Why are all my favourite authors men?

I have been soul-searching trying to find out why I prefer male authors.
What female author do you think could become my next favourite?
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Thank you for watching!

[@austinauthor846]

The author A.M. Holmes talks about this on Bret Easton Ellis' podcast, and she's an author I greatly admire for writing more challenging literature. But she said that she always resonated more with male authors because often times female authors exclusively wrote about their experiences, namely in being women, and little else. Whereas men often wrote about big sweeping universal things that delivered far more and with a lot more to say. I completely agree. I'm just utterly bored by most the subject matter written by women (most the time, but not all the time). As a black writer, I can say the same thing for a lot of other black novelists. Any group that just writes about their experience being that group is a hard pass for me.

[@becomingabookworm]

That also seems to fit well with my experience so far. I don´t think I would have guessed this to be a thing before I started to read a lot, but it seems like it is. Thanks for watching!

[@nealsteplaws]

Becky Chambers and Martha Wells write fun, upbeat sci-fi. Jackie Collins for a fun, readable romp if you don’t mind some sexy times (The Love Killers is more crime than romance, and is one of my favorite books).

[@becomingabookworm]

When I looked it up now, I remember having looked at All systems red earlier. Seems like a highly quotable book! Thanks for the recommendations!

[@davidleemoveforlife6332]

My favorite writers are pretty manly. Jim Harrison, Larry McMurtry, Rushdie, both Murakamis, Phillip K Dick, Raymond Chandler… but I also love Barbra Kingsolver, PD James, Ursula LeGuinn and Flanery OConnor and that’s just off the top of my head

[@becomingabookworm]

This was a great reminder to put Demon Copperhead on my list.. Flanery is also on my kindle, but I haven´t gotton around to it yet.. Thanks!

[@apocalypsereading7117]

Angela Carter, Tove Jansson, Mieko Kanai, Mary Shelley - I don't find these ones heavy or depressing in the way you described =)

[@becomingabookworm]

Thanks for the suggestions, I love Tove Jansson and Mieko has been on my radar, but I have not bought any yet.. Will check out Carter.

[@czt76]

You seem to enjoy magical realism so here are some recommendations (I’ve read them all). You should try Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (it reminded me of Neil Gaiman, it’s a fantasy) and The Iliac Crest by Cristina Rivera Garza (it reminded me of Murakami; this is best read in a language which has gender sensitive adjectives). Hurricane season by Fernanda Melchor may come as a bit depressive, but the prose is great; anything by Tony Morrison has usually elements of magical realism and the writing is fantastic; A Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia is also a great choice and in a way it reminded me of One Hundred Years Of Solitude; Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura is a lovely wholesome fantasy read if you want something cosy with no sophisticated prose. You should defo give a try to Lucia Berlin’s A manual for cleaning women, an incredible collection of short stories on feminine experiences, not bleak at all.

[@becomingabookworm]

Piranesi I read and enjoyed and then went over to be a bit disappointed by Jonathan Strange.. The Iliac Crest seems like an intriguing novel! Toni Morrison is in my shelf but I am fearing that she will not be for me, but I am going to give her a try at some point. Lonely Castle in the Mirror is going on my TBR and Berlin is already on it :) Thanks for these suggestions!

[@lessidisa]

That was entertaining 👍. I agree that books about abusive relationships and such are depressing and I don't read them either, I don't need that in my life. I went to compare our books on Goodreads and I see that you added to your want-to-read list *Gone with the wind* and the book by *Hiromi Kawakami* . I don't think those two are depressing, they are favorites of mine. Also the books by australian author *Colleen McCullough* are great for the summer. I just wanted to read the best-selling australian book of all times ( *The thorn birds* ) and ended up finding the best romance ever ! And it got me interested in Australia too. Great book !

[@becomingabookworm]

Thanks! And thanks for the effort! I have been close to reading Kawakami several times. Looks fun! I don´t think I have read any purely romance novels before but it looks to have an historical element to it that I might enjoy. I also lived in Australia for a short while but I don´t think I have read any books from the lovely country, so it might be time..

[@SteveHolthof]

Best Female writers for me are Margaret Atwood(Oryx and Crake, The Handmaids Tale), Leigh Barckett, Agatha Christie, CJ Cherryh (Downbelow Station), Nicola Griffith (Ammonite) , Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House), Kathe Koja (Bad Brains), Ursula LeGuin (The Dispossessed, The Left hand of Darkness), Anne McCaffery (Dragonflight), Anne Rice ( Interview with the Vampire), Anthem by Ayn Rand, Connie Willis (Doomsday Book), Martha Wells (All Systems Red) and of course JK Rowling - A Champion of real Women's rights....all these are excellent writers...although my list of Male authors is much much longer like yours.

[@becomingabookworm]

Thanks for the list! I will check them out :)

[@jakeschell3941]

Interesting! I tend to focus more on the book than the gender of the author. It has not made much difference when it comes to selecting a book to read.

[@becomingabookworm]

I do think about it a little bit too often but it has sort of become a thing that I don´t connect with female authors in the same way I do with some male ones. It does not really matter that much and I am hoping to read more from Olga Tokarczuk this year, so maybe she will be the one!

[@tripurasundari7749]

The enchanted April, Elizabeth von Arnim ( woman travelling to Italy for some enchantment, leaving their husbands behind), 2. Tiya Miles, wild girls , 3. Banana Yoshimoto, The Premonition (no husbands at all ;)

[@becomingabookworm]

Thanks for the suggestions! Reading about Yoshimoto, would you say her books are sad or just sad themed? There is something about the titles of some of them giving me the perception that they might not be "straightforward melancholic" at least.

[@tripurasundari7749]

@@becomingabookworm in "The Premonition" is a sad story in the background (grief, Trauma) but the development is therapeutic, another japanese author Timoko Shibasaki is more neutral, descriptiv. In "spring garden" there is a male main character...

[@becomingabookworm]

It´s a bit hard to describe but as long as the story is not all about being in the sadness I am okey with it. She did look like an interesting author.

[@sabinelipinska8614]

Sylvia Townsend Warner: Lolly Willowes. It has the devil in it. :) I also do like male authors.

[@becomingabookworm]

Thanks for the recommendation :)!

[@elvennthegrey2678]

Well, I favor fiction, and usually half my books have been written by women. Many end being favorites, but I don't usually pick tragic memoirs. Perhaps the recs will help you pick exciting fiction of genres you'll usually read by male authors...? I don't know whether the fiction I read will be of your taste, but in case you want to check them, I'm leaving a few authors from different genres: Anne Rice, Margaret Weis, Mary Renault, Robin Hobb, Ursula Le Guin, Louise Erdrich, Jane Harper, Charlaine Harris, Dorothy Sayers, Laura Ingalls, Aki Shimazaki... Cheers!

[@becomingabookworm]

Thanks for the suggestions! There are a lot of names here I am not familiar with so I will have to do a little research. The fun thing is that Robin Hobb is one of the names I know but until a couple of years ago, I thought she was a man..

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

I think it often comes down to the people who make the lists. If I have time this weekend I'd like to do a video response - if thats ok - as I thought of 3 things linked to what you said and it makes for an intersting topic I think! 😊

[@becomingabookworm]

Of course! I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject :)!

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

Recommendations include mosr of the books in that video of mine for older female protagonists. And have you read: The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country by Helen Russell? It's a light-hearted read.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

@@becomingabookworm thanks, I'll gather my thoughts 😊

[@becomingabookworm]

I did write down some of the books you talked about in that video, so I will look them up. The book you describe her I have never heard about but it seems like something that would be right up my alley! Thanks!

[@literaryleila]

I feel that the issue might be with how you approach literature written by women. Don't try to seek out "important female stories", don't try to read books by women with the goal of "understanding women's issues". Simply pick a book by a woman that sounds interesting to you. Yes, women often talk about feminism and abuse, just as men talk about masculinity and "adventure" etc. however, there is so much more out there than that. Maybe ask a female bookseller in your local bookshop what she would recommend. Ask for a female-authored book that does not center abuse and trauma, that has a happy or hopeful ending. One of my favourite books of all time is "Three Summers" by Margarita Liberaki. It is a mid-20th century Greek classic, immersed in girlhood and the beginning of womanhood, and it is hopeful and incredibly beautifully written.

[@becomingabookworm]

I think you are right that I choose the wrong books and but I have in general tried to choose books I could enjoy more both male and female writers. I get a lot of good suggestions, so I just have to be honest with myself when I decide on which books to go for 😂

[@Paromita_M]

Fun/uplifting book written by a woman author is a nice prompt! - Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton was a nice read if you like non-human POVs. - The Housekeeper and The Professor by Yoko Ogawa was one I loved recently. - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke was one I enjoyed. If you don't mind children's literature some all-time favourites of mine are: - Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery - Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - Heidi by Johanna Spyri Could you share who your most favourite authors are, might help in giving recs? I will say even as a female reader from India, I have had to make it a priority to look for female authors and non-Anglophone authors when reading Classics or some branches of genre fiction. Example: just today I was searching for Modernism in Literature - got Virginia Woolf, lot of male authors (Joyce, Proust, Eliot, etc) and then Dorothy Richardson but the latter's books are not easy to find. Other examples of male-dominated genres will be magical realism, epic fantasy and hard science fiction. reddit helps me a lot in tracking down as does Discord. And sometimes, our favourites are just favourites, irrespective of location or gender of the author. For example, my favourite author is Agatha Christie. I love her books. Why, they bring me joy. Next would probably be Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, JRR Tolkien. Then Donna Tartt among contemporary living authors. So it's a mix. Happy reading!

[@becomingabookworm]

Thanks for these recommendations! Hollow kingdom seems to have a fun plot! Adding Ogawa to my list as well! Piranesi I have read and liked. And three other ones are all on my kindle. Have considered starting all of them at one point, but so far it just has not happened.. My favourite authors now are Fredrik Backman, Neil Gaimen and Haruki Murakami. Love memoirs but not a big fan of magical realism. I think that sums things up. Everything related to music and humour helps. Going to read Agatha Christie but I just have to be in the mood for books with a lot of names.. The secret history I bought a long time ago, but then I realized how small the font size is and I have put in on hold..

[@reggieswilliams]

Best woman author is j.k. rowling she also rights under a different name which is richard something

[@SteveHolthof]

JK Rowling is an excellent writer and an even better champion for real Women's rights..but I think Ursula LeGuin (The Dispossessed, The Left hand of Darkness, The Lathe of Heaven, etc) is by far the best Female writer of all time.

[@thelibrarianofalexandria6200]

I dont really do this on purpose but I have noticed most of the authors I read are women. Theodora goss writes a funny steampunk series based around Classic monsters frankenstein,Dracula,etc but the women in their lives. Invisible library by genevive cogman is a great series. Geek girl by Holly smale. A very funny series. Og så har du jo Janne S drangsholt sine Ingrid Winter bøker. Tre menn til vilma av Gudrun Skretting.

[@becomingabookworm]

That is my general feeling when looking at booktube videos. It seems like most of us tend to go a little bit more for the authors with the same gender. Thanks for the suggestions! I will have to browse through them :)

[@gregoryhill7965]

Part of the answer to your question may be the simple quantitative statement that men have had preference (given by themselves no doubt) for being published, so it is no accident that most of the books you or anyone else would like would have been written by men. In many times women who wrote had to use a male pseudonym to be published. I sometimes wonder how more widespread that has been than acknowledged. I suppose it could have worked the other way occasionally too, books published as being written by a woman that were actually written by a man. I suppose if a bunch of priests in stone cells could write the bible and pretend it was the word of god anything is possible! As a man I have no idea why any of this had to be the way it was. I like lots of books written by men obviously but it is boring to have the female viewpoint suppressed. I like reading partly as a window into what someone else has thought about and favoritism towards the male point of view as has been done really shuts down my agenda in that regard. I'm at least willing to consider some arguments for non-gender equality in some domains, but if any arena seems like both genders could do it equally well, stringing words together would seem to be an excellent candidate. Having said that I did really enjoy my recent reading of Sigrid Undset. I liked George Eliot (pseudonym), I wasn't that crazy about Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) but I think it's an important work. Weird older medieval stuff, Marie de France is really good actually, Roswitha weird but worth reading, Cristine de Pizan not really a huge favorite in terms of the plot etc but the language is gorgeous. And of course J.K. Rowling. Even I am finding it a little strange that this is all I can come up with off the top of my head.

[@becomingabookworm]

I have thought about the same thing, what classics are actually written fully or in part by their wives etc.. Also, how would the world look if the literature/history was 50/50 by men and women. I like how you self reflect at the end there. I have done the same after releasing this video and realized that I like/love several of the books I have read by female authors but then never read more of them, so I guess I will have to start there..

[@leehunts4327]

I don't think I see the trend, with male authors writing more about lighter topics. The entire romance genre is created by women for women, and that is what gives them enjoyment.

[@OhioEddieBlack]

I have already typed this two times and then somehow bumped the track pad and made the whole paragraph disappear. Hey that copy of Educated looks familiar . . . So there are definitely some genres that are dominated by women at least in the US and the uk, particularly young adult fantasy, romantacy, romance, smut, and Men Are Bad books. But there are tons of women who also write nonfiction humor essays or really fascinating historical fiction or thrillers or mysteries or contemporary fiction. Honestly I think women are well represented in almost every genre I can think of except maybe war fiction or nonfiction sports. Those are two sub-genres that will probably always be male-dominated. As you know I go to tons of book festivals and I can honestly say that if it is a festival with all genres it will either be 50/50 or there or there will be slightly more women there and if it's a young adult or teen book festival 8 out of every 10 authors will be female. I think the fact that your favorite author from the past 3 years has been a male author doesn't necessarily indicate that you like male authors better. I think you are still early in your reading journey if you are looking at it as a lifelong pursuit, and as you continue to discover new genres and authors you will stumble upon some female authors that you like just as well.

[@becomingabookworm]

Indeed it is familiar to you :) I think you are right that three years is not enough to judge it on but I still wait impatiently on that female author that will lift me off my feet or something similar.. I feel like I don´t have enough overview, but the main thing coming out of the nordics on the literature side seem to be a sort of tragic realism thing that I cant read more of..

[@OhioEddieBlack]

@@becomingabookworm I feel it's my duty to find you a couple of potential favorite female authors - I'll look back through my reading log for the past decade and get back to you 😄

[@ellenmadebookclub]

I think you just pinpointed the reason for feminism. I read mostly female authors because I gravitate toward the female experiences because I can relate to them. But they are usually miserable (the ones I gravitate towards) and I also find it depressing and need to mix it up. Men can do and write about whatever and no one thinks twice about it. Women can be the fun blonde or serious and miserable. Exaggerating here, obviously. Female fun books are usually considered fluff, frivolous, unimportant, superficial. Even if they are the equivalent to a man hiking. Female misery is real and serious and important, but who can endure listening to it when they don’t have to live it. I enjoyed your video on this and I’m torn between championing the female cause (which I can’t help to do) and agreeing that reading should be whatever you want it to be and if you’re reading for enjoyment, don’t feel the need to read stuff that you find depressing. I too am looking for great female authors who are not depressing or frivolous… or Eat pray love. Look at me with my internalized misogyny and we’re back to the reason for feminism 😅

[@becomingabookworm]

I guess my suspicion has been that the reason why I gravitate towards men is because I relate more to them, but it’s difficult to pinpoint how and why. Btw! Several women have told me that “eat pray love” is not like one would assume. But you feel like it’s not a novel worth reading? Been curious to see what it’s all about.. I like trying books I don’t think is for me but I guess I do it a bit to often with the result that I become a bit tired of reading or something.. Hope this made sense..

[@ellenmadebookclub]

@@becomingabookworm It is exhausting to spend a lot of time in other people’s shoes, and so the further away from your own “shoes” they are, the more energy it takes. I find. So it’s not that strange. And if they’re always miserable of course it’s going to take more energy 😅 I haven’t read Eat pray love, I think I saw the movie. But I meant more in general, the “inspirational” and “empowering” stories that I just don’t really find to be very inspirational or empowering. It’s a very fine balance. Kind of like when you’re feeling a little bad, but you don’t want people to pity you or make a big deal about it, but you don’t want them to just say buckle up either 😂 maybe that’s just me. I might try it just because, and see if it puts me off reading or not ^^ (I get what you mean!)

[@becomingabookworm]

Haha, that is a good way of explaining it maybe! I think I would describe what you are describing as cheesy or cliché I think.. That´s at least my two go-to words when describing the same feeling I think😂 I have thought about reading eat pray love just because I trust the people that have recommended it and at least it seems like a read that does not demand too much effort.

[@ellenmadebookclub]

@@becomingabookworm Those are indeed words I could not think of! But it's especially unbearable when everybody loves it and it's not that groundbreaking ^^ But I'm open to trying it out, although there are plenty of books I would rather spend my time with before it comes to that

[@ExpatRiot79]

Man here. I find I just don't like being in a woman's head. I don't like the things they think about, which is usually relationships. It doesn't matter. Cancel me, I don't care. I 'll read what want.

[@biankakoettlitz6979]

I think, you like the writing of male authors much better enn women and /or you likes genres, which male authors prefer to write in. An example: Crime:you don't like it, if you would, you could choose. Christie, the norwegian who worked as a policewoman, the other Norwegian, who works with language (sorry, I don't remember their names, because I don't like them either) or another example: The story of the Rafa siblings:you liked the writing by Abid (male) better than by his sister. That's OK with me , because I don't bother if the author, I like, is male or female, it just happens that I love crime and Christie and she is a female 😁

[@becomingabookworm]

Yes, it´s not easy to tell.. I tried starting "and then there were none" again, but there were too many characters for my brain to handle at the moment. Will have to get back to it later.. Hope you have a wonderful easter!

[@biankakoettlitz6979]

@@becomingabookworm There are other crimes by Christie, where names are easier to remember. And Ilike them better.

[@tracy9000]

Did you read How to Lose the Time War? It's written by a man AND a woman. It's pretty short, but the prose is beautiful. I should look up more duos who have done this. Might be fun. I read a lot of classics by men and women. Not as much of a fan of most female authors these days. Most of publishing in the US is run by women, and IMO too many mediocre books are being published because of this. There certainly are great books by women today, but there is so much filler, it' makes it harder to find the gems. I loved Hamnet - not a lot happens, but the prose is great (it's a little depressing, though). Not sure what my stats are as far as favorites by either sex, but I tend to read so randomly. Plus, men often have more opportunity/ability to lead more adventurous lives, so they have more fodder for stories. Not always, of course, but certainly over the course of time.

[@becomingabookworm]

Who are the writers? I don´t think I could find it.. I guess my take on the current situation is that there are so many books being published each year that I should be able to fall in love with a female authors writing. She is out there somewhere. The Norwegian publisher side is also dominated by women but I don´t know if I believe that has impact on what books I like or not. But an interesting thought!

[@tracy9000]

@@becomingabookworm Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone - the full title is: This is How You Lose the Time War

[@LunaciaBooks]

I read mostly women myself, as I tend to find that a lot of time white, cis-het men write really boring stories. I think I need to send you a DM with some suffestions of something you might like. (By the way, did you ever get around to reading Egalia's Daughters by Gerd Brantenberg?)

[@becomingabookworm]

Just fire away :) Not gotten to Brantenberg yet, but it´s still here.

[@LunaciaBooks]

@@becomingabookwormJust need to think... ;-)

[@SteveHolthof]

Oh sure, HG Wells was boring, so was Gene Wolf, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, JRR Tolkien , ya Brian Aldiss, Doug Adam's, JG Ballard, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C Clarke, Philip K Dick, are boring...so was William Gibson, Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King...yup a boring bunch...but SH I think your books will be found in a "special section" of the book store ...non cis-het

[@1OldPacman]

There's nothing weird or wrong about a man gravitating more towards stories from male minds.

[@krzysamm7095]

Who cares if you prefer men writers over women? I am female and prefer male writers overall. I do read a few female writers but they are few and far between. You can enjoy male writers and not be “chauvinistic”. Read what you enjoy life is to short to worry about that.

[@becomingabookworm]

No one I guess, but I thought it would be fun to try and think about why it is this way for me. Absolutely agree with the rest! More interested in reading whatever I feel like rather than googling authors to see if there is something in their past that I don´t agree with. Won´t be many authors left then..

[@Ninaofthe90s]

There's nothing wrong with that whatsoever. You love these authors mostly because they are great and not because they are men. They just happen to be men.

[@bxp_bass]

That's easy. Most of the authors are men historically. Nowdays everybody's an author, so it's not a factor anymore, but it was in the past. So, most of the classics and famous literature from the past were written by men and it statistically more probable that all of your fav authors are men. Nothing unusual and nothing wrong in it. It's not good and not bad. Though, there is another factor. Women write about different stuff, but popular works by women are usually extremely boring and full of self-digging, whining, meandering inner monologues or descriptions of clothes, which are interesting exclusively for women. So, it's not the women' fault, it's just what people like to read. And it's a sort of truism that taste of the masses are usually inferior compared to tastes of passionate few. Though, there are lots of women who write adventures and fun stuff. As for me, a 2 meter bald bearded bassist and programmer from Russia, I have some women in my list of favorites. J.K. Rowling, Maria Semyonova, Agatha Christie, Lucy Maud Montgomery for example. I'd recommend you to read Valkyrie: The One I Always Wait For (Валькирия: Тот, кого я всегда жду, Valʹkiriâ: Tot, kogo â vsegda ždu) (1996) - Historical fiction, set in Viking Age Scandinavia By Maria Semyonova. I know there will be tons of obvious and popular recommendations and I'd like to offer you some more rare stuff.

[@becomingabookworm]

I think it´s a point that they write about stuff I am not interested in but so do men.. I guess I will have to be better at picking reads.. Thanks for the suggestions! Anne of green gables is definitely on the list. Semyonova is not a name I am familiar with, so I will check out her books.