Women are still a closed book to men (Research shows men mainly read works by other men)

The Guardian ^ | Sunday May 29, 2005 | David Smith

[Adder]

Its 'cause wimmenses write funny.

[Cincinatus]

I've read and greatly enjoyed Colleen McCullough's series of novels about the fall of the Roman Republic. Brilliant work!

[neb52]

Well my education weakness is English, so grammar errors don't stand out as much. I just can't stand over elaboration of something like describing details of a room. Take Colleen McCullough for example. Very crisp quick writing. This could be due to a very good editor, or Colleen being just that good. I started Mary Renault's The King Must Die, but for some reason I put it down and haven't picked it back up. Not for sure why. I don't think it had to do with the writing, perhaps the subject just didn't peak my interest at the time.

There are male writers that I cannot stand as well. Some of Robert Heinlein's work or David McCullough's John Adams Biography. David's book on John Adams is good, but to long. Splitting it into two books would of been best or better editing to get the book down to a smaller size.

Of course reading a Conan book written by a Scotsman. Who was bound and determine to give Conan a Scotish accent and terminology. Talk about wanting to stab ones eye out!

[freeangel]

for later

[Lloyd227]

"Research shows men mainly read works by other men"

Well duh! I hope the none of our tax dollars were involved in this "research" :-)

[R. Scott]

I have several hundred books – only about half a dozen are fiction. I have found few female history or science writers.

[neb52]

Another female author that isn't to bad. L. Dean James.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/L_Dean_James.htm

[dirtbiker]

Some of my earliest sci-fi reading was by Andre Norton

Mine too. I was wondering if she was still alive or not, the woman musta been about 100 or so! The first book by her I read was "Daybreak 2250 A.D." back in the 8th grade. (and 8th grade was 32 years ago!)

[Pelayo]

There are male writers that I cannot stand as well. Some of Robert Heinlein's work...

Worst thing I ever did to myself was read Stranger in a Strange Land, not the original publication either, but the new unedited one. Yes, thats right, there was a bunch of weirdness that was actually cut from the original, and is now reintegrated.

[neb52]

Scratch that, shes a he.

[Route101]

...In the survey, men were asked to name the 'most important' book by a woman written in the last two years......My Worthless Political Life by Patty Murray????

[Miss Marple]

I see a lot of people have mentioned women authors that men read, such as Ann Rice, Agatha Christie, etc. These don't count, you see, because those women do not write important novels. (Important novels are those depressing books hailed by literary critics as fraught with meaning, questioning the meaning of life, detailing the shallow and hopeless quality of existence in middle class America, etc. etc.)

Myself, I don't read important novels whether written by a woman or a man. I do not care to waste my time on a book that will either depress me or tick me off.

[FierceDraka]

I'm a sci-fi guy, right? And I have to say that sci-fi written by women is largely unreadable to me.

Either puts me to sleep, or involves lesbian fantasy worlds about all female societies devoid of men.

Forget "feeding the Galactic All-Mother with love", give me interstellar war!

[Pelayo]

Myself, I don't read important novels whether written by a woman or a man. I do not care to waste my time on a book that will either depress me or tick me off.

Then how do you know what's in them? Me myself, I've never read any books considered important that contained the ideas you outlined.

[E Rocc]

I see that Lois McMaster Bujold just won what I think is her third Nebula for best SF/F novel (PALLADIN OF SOULS). Clearly there are *some* men who are reading her works!

I don't know about the recent fantasy-type ones, but that was definitely the case with the Vorkosigan series. I bought the last 3 or 4 of those day-of-hardcover-release. She's good at blending genres ...mixing in mystery and even romance, and is matchless at character development.

-Eric

[MississippiMasterpiece]

The Guardian and Mr.Smith can bugger off. I'm an avid reader of detective and mystery fiction and there are several women in those genres whose work I read and enjoy enough to collect signed first editions...Julie Smith, Nevada Barr, Edna Buchanan, Alafair Burke, Karin Slaughter and Judith Van Gieson...just to name a few.

[America's Resolve]

Maybe it's because men write for the universe at large and women who enter this "contest" write for feminists.

Gawd I hate reading this kind of tripe at 6am

[Sir Francis Dashwood]

Women's lit was hijacked by feminist, lesbo (is that redundant?) or minority writers about three or four decades ago. There should be no longer why people are less inclined to read it.

Camille Paglia would agree with that, so would Christina Hoff Sommers and Dr. Laura Schlessinger...

http://www.bu.edu/arion/paglia_cults00.htm

[no more apples]

The last two or three works of fiction I attempted to read which were written by women had such glaring errors when referring to firearms or other technical subjects that I just put them down in disgust.

I've done that myself! (Yes, I'm a woman.) That's one good reason for reading action/thrillers written by men.

[50sDad]

Can anyone recommend SF written by women that includes Explosions and Rayguns and doesn't involve endless nannering dialog about how the characters feel? I read a lot of fantasy fiction by women, but I can't seem to mine the SF vein.