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We are halfway done with Week 9 and we hope the author you chose is a good writer. Tell us more about your book.

This discussion thread is solely for your progress. (Book discussions go in individual threads.)


What did you read this week?

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? (feel free to link to your review)

Do you usually read female authors?

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women?

I read Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott.

I enjoyed it but not as much as Little Women, which I read first since it had been so long. I plan to go ahead and read Little Men and Jo's Boys. I'm fairly sure I read Little Men as a child but I'm not sure about Jo's Boys. If I can't remember them then it's a good excuse to read them again!

I read a combination of male and female authors. I don't make a point of choosing a book based on gender of author. I enjoy historical fiction and have found books I enjoy written by both. I think it often depends on the subject matter whether there's a clear difference on the male vs female writer.

For this week I read Still Alice by Lisa Genova.

It was absolutely wonderful. Painful/heartbreaking at times but such a good look into Alzheimer’s disease.

I usually read both female and male authors, however I'm much more likely to enjoy a female POV.

What did you read this week?
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? (feel free to link to your review)
Totally, the writing was great, I entered in the story easily and it was a page turner. I don't know if the story is really interesting, but I liked how the author told it.
I highly recommend it but I think it's more a book for women than men, as it's a "keep your daughter at home, men are selfish creatures" kind of story.

Do you usually read female authors?
Yes. I don't look at the author's gender and I'm often surprised to discover that a book is written by a woman (by default, when the name isn't obviously "female", I think it's a man).

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women?
Most of the time, I find better written personalities when it's a female author. The characters are more deep and feel more real. Except for this, I see no difference in action, description or writing style.

My selection for the week was Still Life with Bread Crumbs.
I picked this book because a new friend recommended it and I didn’t have anything else to read, so my expectations were pretty nonexistant. It was a coming-of-age type of book; only the character was grown up. This is not my type of book but I did enjoy it. I really liked the casualness of her awakening. It seemed Real Life. I would recommend it, but I would have to ask what type of book the reader was looking for. It wasn’t funny or fast moving or history or romantic. It was mellow.

I find that I do read a lot of female authors. It’s not that I opt for one over the other, but many of my current favorite and recent reads have been females. And while I think that each book is like a person…unique attributes and personalities…I do think that men and women write differently. I think they see the world differently. In my opinion, men are much freer about action and violence and aggressive things while women are open to romance and feelings and inner thought.

I read Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott
(this was originally the sequel to Little Women)

I did enjoy this book, because it's full of lovely, simple romances and it seems to portray to me how beautiful marriage can be.

I do tend to read more books by female authors, but I'm reading a lot more by men now.

I think there is a definite difference between most male and female authors. Male authors' books tend to be cynical and full of philosophical meaning. Female authors' books tend to be more romantic and vivid, with detailed expression and good characters. However, this is just a generalization. I think that men and women have both written many classics, and I have many favorite men authors along with my women authors. I totally do not think there should be any prejudice against women authors, because - just look at all the book we've created! Pride and Prejudice, Heidi, Gone With the Wind, Jane Eyre, Freckles... The list goes on and on. Also, men authors are not always mindlessly boring: John Green, as I recall, made me cry. There are differences to male and female authors, but many authors haven broken these walls and can disperse many generalizations.

What did you read this week?
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
It's autobiographical.

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it?
So far, yes, but I'm only like 36 pages in. I've been skipping to the other weeks. :)

Do you usually read female authors?
I thought I read an equal amount of male and female authors, BUT when I actually took the time to tally my goodreads "read" bookshelf for the books I rated 4-5 stars, it turns out I only read 51 female authors and 131 male authors! How could this be?! Something has to change.

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women?
I think female authors have stronger female characters, but there are also some exceptions of course.

What did you read this week?
I read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it?
Definitely yes to both. It was terrible in a way, because it maked me feel incredibly sorry for one of the characters (can't say who without giving away too much). It's a really good book. The writing style was a bit weird at the beginning but it got better soon and turned out to be a page turner, especially the second half. I definitely want to read Flynn's other books too, because everyone I talked to said the other books are better, so they should be pretty awesome. The book adresses a lot of feminist issues (including those that are actually mostly about men - "it's always the husband", and many others). And the twist? God, that blew me away!

Do you usually read female authors?
I can't really say. I don't choose books based on whether it was written by a man or a woman. So, I'd say, I read books by both men and women equally (probably not, but it should be close enough).

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women?
Female authors are more likely to have a woman as a main character or at least one of the main characters. Their female characters are usually stronger and more independent and are less likely to only be in the book as a man's accessory. However, in the last few years, male writers are trying to break this trend, so it's slowly improving.
Men also usually go for the action and they don't go into deep psychological and emotional issues. This aspect of the book tends to be much bigger and much more important for the plot if it's a female writer.
There still is a mild genre distinction, but that's also been breaking. But you still don't have many men writing romance novels and women who write fantasy (and I'm talking about real, honest fantasy, not YA novels).
That being said, I value the authors that break these trends. I value men that can create a strong, independent, deep female character (like George R. R. Martin) and I value women that don't care what anybody says they can or cannot write and write it anyway (J. K. Rowling, for example).

What did you read this week? The Game by Laurie R. King

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? (feel free to link to your review) I'm still reading it at the moment but so far it's a bit hit or miss. It took ages for anything to seem to happen and even now, two thirds of the way through the book, they don't seem to be any nearer to the place they were supposed to be going. I'd recommend it to hardcore Sherlock Holmes fans as a book featuring the great detective, but so far the focus has mainly been on Mary so I'm not sure if it would appeal to many of them.

Do you usually read female authors? I'd say I've got a fairly even mix. In the last couple of years I've been studying literature and I suspect that maybe that skewed things more in favour of one gender over the other (many of the children's literature books I studied were written by women). On my bookcase I'd say it's a pretty even split.

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women? As several people have mentioned, I think it depends on the genre. I have to admit, I quite enjoy reading books which write a main character of a different gender to themselves. I think that sometimes it gives you a different perspective to what you would normally get.

I think certain genres tend to go one way or the other, like having very few men writing romance stories, so it stands out more when someone breaks that pattern and writes a story outside of what's expected.

What did you read this week? Leaving Time

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? Yes. I really enjoy books by this author and hadn't read anything by her in a while and really enjoyed this book.

Do you usually read female authors? I read equally books by men and women.

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women? Not that I have ever noticed. Everyone has their own pattern of writing.

What did you read this week? Mama Day by Gloria Naylor

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? LOVED IT. God yes I would recommend it. It's bittersweet and beautiful and I gave it five stars. And I wrote a little review

Do you usually read female authors? Well most of the books I've read are by men, so I've been trying to read more diverse books lately. Female authors are one group I've been branching out with.

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women? I tend to find that the summaries of books written by women tend to play up the romance angle more than men, which has a lot to do with why I've historically read more men than women. Trying to break that pattern. XD Otherwise, women tend to more blatantly write about power and gender dynamics than men do, at least in the fantasy genre.

What did you read this week?
Static by L.A. Witt

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it?
It was okay, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped to. The concept impressed me more than the execution.

Do you usually read female authors?
Overwhelmingly so. Last year, only 5% of my authors were male. I'm trying to change that (I'm at about 15% so far for 2015), but I tend to prefer books written by women, regardless of genre.

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women?
Yes, I feel there is. I hate to speak in generalities, because there are always exceptions, but I feel female authors are more likely to create character and emotion-driven stories where the inner lives of women really matter.

Week 8 was by far the most interesting week of this challenge for me, thus far. I read A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I didn't realize both books were about depression and suicide until I began reading them.

What did you read this week?

The Bell Jar and A Tale for the Time Being

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? (feel free to link to your review)

I loved both. Both were about suicide and depression surrounding female characters, however, both had completely different cultural elements (one Japanese adolescence and one pre 60's American) engendering depression in the female characters.

I haven't written reviews yet, but I would give both 4 stars. I'm debating whether I should give The Bell Jar five stars, since I cannot get it out of my head. I was really annoyed with the level of self-righteousness by the main character, hence the 4 stars.

Do you usually read female authors?

No, I usually do not read female authors. Not something I did on purpose, but sometimes I find the male point of view fascinating (whether I agree with them or not). But these two books, were by far two of the best books I've read for this challenge.

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women?

Yes. I find most of the women's books (that I've read) were about struggles in gender oppression and the social predicaments women are placed in. Meanwhile, novels written by men, do not contain these elements. Sometimes novels written by men contain lots of brutish chauvinism (refer to most Hemingway pieces), and it's refreshing to escape negative stereotypes directed towards women from these types of books, and read a nice book written by a thoughtful female author like Plath or Ozeki.

What did you read this week?

I read Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson

Did you enjoy the book?

It was a light and fun read and I enjoyed it.

Do you usually read female authors?

I'm actually about 50/50 even though I feel like I read more female authors than that.

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women?

Yes, especially in the classics and historical pieces that accentuate the roles of women.

Woops, I finished the book long before this thread was posted then forgot to post when it was finally up ^^;

What did you read this week?
Mud City

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it?
I enjoyed the idea of it, especially how her encounter with the foreign family went (they were just assuming it was okay to bring her in and that she would know how to act "properly" in their opinion, which is what is done a lot between people of different cultures).

Do you usually read female authors?
I think so, but I don't pay attention for the most part. I read what strikes my fancy ^-^

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women?
Yes, I find that women are better at writing for both men and women. Too often I have read a book written by a man and they write women as one-note characters or just don't know what to do with them. There are exceptions, but this is what I have noticed in the books (usually when I get disgusted with how a woman is written, I check to see who wrote it so I can avoid them in the future, lol).

What did you read this week?

Well, I've read One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie



Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? (feel free to link to your review)

I enjoyed it but not as much as other works of Agatha Christie. Considering the strandards, I'd say it's quite a weak book. The story is not a complex, the charaters are not as well contured as in other books written by her.


Do you usually read female authors?

Yes. Agatha Christie had been the only one author I've read for a year or two, before discovering other books, lol. And mistery is the genre I started with.



For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women?

I don't know, but I've observed the most of male author don't know how to create a female charater, while female authors can handle both.
In the mistery field Agatha Christie is by far the best. Her crimes are way more complex than Conan Doyle's or Gaston Leroux. In my country we have a female author Rodica Ojog-BraÅŸoveanu who's the best from our country.

What did you read this week? I read "The Dirty Girls Social Club" by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez.

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? (feel free to link to your review)

I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.

Do you usually read female authors?

I read a wide variety of different genres and authors and don't have a preference for male or female--just good writing!

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women?

Not necessarily. I connect with an author if I can relate to the characters in their books, and I could relate to a male or female character--example: I connected very much with Harry Potter, even though I am obviously not an 11-year old English schoolboy/wizard! ;)

What did you read this week?
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? Oh, yes, I loved it, but I think it was because I felt some themes very near of my heart :) I would recommed it, althought I thought there was no story :P

Do you usually read female authors? A lot! But that's not something I choose, I mean, I choose just the story, it's just a coincidence that a lot of them are written by female authors.

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women? Not really, as I said, I just choose the story, sometimes I don't even know if the author is male or female :P

What did you read this week? Wreckage

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? (feel free to link to your review) This was a Kindle First (a freebie by a new author) but the story blurb sounded fun and I wasnt disappointed. I would recommend it as a light summer read. The point of view moved between 2 characters, as well as shifting from the present time to the past time. This writing device was sometimes confusing and occasionally irritating, but the story definitely made you forget that.

Do you usually read female authors? Not on purpose, but it does seem to turn out that way.

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women? maybe -- the light reading I prefer seems to be most often produced by females.

What did you read this week?
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it?
I loved it and I would definitely recommend it to everyone!

Do you usually read female authors?
The gender of the author never plays a role in my decision to read a book or not, so I tend to read a lot of both male and female authors. Although when I was younger I seemed to be drawn towards books written by women more often than ones by men. Now it's a mix of both.

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women?
No. A talented author is a talented author and I don't think gender influences their styles, the way they write or what they write in any way. This is evidenced by the fact that there are both male and female authors that write every genre.

What did you read this week? Cold Comfort Farm

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? Very much! It was hilarious, and the some of the characters were absolute crackers. /review/show...

Do you usually read female authors? Yes, I do. Many of my favourite books are by female authors. This year (so far) just over a third of the books I've read have been by female authors.

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women? Yes, I believe there is - but neither is superior. I do find though, that female authors seem (in general) to be able to write male characters more authentically than males write female characters.

What did you read this week? The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë

Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it? Yes. It was a fun fictional story about Charlotte Bronte, mixed in with some true facts. If you like that kind of stuff, do read it.

Do you usually read female authors? Yes

For you, is there a difference between books written by men and books written by women? I don't know. I've never really thought about the gender of the author when I read a book.