04-30-2013, 05:17 AM | #46 | |
Gnu
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I am of course using "civilised world" in it's correct usage here, meaning the part of the world that can spell it correctly. |
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04-30-2013, 05:32 AM | #47 |
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
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Moderator Notice
I have removed several posts from this thread that were definitely straying into Politics, not a discussion of authors' names and pseudonyms. Political discussions are not allowed outside the (opt-in) Politics and Religion forum. To opt-in to the Politics and Religion forum, go to User CP/Group Memberships and join the "Hardened Debators" group. |
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04-30-2013, 06:14 AM | #48 |
Zealot
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When I am choosing what to read, the author's gender is irrelevant. I just want a book that will engage my interest.
Last edited by pdurrant; 04-30-2013 at 06:14 AM. Reason: fixed quote tags |
04-30-2013, 06:50 AM | #49 |
Wizard
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A J Quinnell
A pseudonym deliberately designed to hide himself, although some diehard fans managed to penetrate the wall before the author died. Author of Man on Fire etc. And yes, male. Lived on Gozo, Malta, and half the island was in on the joke. Curious tourists asking after A J Quinnell would have several bogus Quinnells leading them on. |
04-30-2013, 09:18 AM | #50 | |
Media Junkie
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Gender of the author (or protagonist, for that matter) has very little to do with my choice of books as far as I can tell. I will be honest though, I probably do read about 60 - 65% male authors. In fact, just went to goodreads and counted - since 2011 when I joined GR, out of 98 books I've read, 19 of them were by female authors. Hmmm, less than I thought. Perhaps I need to go outside my comfort zone and sample a book I wouldn't normally consider. I was interested in reading the Night Circus, then one reviewer mentioned the dreaded R word - romance - and it put me off. Maybe I'll make a point to read it. Thought provoking for sure. |
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04-30-2013, 09:46 AM | #51 | |
Guru
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I'm a woman who is mostly into adventure/urban fantasy/not-romance-oriented books (I don't mind there being a love interest at some point, especially with a series, as most human beings develop relationships over the course of their adult life, but I prefer something else to be the plot) and I read male and female authors in more or less equal amounts, I suppose. Sometimes more of one, sometimes more of the other, depending on what genre I'm currently in (or if I've just discovered a certain author and read several books by him or her in a row). My reading used to be very heavily balanced towards male authors when I was younger as most action/adventure seemed to be written by men (and aimed at men/boys) back then, but being into urban fantasy, crime and young adult genres these days makes sure that I get plenty of books written by women as well. I rarely pay attention to the gender of the author - I can't always even tell, even if they're not "hiding" behind a pseudonym or initials, as not all first names are immediately and obviously gendered to readers from other countries - except in cases when male authors are writing books with female protagonists and it strikes me as either noticeably well done or remarkably badly done. (Related to this, I have noticed it seems to be getting more common, compared to my childhood/youth, for male children's/YA action/adventure authors to write books with girls as their main or co-protagonists, which is a trend I can only welcome!) I have found that I have a bit of a preference for female protagonists these days, though, for what it's worth - not a marked preference, and I'm perfectly happy to read books with male protagonists as well, but overall, I am always a bit happier to come across a non-romance-focused book in my preferred genres that has a well-rounded female protagonist. This may also have something to do with me just wanting to balance out the 95%-male-protagonists reading material of my youth, though. |
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04-30-2013, 04:05 PM | #52 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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You want people to look more closely on a book and if all boy/men sort away female writers without looking more closely at the book you have a problem. |
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04-30-2013, 05:57 PM | #53 | |
Cheese Whiz
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04-30-2013, 07:09 PM | #54 |
Wizard
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I truly don't know whether there's hard data to back it up, but it does seem to be a trueism in the publishing world, that boys won't read books by female authors. (note I specify "boys" here - most men of my acquaintance don't have this issue, although seems to me that some here have said flat out that they won't read books by female authors - that post may be one of the ones removed, though because I can't find it now).
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04-30-2013, 07:22 PM | #55 | |
Guru
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And it has nothing to do with gender discrimination, it has to do with something that is quite normal, our tendency to generalize and classify when we are facing an abundance. And we do. Each and every one of us has favourite authors, and those that are not worthy of our time. Genres that we avoid, those that we like. And so on. When we face a thousands of books on shelves of the big book store, where each and every one of them is competing for our eyes, the decision to reach for the book and read what is written on the jacket is rarely concious. A colourful cover might grab our attention or send a symbolic message that matches our expectations, books that are on prominent display will capture our attention, a title might interest us, and so on. The question is NOT do you read women authors, the question is can you tell that a book was written by a lady or is men's work. Most of the time I can, and if you agree with me, then the mystery of the need to mask the gender of the author is easily solved. The marketing guru has denied us a recognition and easy classification, and forced us to reach for the book and read the jacket. Last edited by Ankh; 04-30-2013 at 07:24 PM. |
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04-30-2013, 07:46 PM | #56 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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What is your hard data to question this claim? Notice that I did not say that it was still valid, I said that it was claimed that it have been valid. |
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04-30-2013, 10:36 PM | #57 |
Cheese Whiz
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Just because 'everyone' says it, or even believes it, doesn't make it true. I'm saying maybe we need to question this as a statement of fact until we see some hard evidence supporting that belief. Your post asks me to accept the belief as fact without proof and then goes on to ask me to disprove the unsupported fact when we have all seemed to agree there is no documented proof either way (at least I've seen no claims that people have such evidence). That seems backwards logic to me.
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04-30-2013, 11:02 PM | #58 | |
Lunatic
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Not the best example of "hard data", but there was a survey done in 2005 that might interest you: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/may/29/gender.books
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04-30-2013, 11:18 PM | #59 | |
Bookaholic
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Leigh Greenwood Jennifer Wilde S.L. Carpenter J.W. McKenna Brindle Chase M.L. Buchman Fay Robinson Marilyn Ross Clarissa Ross Ann Gilmer W.E.D. Ross Laura Frances Brooks Lydia Colby Rose Dana Jan Daniels Ross Olin Diane Randall Dana Ross K.N. Casper Jessica Blair Monica Barrie Alison York Deanna Dwyer Caroline Farr Victoria Gordon Madeleine Ker Dorothea Nile Claudette Virmonne Dorothy Vernon Leigh Anne Williams |
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05-01-2013, 12:02 AM | #60 |
Wizard
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Here's some data, not sure how 'hard' it is.
Apparently there is a huge disparity in the number of books reviewed by major magazines/newspapers by each gender. For example, in 2010 the New York Times reviewed books by 283 female authors, while reviewing 524 male authors. If reviews by major media outlets influence sales, that's a big deal. |
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