I couldn't sleep the other night and I began thinking about the types of books that I read and whether they mainly have a male or female character. I decided that in the main I read books with a female lead and this led me to wonder whether that is because I am female, am I just drawn to books where women play the main part? Plus I realised that I mainly read books by female authors too, I wonder if this means that I am missing out on some brilliant books written by men. I know that there have been times when I have put down a book in a shop mainly because it was written by a man and not a woman. The only exception to this seems to be crime novels, I have no idea why but I do prefer my main character in those to be male. Don't get me wrong, I love the Maura and Isles series by Tess Gerritsen but I know that I would pick Hercule Poirot over Miss Marple any day!
I think I am going to try and be a little more open minded when it comes to male authors next time I am looking for a book as I am sure I have passed up some excellent books in the past.Have you ever thought about this? Do you tend to read books by mainly a female or male author and what sex do you prefer your main character to be?
8 comments:
Female authors definitely - somehow they speak to me better! That's not to say I don't enjoy books by men, but books that I really relate to are generally written by women
Verity- I am exactly the same, I think I am going to try and be a little more open to trying books written by men though.
I have never thought about it before, certainly not until I started my book blog.
I know I read more female authors looking back. But it is not necessarily the reason I choose the book. I chose based on the blurb, the cover and whether it jumps out at me in the bookshop or Amazon.
Strange beings us readers!
Yes, I have thought about this before and I tend to have a preference for female authors and male leads........no idea if that means anything or not but an interesting question, none the less.
Having said that I just looked at my bookshelf and noticed quite a few male authors sitting there too, so perhaps I am not a biased as I first thought.
I'm like you and do tend to gravitate towards female writers and protagonists. However, I don't rule out male writers. I think it also depends on the genre. When I read horror which I love the writers are usually male because the genre is dominated by male authors. When I read urban fantasy the books are mostly written by female authors with a female lead. I think I like reading books written by women with women as the main character because I can identify more too. Great discussion point :)
Jo- We are very strange indeed!
Kim- I think I have been extremely biased without realising it, going to aim to read more male authors.
Book Chick City- I hadn't really thought about horror but it is very male dominated isn't it!
I don't think I prefer one to another. I read both male and female authors and it's the same for the main character.
It really depends on how the author write his/her story and depicts his/her character, I think !
But for Agatha Christie, I'm just like you. I prefer Hercule Poirot ! :)
Lyra- I wish I was a little more like this, I always tend to go for books with a female lead!
Post a Comment