MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Do you read books by authors of your own gender?

FlorenceArt · 09-14-2010, 05:36 AM

Uh?

OK, MR won't let me post a message with only "uh" in it, so I guess I need to elaborate a little.

I guess that's another one of these questions about books that baffle me, such as genre. What I care about in a book, ultimately, is whether it touches me or not. I must admit to some bias, when selecting books to read, as there are some kind of books that I automatically assume will annoy me, or just not touch me, and I may miss some good books that way. But gender? Why would the gender of the author have any impact on whether or not I will like it? Or their sexual preference, their age, the color of their skin, the part of the world they come from, whether they have all their body parts or some are missing?

I might have more difficulties reading a book written by someone with a culture and history extremely different from mine, because I would not understand their references, just as I am often baffled by the Bible whenever I try to read it. But contrary to the theories of some pop psychology pseudo-gurus, men and women do NOT live on different planets.

If I can read a book written 2 or 4 thousand years ago and relate to it (even if some parts baffle me a little), I can read something written by a contemporary male and relate to it.

I might get something different from it than a man would, or maybe not. But that's what (good) literature is: an exchange, a contact between different people. When I read, I'm not looking for a mirror, or an imagined version of myself. I am looking for echoes of myself in others, things that can trigger my imagination and that I can link to my own experience, but without being me. If not, I could just write my own book and read only that, couldn't I? Only nobody does that, because it would be incredibly boring.

Reading is a kind of contact with the other. It's a way of feeling and coming to terms with how alien and alike we all are to each other, and that goes way beyond gender differences.

I'm not sure all of the above makes sense, but then, after all, I'm a woman, so I'm not expected to make sense, am I?

09-14-2010, 05:36 AM	#3
FlorenceArt High Priestess Posts: 5,761 Karma: 5042529 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Montreuil sous bois, France Device: iPad Pro 9.7, iPhone 6 Plus	Uh? OK, MR won't let me post a message with only "uh" in it, so I guess I need to elaborate a little. I guess that's another one of these questions about books that baffle me, such as genre. What I care about in a book, ultimately, is whether it touches me or not. I must admit to some bias, when selecting books to read, as there are some kind of books that I automatically assume will annoy me, or just not touch me, and I may miss some good books that way. But gender? Why would the gender of the author have any impact on whether or not I will like it? Or their sexual preference, their age, the color of their skin, the part of the world they come from, whether they have all their body parts or some are missing? I might have more difficulties reading a book written by someone with a culture and history extremely different from mine, because I would not understand their references, just as I am often baffled by the Bible whenever I try to read it. But contrary to the theories of some pop psychology pseudo-gurus, men and women do NOT live on different planets. If I can read a book written 2 or 4 thousand years ago and relate to it (even if some parts baffle me a little), I can read something written by a contemporary male and relate to it. I might get something different from it than a man would, or maybe not. But that's what (good) literature is: an exchange, a contact between different people. When I read, I'm not looking for a mirror, or an imagined version of myself. I am looking for echoes of myself in others, things that can trigger my imagination and that I can link to my own experience, but without being me. If not, I could just write my own book and read only that, couldn't I? Only nobody does that, because it would be incredibly boring. Reading is a kind of contact with the other. It's a way of feeling and coming to terms with how alien and alike we all are to each other, and that goes way beyond gender differences. I'm not sure all of the above makes sense, but then, after all, I'm a woman, so I'm not expected to make sense, am I?