Do you only read books by authors of your own gender?

Question

I read books by men and women but have noticed that a lot of guys I know rarely or never read books by women and vice versa...

The best way to tell is to check your bookshelves (as below) - are there more books by one gender than the other? You might be surprised... Often people aren't even aware of it...

I'm not suggesting that people choose books by gender necessarily but just that often people end up with one represented more than the other. Particularly men in my experience tend not to read women's writing.

Answer 1

I rarely check the gender of an author before I read a book, but I checked my bookshelf and most of my books have female authors. Maybe I find I can empathise and relate to the writings of a female writter more easily to that of a male writer?

Answer 2

Off the top of my head I'd say I mostly read books by men, though I'm female. this isn't intentional. It's just the type of books I own/read.

I like Dickens, Joyce, de Bernieres, Graham Greene, Iain Banks, Emile Zola, George Orwell, Kazuo Ishiguro, Jack Kerouac and Sebastian Faulks.

But I also like Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, JK Rowling, Dodie Smith, Jean Rhys.

I don't necessarily pick a book based on the gender of the writer - the only time I judge a book by the gender of the writer is when it one of those horrid chick-lit things that I avoid like the plague.

Recently I was recommended by a friend to read Children of Men by PD James - somebody I'd never read before, the book was OK and I spoke to my friend about it (he's a Frenchman) and he was really surprised that PD James was a woman. After all the books he'd read by her he'd always thought she was a man.

Answer 3

I hate to admit it, but the vast majority of decent authors seem to be men these days, so most my books are by male authors. I'm an English Literature Masters student and the majority of the books on my course are by blokes as well. There have been some great women authors like Charlotte Bronte and George Elliot, Oh and J K Rowling of course, but not too many. My boyfriend only reads books written by men, how naff is that? Mind you, he does study philosophy and can you name a woman philosopher? I can't!!

Answer 4

Definitely not, there's no way I'd limit my reading experience like that. I'm more concerned with the subject matter of the book, if the plot or real life story related interests me, the gender of the author is irrelevant. The only time the identity of hte author matters is if it's one I've read before and either liked/disliked their book(s)

Answer 5

I read from a mix. I find that if I go into a book shop then the girlie looking covers put me off. Often I use the reviews and the blurbs to help me choose. Whether it is written by a man or a woman does not matter.

Answer 6

No i read books by both genders i like horror so i might read something like this
Stephen King or Anne Rice
classic
Bram stroker or Marry Shelly
NO one should read books based on if the authors gender weather it be a women or a man

Answer 7

I can't say I think about the gender issue. My favorite author is male and I'm female. But I suppose men write books that only appeal to men and women write books that appeal to men but I don't think this applies to books like fiction, just things like car books and beauty books.

Answer 8

No I have equal amounts of both gender.
I don't even look if the book is by a male or female.
I just look on the back of the book and see if the story is what I would like to read.

Answer 9

No way, imagine all the books women would miss out on if we only read books written by women authors: Mark Twain, Charles Dickinson, Dr.Seuss!!!! And for guys: Maya angelou, Virginia Woolf, and Mary Shelly....


We shouldnt miss out!

Answer 10

No i don't even notice the gender of an author, i just look for books i will like.