Miscellaneous book trivia and stuff (2 Viewers)

[тхеодоре кацзынски]

I was doing ok when getting the bus but now I'm back on the bike that outlet is gone. I'm gonna try for at least a chapter a night before sleep, see how that goes.

 

[Lili Marlene]

Science Has Great News for People Who Read Actual Books

Be fucked if I need science to validate reading of any kind. That type of thing drives me mad.

Related though, I struggled reading this book for about a week until one day, about 3 hours of trying in, the writing clicked and suddenly I found it easy. I went back and quickly re-read almost all of it and finished the book in a day. Mad altogether, I think my mind just managed to focus for the first time that week.

 

[Cornu Ammonis]

Be fucked if I need science to validate reading of any kind. That type of thing drives me mad.

I almost want to buy a kindle to spite that article.

Related though, I struggled reading this book for about a week until one day, about 3 hours of trying in, the writing clicked and suddenly I found it easy. I went back and quickly re-read almost all of it and finished the book in a day. Mad altogether, I think my mind just managed to focus for the first time that week.

I love that feeling, that sense of working with a book until you conquer it (as opposed to just slogging through something, I've still not finished Gravity's Rainbow years after starting it).

 

[David Kronenbourg]

Be fucked if I need science to validate reading of any kind. That type of thing drives me mad.

Related though, I struggled reading this book for about a week until one day, about 3 hours of trying in, the writing clicked and suddenly I found it easy. I went back and quickly re-read almost all of it and finished the book in a day. Mad altogether, I think my mind just managed to focus for the first time that week.

I really struggled with that one. Loved his earlier book but couldn't get my head around this one.

 

[Lili Marlene]

I really struggled with that one. Loved his earlier book but couldn't get my head around this one.

i was so frustrated by it all that I wrote a review and everything:

a review of The Flame Alphabet

#brag

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

13 Books You Should Read This June

ffs

 

[тхеодоре кацзынски]

13 Books You Should Read This June

ffs

Why 13?
Tempted by any? The Fisherman looks decent.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

I didn't even read it. The suggestion of reading 13 books in a month just triggered my defensiveness because I've only read one this year

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

Amazon product ASIN B017AAGIFS

• Listening Length: 53 hours and 59 minutes
• Program Type: Audiobook
• Version: Unabridged

I reaaaaaallllly want to read this book but I have hardly even looked at a book for months

:-(

 

[hydromancer]

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[hydromancer]

Amazon product ASIN B017AAGIFS

• Listening Length: 53 hours and 59 minutes
• Program Type: Audiobook
• Version: Unabridged

I reaaaaaallllly want to read this book but I have hardly even looked at a book for months

:-(

You should maybe try something a bit less epic that is nearly 1400 pages !

 

[Lili Marlene]

Three, six or 36: how many basic plots are there in all stories ever written?

In conclusion, stories are similar.

well... duh

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

Sinéad Gleeson: ‘There’s a huge issue with men not reading books by women’

Is this true? Almost all the books I read are by male authors but I didn't know it was an issue. Likewise, most of the music I listen to is by men but not deliberately so. She can keep her bookshelves gender balanced if she wants, I can't be bothered.

 

[Jim Daniels]

Sinéad Gleeson: ‘There’s a huge issue with men not reading books by women’

Is this true? Almost all the books I read are by male authors but I didn't know it was an issue. Likewise, most of the music I listen to is by men but not deliberately so. She can keep her bookshelves gender balanced if she wants, I can't be bothered.

It's definitely true. I've only really started reading female authors in in the last few years. Before that I rarely did. Had some crazy perception about them. Now I reckon about 80% of them are female.

I had this conversation in work once.
Lad in work: "I've never read a book by a woman" Probably never will.
Me: What? Why not?
Lad: Wouldnt be my thing.
Me: Why not
Lad: Ah ye know yourself!
Me: ???!!!

 

[Jim Daniels]

I think it is fair to say that men read less fiction than women do, particularly fiction written by women. One possible explanation for this may be gendered marketing practices engaged in by book publishers. Book covers with flowers, petals, soft fonts etc.

Flavourwire had a good feature on this topic, concluding rightly or wrongly that ...."part of the reason that books by women sometimes get ignored by male readers: their feminine covers “might as well have a hex sign slapped on them, along with the words: “Stay away, men! Go read Cormac McCarthy instead!”

Are Book Covers Different for Female and Male Authors?

I think it's an important issue because there are amazing women writers whose work is ignored by male and many female readers, based on the publishers marketing or some other preconceived notions about the content or style.

Not only do women writers not get the recognition they deserve - being omitted from anthologies, award nominations, "greatest book" lists etc, it may also dissuade younger females from pursuing a writing career.

Bruce Springsteen recently talked about his 20 favourite books - one of which was written by a woman.

Bruce Springsteen Lists 20 of His Favorite Books: The Books That Have Inspired the Songwriter & Now Memoirist Open Culture

Bowie, disappointingly, wasn't much better. He had about ten in his top 100 books.

https://electricliterature.com/david-bowies-100-favorite-books-e2f232601a24#.qy9p6c7h0

 

[Lili Marlene]

While my immediate reaction is to find it fairly CERTIFIABLY INSANE to have only "started reading female authors" in recent years (sorry Jim), when I think about it I think it's a fair point to have to do it consciously.

If you care at all about, I dunno, PEOPLE, then you'd want to at the very least be wary of the received wisdom on what goes into the canon and want to resist it. If you have any interest in the world why would you cut off reading/listening about it from the perspective of 50% of the people in it?

I'd say I read a lot of female authors, proudly so (my go to favourite author is female), but I just had a look at my goodreads and of the 29 odd books i've read so far this year only 8 are by women. I would have kind of assumed all the books I read this year were by women but I hadn't been counting the "classics" I read for the sake of educating myself or whatever, and guess what, almost all of them are by men. Says it all really.

 

[Jim Daniels]

While my immediate reaction is to find it fairly CERTIFIABLY INSANE to have only "started reading female authors" in recent years (sorry Jim), when I think about it I think it's a fair point to have to do it consciously.

If you care at all about, I dunno, PEOPLE, then you'd want to at the very least be wary of the received wisdom on what goes into the canon and want to resist it.

I'd say I read a lot of female authors, proudly so (my go to favourite author is female), but I just had a look at my goodreads and of the 29 odd books i've read so far this year only 8 are by women. I would have kind of assumed all the books I read this year were by women but I hadn't been counting the "classics" I read for the sake of educating myself or whatever, and guess what, almost all of them are by men. Says it all really.

Ha! When I say the last few years, I guess I mean the last ten-twelve years - around the time I started this thread - Contemporary Female Writers.

Prior to that, my default author choice was always male - particularly in my teens and twenties.

With regard to the Classics, is it fair to say that there are just a lot more male writers to choose from - given the times that they were published?

I'm about to investigate some Virginia Woolf - having read about these new re-issues

Where to start reading: Virginia Woolf

 

[Cornu Ammonis]

3 out of the 38 I've read this year are by women. 1 out of 15 last year and 4 out of 30 the year before. I don't have a thing against female writers, out of those books I think only one wasn't my cup of tea (Cold Comfort Farm) but obviously there's a bias there in terms of what I'm seeking out. I read a lot of weird fiction and sci fi where women are under represented for sure.

 

[Lili Marlene]

Ha! When I say the last few years, I guess I mean the last ten-twelve years - around the time I started this thread - Contemporary Female Writers.

Prior to that, my default author choice was always male - particularly in my teens and twenties.

With regard to the Classics, is it fair to say that there are just a lot more male writers to choose from - given the times that they were published?

Well classics is a broad term; I read a fair amount of pop music criticism and even in that narrow field that was only established around the late 60's almost all the "classics" are by men. What's their excuse?

I mean there's just as many awful women writers as there are men and in this moment of pop feminism a lot of bad stuff is being published based on Gender (eg. Amazon product ASIN 039916927X) but its the same as everything, you really gotta go looking to find the good stuff.

IMHO if you're not doing this kind of thing (choosing your books/writers etc.) consciously then you're doing yourself a disservice.

I'm about to investigate some Virginia Woolf - having read about these new re-issues

Where to start reading: Virginia Woolf

I need to read more Virginia Woolf myself, I did a bit of To the Lighthouse while in college but it was a bit beyond me at the time, same as how Joyce was for me back then. I'm probably gonna read Mrs. Dalloway soon, at the advice of my other half. Honestly, how dare I not have read any of her stuff?

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

I quick scan through my goodreads reveals I have read 8 books by female writers in the last eight or nine years. Four of them were by Anna Kavan and I didn't like them.