Do men ever read women authors and vice versa?

#1 · 22-02-2020 12:10am #1

Reading books for nearly 50 years now and as a male, when I'm browsing books to read, I find I gravitate towards male authors as a matter of course and would hardly ever read women authors. So I'm wondering:
1: as a male do you/have you read female authors?
2: as a female, do you/have you read male authors?

eviltwin · 22-02-2020 12:11am

quodec wrote: »

Reading books for nearly 50 years now and as a male, when I'm browsing books to read, I find I gravitate towards male authors as a matter of course and would hardly ever read women authors. So I'm wondering:
1: as a male do you/have you read female authors?
2: as a female, do you/have you read male authors?

I read good books, don't care who wrote it

Leg End Reject · 22-02-2020 12:12am

I'm a woman and I'll read both, but I hate the so-called chick-lit.

tuxy · 22-02-2020 12:13am

I once watched a film by a female director ( American Psycho )
Does that count?

MrMusician18 · 22-02-2020 12:15am

I'd say males never read female authors, and females never read male authors.:rolleyes: I mean ever. Yeah

I've come across stupid questions here before, but this is up there. Ridiculous question OP. Ffs.

Mickeroo · 22-02-2020 12:16am

Never judge a book by its author's genitals.

pillphil · 22-02-2020 12:22am

MrMusician18 wrote: »

I'd say males never read female authors, and females never read male authors.:rolleyes: I mean ever. Yeah

I've come across stupid questions here before, but this is up there. Ridiculous question OP. Ffs.

I think the phrasing is off, but if OP meant what i think they meant, then the question is valid.

I don't intentionally choose to read male authors, but, as a guy, the majority of authors I read are male.

I don't know why that is, especially as reading isn't as heavily marketed as other mediums, but either I'm sold male authors better, or I've a bias towards male authors.

Edit: rearead OP: he conciously gravitates towards male authors, whereas I, apparently, unconciously do the same

Quantum Erasure · 22-02-2020 12:24am

i wouldn't mind reading female authors, but I can't remember the last time i did. Any recommendations in the kind of satire / dark comedy range?

jaxxx · 22-02-2020 12:25am

I haven't read books since I was a kid, but what sort of actual **** reads books based on the sex of the author?? FFS this is 2020 isn't it?? We're still in Ireland aren't we?? We haven't been invaded by some modern misogynistic, homosexual-sinning, ancient fossiled and primeval country?? I get having favourite authors but this is ****.

Please feel free to sub in **** for a word(s) of your choosing of equal, less or greater characters.

branie2 · 22-02-2020 12:26am

I've read a bit of Jane Austen novels and the novels of Kate Mosse

Arghus · 22-02-2020 12:31am

It makes no difference to me.

pillphil · 22-02-2020 12:32am

jaxxx wrote: »

I haven't read books since I was a kid, but what sort of actual **** reads books based on the sex of the author?? FFS this is 2020 isn't it?? We're still in Ireland aren't we?? We haven't been invaded by some modern misogynistic, homosexual-sinning, ancient fossiled and primeval country?? I get having favourite authors but this is ****.

Please feel free to sub in **** for a word(s) of your choosing of equal, less or greater characters.

A lot of female authors intentionally hide their sex, so it is a thing, concious or not.

super_furry · 22-02-2020 12:32am

Honestly think it'd be weird to restrict yourself to reading the works of just one gender. Why would you even want to do that?

Quantum Erasure · 22-02-2020 12:33am

MrMusician18 wrote: »

I'd say males never read female authors, and females never read male authors.:rolleyes: I mean ever. Yeah

I've come across stupid questions here before, but this is up there. Ridiculous question OP. Ffs.

I'd say most women would read both male and female authors, while most men would mostly read male authors.

There was a copy of PS. I love you lying around the house, so I picked it up and started reading it, I don't know did i even get half way through, but it just wasn't my scene, way too 'chick-lit' for me...

so I later heard an interview with Cecelia Ahern, and she said she wouldn't consider what she writes 'chick-lit', and PS I love you would be the least chick lit of her books, maybe I'm just not into books written by women at all

tuxy · 22-02-2020 12:36am

super_furry wrote: »

Honestly think it'd be weird to restrict yourself to reading the works of just one gender. Why would you even want to do that?

I don't think that is what is asked.
My understanding of the question is do you tend to gravitate(subconsciously) to literature written by someone who is the same gender as yourself.

Ficheall · 22-02-2020 12:37am

branie2 wrote: »

the novels of Kate Mosse

I read one of hers. Wouldn't read another.

Pherekydes · 22-02-2020 12:38am

I've read Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings. It was written by JRK Tolkieling.

Covers all the bases...

pillphil · 22-02-2020 12:41am

Just out of curiousity, I'd like to ask everyone saying they don't care what the breakdown of male vs female authors on their book shelf is right now?

Mine is 90% male. Again, I don't intentionally pick based on sex, but I clearly seem to have a bias.

22-02-2020 12:42am

jaxxx wrote: »

I haven't read books since I was a kid, but what sort of actual **** reads books based on the sex of the author?? FFS this is 2020 isn't it?? We're still in Ireland aren't we?? We haven't been invaded by some modern misogynistic, homosexual-sinning, ancient fossiled and primeval country?? I get having favourite authors but this is ****.

Please feel free to sub in **** for a word(s) of your choosing of equal, less or greater characters.

So you don't read books but you know all about it. Yeah right.
I read books a lot, and after many years have learned that generally speaking, I don't identify or enjoy books written by females. As reading a book is quite an investment of my time, I will usually pass over a book if the author is female.
This is my experience. Sorry if it offends anyone. (ah no, I'm not really.)

the_syco · 22-02-2020 12:51am

quodec wrote: »

1: as a male do you/have you read female authors?
2: as a female, do you/have you read male authors?

There's a book that's meant to be gas craic, which I was saying that I'm goring to read it, about some artist that built roads, etc, but someone told me that he died in the end, so decided not to read it.

Other than that, I don't care if a man or woman writes the books that I read.

Earthhorse · 22-02-2020 12:53am

I have read women authors but I don’t know that we could ever "just" be friends.

22-02-2020 12:54am

Quantum Erasure wrote: »

I'd say most women would read both male and female authors, while most men would mostly read male authors.

There was a copy of PS. I love you lying around the house, so I picked it up and started reading it, I don't know did i even get half way through, but it just wasn't my scene, way too 'chick-lit' for me...

so I later heard an interview with Cecelia Ahern, and she said she wouldn't consider what she writes 'chick-lit', and PS I love you would be the least chick lit of her books, maybe I'm just not into books written by women at all

Please don't judge all books written by women based on your experience of that utter trash.

Ladybird18 · 22-02-2020 12:56am

No they do not indeed and neither do vice verse. Ever.

eviltwin · 22-02-2020 12:59am

pillphil wrote: »

Just out of curiousity, I'd like to ask everyone saying they don't care what the breakdown of male vs female authors on their book shelf is right now?

Mine is 90% male. Again, I don't intentionally pick based on sex, but I clearly seem to have a bias.

I've over 500 books on my shelves at the moment and I don't have any idea of the ratio of male to female authors. I pick my books based on reviews, recommendations or the blurb on the cover. Couldn't care if the writer is a man or woman, all I want is a decent story.

jam_mac_jam · 22-02-2020 1:04am

It wouldn't even enter my head when i was selecting a book. I would be much more interested in the type of book and reviews or awards maybe.

As for taking Celia Ahern, for every book of that type there is a silly male written book. So listing stupid books by a female author is a bit of a weak argument.

With novels i read male and female. With history it would be mostly male as I read a lot of second world war which tends to be written by men. Not through choice.

I wouldn't even think about it

gigantic09 · 22-02-2020 1:08am

Mickeroo wrote: »

Never judge a book by its author's genitals.

I nearly got sick when I found out Robert Galbraith didn't have a willy ðŸ€£.

pillphil · 22-02-2020 1:09am

eviltwin wrote: »

I've over 500 books on my shelves at the moment and I don't have any idea of the ratio of male to female authors. I pick my books based on reviews, recommendations or the blurb on the cover. Couldn't care if the writer is a man or woman, all I want is a decent story.

That's my point, so do I. I don't know why i have the specific books I have (mostly recommendatins from my largely male friends, I assume), It just happens that i have a small enought collection with me at the moment to count quickly what sex the autohor is.

I'm not trying to promote any view here, but i find it interesting that my preference seems to align with OP even though it's not something i intentionally choose. I'm just curious as to whether that's the case for others.

Badly Drunk Boy · 22-02-2020 1:13am

I don't think I've ever read a book by a female, unless you include Silas Marner by yer man George Eliot, which I did in school. It wasn't a conscious decision, there were just certain things I'd want to read, not stuff I was trying to avoid. The music that I'd listen to would be mainly by males too, although the male/female ratio wouldn't be as extremely one-sided as it is with books.

Actually, I used to read a lot of short stories (often science fiction) and sometimes the odd story might be by a female. Does that count?

22-02-2020 1:15am

eviltwin wrote: »

I've over 500 books on my shelves at the moment and I don't have any idea of the ratio of male to female authors. I pick my books based on reviews, recommendations or the blurb on the cover. Couldn't care if the writer is a man or woman, all I want is a decent story.

As we all know, on the shelf does not equal read. For those you have read and enjoyed you must have a rough idea of what percentage are female authored. Half?

Weepsie · 22-02-2020 1:16am

Judging by the amount of books Margaret Atwood, Harper Lee, Hillary Mantel, Donna Tartt, Wolf, Shelley, the Brontes etc have sold, I'd say it's safe to say men and women read each other.

Now they may confine themselves by genre. There's a definite type of chick-lit that men tend not to touch, but also a the male focused Andy McNab all action type things.

Plenty of middle ground too in there across the genders.

Personally, it depends on if it's the type of book I think I'd like. Last 2 books were by a female author Carys Davies, and the current is by a male author.

I work in a library too, and people just tend to read by what genre they like, by what's been recommended in the media, and then by particular author. Author's gender doesn't tend to come into it.

22-02-2020 1:17am

I don't read chick-lit, and never aspire to. That's all, make of it what you will.

Do men ever read women authors and vice versa?

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