Quote:
Originally Posted by dkperez
I use several libraries. Including a couple that have gone to the "cloud library" (I was told by one library worker that it's cheaper than Overdrive).
I recently fired up the cloud library, and took a look at the "featured" page. Row after row of books - new arrivals, adult fiction, etc.
And in my rummaging it APPEARS that at LEAST 90% of everything they feature is written by a person with a female-sounding name... Not 100%, but a huge, overwhelming majority.
Are the vast majority of authors women? Are the people at the cloud library that set up the "featured" page attempting to bias the list in favor of certain authors or a gender?
It's not a big deal, but I found it odd that their listings would be so one-sided...
|
I regularly search newly added books (all ebooks, not just one genre/category) on my local Overdrive library and in general I have not noticed a disparity in numbers of male/female authors, the exception being that every once in a while it appears the library acquires a huge pile of romance books by women. I last noticed this in February, which was both Valentine's Day and Black History Month - there was a huge acquisition of romance books with pictures of African-American characters on the cover.
Quote:
Originally Posted by patrickt
I've noticed the same thing. My preferred genre is mystery/detective. I generally prefer novels written by men. That said, it's sometimes impossible to know without buying the book and reading it. The name of the author can be totally false. A person can be having books published under two names, one of each gender. Frequently, the short biographies are careful to conceal the gender.
responsibility.
|
I once read a book where the author's name was female but the main character, who was female, just didn't seem to me to be thinking like a woman (I am a woman, so I am basing this on myself and other women in my life). Later I discovered the author was actually a man writing under a female pen name.