbf there is a huge market for the Pastel cover novels (Sophie Kinsella has sold over 40m books), which I assume are hugely predominantly read by women. So that probably skews the figures.

Has anyone here read any of the Confessions of a Shopaholic type books? If so, any good.

Do they still write books for delinquent youth like the Skinhead and Suedehead books of the 70s and Yardie book's of the 90s?
Can't think I've come across any