Depressing Narratives & Uplifting Book Recommendations

[@recentlyseenreading]

Some recent-ish data coming out of digital humanities work suggest that there’s a couple of historical shifts behind your sense that women now catching up and publishing 50% of English language works. Up until about 1840, women represented 50% of published authors. After that their numbers declined as men began to be published in greater and greater numbers and women’s publication rates plummeted. What you’re noticing now is quite likely to be a return to a pre-Victorian publishing pattern. Seems counter-intuitive, no? If you’re super-curious about the topic, have a look for Ted Underwood, David Bamman, and Sabrina Lee’s article “The transformation of gender in English-language fiction" which was published in Cultural Analytics in 2018. It’s available on the open web. It’s not a perfect article since there are very real limitations to the data they sampled, but it’s an interesting approach to the question.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

Thanks, Heather! That's a fascinating thought; I'll definitely read the article.

[@MarilynMayaMendoza]

Hi Katja, I wrote a traumatic memoir in 2010. Maybe that's why I was published😀 My trauma was so distant and my anger diminished to an extent that I was able to show humor and emotional growth in the book. However, women experience violence in such high numbers, that it is natural to write about it. It's not misery unless the author is too close to the subject. However, I adore funny books. If an author can make me laugh out loud, I'll be a fan forever. "Misery memoirs" can do this. It's up to the writer. Great topic. Aloha friend.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

Thanks, Marilyn, for sharing. I like how you've described it. I may be back with another thought -Mylo's making it tricky for me to think until we complete our morning ritual walk 🐕😅💛

[@PattiReadsALot]

Great concept for a video!!!!! Such interesting points and I’m surprised I haven’t honestly considered the other side of the misery coin! I’m glad that editors and such are coming across more positivity ❤

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

Thsnk you! Me too - glad about the positive stories. I think literary fiction and prizes do value less happy themes as, in many cases, it can be brave to tackle. Still, I consider happier narratives very welcome.

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

Agree - I would like more lighthearted literature.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

This year looks like a promising year for it. I'm also inspired to look at the backlist books for topics and authors I've overlooked

[@amyofhearthridge]

Wow. 😯 Fascinating topic! You’ve got me thinking. 🤔

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

I thought so when øystein said women writers resonate with readers' personal vulnerabilities - I was like, oh, I want to consider that more.

[@janebaker966]

You are discussing LITERATURE. Serious proper high level writing. I only read Katie Fforde,Judy Astley and Sophie Kinsella. I object to being told that rape or sexual molestation,being groped on the high street (where where) and needing to go to some grim prison to be innured in there with people who i share a mutual loathing with is intellectually stimulating for me. Yes,a conversation between two male colleagues on how competitively falling down drunk they got the night before is so academically satisfying. All these defining experiences that happen to ALL WOMEN have never happened to me,that sounds great but it actually means I am a very boring person,devoid of all sexual allure and strange to say,having at least a smidgen of sexual allure makes you human and other people want to connect with you,and i mean in conversation and shared activities. I know, my life has been that sociological experiment. No one ever seeks to initiate a conversation with me and at my advanced age of 70 (just reached) I know it's not because i dont do interesting things. I do so bully for me but not of interest to anyone else. To counter "why don't you initiate a conversation then" an offended frozen stare ensues then either a pursed lips turning away or if words the briefest making clear no further conversation is required or will be entered into. But at least I don't live in Gaza.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

Thank you for watching and sharing your thoughts, particularly on literary merit and how and why not everyone views deeply challenging themes as intellectually stimulating or enriching.

[@GemofBooks]

This is such an interesting discussion point (and brilliantly timed for Misery May 😂) I also think genre plays a part here. Literary fiction is often miserable, and is the genre I lean towards. I also think that book prizes lean towards more hard hitting books, by both men and women. With the amount of focus on lit fiction and prizes in our corner of BookTube, is it more the microcosm that we are in?

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

I totally agree! Literary fiction fits in with that whole sense of 'literary worth' and dominates literary prizes. Booktube feels very much like a microcosm in that regard-distinct from platforms like Booktok and Bookstagram, which tend to showcase a broader range of genres and tastes (and wonderfully arguably more questionable tastes 😂) However, to me, Booktube feels like the preferred online platform to be the mirror reflecting what is marketed 'in real life'. Take the literary festivals that occur throughout the UK in spring and summer. I see the same books and authors highlighted on Booktube as those promoted heavily during these intensive literary circuits. What do you reckon? I might be oversimplifying it.

[@ravent3016]

I have to be careful of depressing or grimdark books, whether fiction or nonfiction, due to chronic anxiety and depression and CPSTD from my own past traumas. I can see the literary, intellectual, and/or political value. I have to take care of my mental health. Most of my reading is for entertainment and escape, not wallowing in suffering a la A Little Life.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

I've been so hesitant to read A Lttle Life from everyone's feedback. If I read anything with heavy themes, I find myself reaching for something very lighthearted straight afterwards.