Male readers vs. female readers

[Redlass]

Are there differences between male and female readers?

Take a look at this link:
Britain's Orange Awards

Do you think there will really be a huge difference in what is selected?

[Grouch]

Very interesting, Bridgette.

I'd heard of the Orange Prize before, but only recently realized it was an all-woman jury. I hadn't heard there was an unofficial male jury as well.

I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to accurately answer the male v. female mindset regarding books, since most of what I read is the kind of stuff that men coming into my office will pick up with casual interest, but then once they see the cover art does not portray women in low-cut dresses or bulky-muscled men toting machine guns, they'll quickly set it down as if they suddenly realized they were holding a dirty diaper. I think the thickness of my reading material and the density of the words on the page also tends to frighten men. Also, there's the issue of the occasional Oprah O on the cover.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I like stuff that most men in my profession (the Army) wouldn't ever dream of cracking the spine. Please don't misread me, I'm not making a blanket statement here about all men in the military--there are some guys out there who do prefer authors like Camus, Marquez or Bellow over Clancy, Grisham or King--but most everywhere I've gone, I get puzzled expressions and a wide berth, as if I was a dangerous intellectual animal.

But, in answer to the original question, I do think men and women probably read differently--different levels of concentration, different emotional approaches to the book's subject matter, different demands of what they want from the book. I tend to demand that the book speak to me on an artistic level (tight, poetic prose), while some women probably want the book to speak to their hearts in terms of plot and character.

Again, not trying to throw a blanket over anything. That's the beauty of literature--everyone can take away something unique.

[Redlass]

That was part of what I found interesting in the article. It pointed out that publishers have genre fiction pretty much pegged to one genre or the other. Men buy more thrillers, science fiction, and another that I've forgotten while women buy more mysteries, romances, and another category that I've forgotten (perhaps I can only keep groups of two in my head?). But literary fiction is supposed to be universal in its appeal.

Is it? Does Margaret Attwood's A Handmaid's Tale appeal equaly to both genders? Why or why not? And can any one of us really answer when ultimately we can only speak for ourselves and each of us is limited to a single gender.

I keep trying to think of a poll that we could do as a small, unscientific test of the issue.

[murasaki]

I definitely think there are differences in what appeals to men and women in literature.

Grouch, as for the Army, my reading tastes differ from the norm in that I actually read more than military history for "professional development" (and the rebel in me actively avoids military history just because I'm supposed to read it). I read more than my peers, but then, the evaluations and awards I write aren't kicked back for corrections half a dozen times either. Since I'll be in grad school working on an English master's in a couple of days, paid for by the Army, I'll actually be getting paid to read.

Just yesterday my husband and I were in a used book store. When I slipped a Regency romance onto the pile, he scoffed and held the book out at arm's length to show his derision. I read more classic literature than he does, more romance, more mysteries. He reads more violence and sci-fi. He likes the adventurous aspect of literature; I like the emotional aspect of it. We both frequently give books to each other along the lines of "Honey, you've got to read this!" and we both end up not liking the recommended books.

I think the Brits may be on to something.

--naomi

[hadassahchana[$]]

This is so interesting. Recently I listened to a debate between a reading specialist (female) and a child psychologist (male), discussing why boys apparently don't read as much as girls do in grade school.

The reading specialist insisted that the difference was due to the "fact" that boys prefer engaging in violent activites such as sports, while girls enjoy more intellectual pursuits (such as reading #429 of 'The Babysitter's Club? )

However, the psychologist pointed out that the ratio of books geared toward girls exceeded those for boys by a three to one ration- and that if more books with 'male' themes were available to the boys, that would make a huge difference to the number of hours spent reading.

Of course, by that point in their conversation, I was honking and waving my fist in the air (oops- I forgot to tell you that I was driving whilst listening to this on the radio) Having done an actual count of children's books at our library, I think that the 3:1 ratio was generous. It is more like 5:1 in our library. I am lucky to have boys who love to read, but this means that I must spend a fair amount of time searching for books which are more interesting to boys- and I don't mean 'Goosebumps' or dreck like that. However, my guys do draw the line at the cute girl series books- which seem to make up a disproportionate number of books available for readers under 14.

Cindy

[Redlass]

Now that the Orange Awards have been given, here is an article analyzing the choices the two groups made:

http://books.guardian.co.uk/orangepr...501382,00.html