A Gender Divide?

There's been a lot of discussion on twitter about a Guardian "poll" where readers suggested their favourite SF novels. People have been quick to point out that of the ~500 novels mentioned, a very small proportion were written by women. Let's ignore the fact that the list was generated in the comments section of a single article in a single newspaper which, like all newspapers, has a very specific demographic and move straight onto my paranoia...

...that my own reading doesn't contain a good balance between male and female authors. A quick look through my book shelves and library loan history has revealed the following list of recent reads:

• Feed - Mira Grant
• Feast of Souls - Celia Friedman
• A Matter of Blood - Sarah Pinborough
• A Madness of Angels - Kate Griffin
• Lex Trent vs. the Gods - Alex Bell
• Myth Understandings - Various (but all women)
• Slights - Kaaron Warren
• Boneshaker - Cherie Priest
• The Poison Throne - Celine Kiernan
• Temeraire - Naomi Novil
• The Evil Seed - Joanne Harris
• The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
• The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner

Six of these I think are brilliant books (not the obvious ones). Deadline, the sequel to Feed, is on my read-as-soon-as-is-humanly-possible list. I'm also very keen to get my hands on a copy of Elspeth Cooper's The Songs of the Earth, which I think is going to be very much my kind of thing. That said, this isn't a very long list and some of these reads are drifting further and further into the past. Also, a quick look through my Amazon wishlist reveals 25 books by women out of a total of 147.

The idea that someone could go out of their way to avoid books based on an author's gender is, frankly, preposterous. To ignore 50% of all books simply because of pre-conceived notions of gender is beyond ridiculous. And yet I seem to be doing it subconsciously.

The thing is though, when I pick a book, I don't even think about the author. I pick a book based on the blurb, the cover (and sometimes reviews). If it sounds good then I read it. I find books through Amazon (products you may like!), browsing in Waterstones, book review blogs and recommendations from friends and family. So is this stream of information at fault? Do men get more marketing money than women?

And what to do about my own reading? I'm not sure there's anything I can do. I read for pleasure and I don't think I should change my habits just because of a perceived imbalance. Is it enough that I'm aware of the balance (or lack thereof)?

Books I’ve Really Enjoyed

I complain a lot. I realise this. Perhaps complain is the wrong word. I guess I have somewhat exacting standards that don't entirely mesh with other people's opinions... or sometimes even reality. The final nail was probably my discovering that I didn't enjoy Mythago Wood, an apparently universally adored tome.

So when I was asked what books I've actually enjoyed in the last few years, I could only name a couple off the top of my head. After a quick trawl through WeRead and my book shelves, I came up with the following list (in no particular order) that I consider to be quite awesome and think everyone should read.

The Human Connection

I enjoy fantasy. I love the visuals, that aesthetic and the escapism. But, most of all, the stories I love are those that show humanity at its best and worst. Fantasy allows a writer to extrapolate the real world to an extreme and explore the result.

Richard Morgan achieves this by setting his story, The Steel Remains, in a world where brutality is commonplace. The main characters don't fight for their queen, country, empire, proletariat or anything else. Each has a deep trauma that drives their actions. Then take Master of Whitestorm by Janny Wurts. Magic plays a huge part in the story, but at its core it's a tale of one man's quest to make the world safe for himself and others. The fact that his quest is spawned from the entirely human desire for revenge, which, when sated, grows into obsession, makes it all the better.

Do you need a fantasy setting for that? Maybe not, but it makes it a lot more fun. So is it wish fulfilment then? I think so, to a degree. As I was growing up I found myself, time and again, failing to stand up for myself. Today I have a tendency towards confrontation and argument. Do I just want to feel like I've won something? It doesn't really matter, but I think that's the root of my attraction to heroic fantasy. The stories I enjoy the most revolve around someone standing up for something they believe in, regardless of the cost.

I think that's one reason I dislike the stupid names that most fantasy authors feel the need to come up with. They detract from the humanity of the story and turn the characters into parodies. It takes a damned good author to make that work.

Disarming Fantasy

Very little fantasy seems fantastic any more. A sweeping statement I know, but it's true all the same. We're too comfortable with it. While the magic and advanced technology doesn't exist, for the purposes of stories, it may as well. Space ships, ray guns, zombies, dragons etc. are such a big part of our collective pop culture, that they have lost a lot of their impact.

Take the trailer for Avatar. It impressed me with all its technological wizardry (in creating such a realistic looking world), but none of the creatures, technology or landscapes made me think "WOW". I just thought "space marines vs. night elves... great..."

I sometimes wish I could erase from my mind all the tropes, clichés and expectations that go with fantasy and SF stories. I recently read The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man, both by Alfred Bester, and was blown away. But not as much as I could have been. The former deals with a society where teleportation is available to all and the latter the effects of telepathy on police work. To read these novels without any knowledge of either subject would have been amazing.

The fantasy and SF stories that really excite me are those that introduce something new, either in terms of the magic they deal with or the technology they present. The battle between the sentient storms of Jupiter, described in Phillip Reeve's Larklight, was so epic in scale that I read the chapter several times over. And this from a writer of YA fiction, something that a lot of fantasy readers appear to deride.

So much SF deals with a future so far removed from our own that we have no basis on which to connect with that world. Far more interesting are tales that look at the potential effects of near-future technologies, those that according to Wired (and other such sites) might be just around the corner, ready to transform our lives. The bite-sized stories told in Global Frequency, by Warren Ellis, are a perfect example.

Is there still room on my bookshelf for a story with magic swords, dragons and faux-medieval kingdoms? Sure. But there'd better be a "holy shit" moment in there too. Preferably two or three. Ideally more.

Reading Meme

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

Cookies. Yes, I'm very original.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

Nope. When I forget something, I tend to flick backwards through the pages, like a madman, until I find the bit the current bit connects to. I just don't think writing in books is necessary.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?

Bookmarks most often, but dog-ears in an emergency. I'm not the type who can just remember page numbers.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?

Pretty much all fiction.

Hard copy or audiobooks?

Hard copy.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

Either or. I'm easy.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

Depends if I care enough.

What are you currently reading?

Sandman: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman.

What is the last book you bought?

The Walking Dead 10.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

Depends if a book grabs me. I like to finish them, but I do tend to start others if I'm not enamoured.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

On the settee, pretty much any time.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

Stand alone books.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

David Gemmell.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

However they land. I like to group series together.