Comments on: Read More Books By Women (You Won’t Regret It)

By: Kati (not Kari)

Kati (not Kari) — Fri, 22 May 2009 02:47:20 +0000

Absolutely!

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:37:49 +0000

Kati,
Sorry about botching your name. Inexcusable. And Kati is a much better name than Kari. Not sure I agree with the over-representation argument. I don’t know that I’d be able to make my own “best” 100 books list, but if I did a favorite 100 books list, I know there would be 20-25 books by women on it, and I still don’t think I read enough women. I don’t know.

Maybe we could agree that such a list covering the next 100 years should be closer to 50-50?

By: Kati (not Kari)

Kati (not Kari) — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:19:42 +0000

I think if there had been 20-25 women on it, the opposite reaction, that of over-representation, would have been brought up by someone, and it might have been justified.
I’m a total feminist, so I don’t know why I’m playing devil’s advocate here. Anyhow, I just figured I’d list a few of my favorites on the comments page. And, obviously, good on you for speaking up for the gals because the point is definitely valid: boys, read more books written by women. There’s plenty of great stuff out there.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:03:07 +0000

I initially started writing the post with the idea of listing some of my favorite female writers, but then I thought “Isn’t it lame that I have to tell people to read Margaret Atwood and Joan Didion?” It felt like telling people that sex was fun and they should try it.

That being said, I do think there are a few contemporary women authors who could use more readers: Kate Christensen, Maile Meloy, Alison Bechdel, Nicole Krauss (who was on the original list), Aimee Bender, Kelly Link, Emily St. John Mandel, Jennifer Egan…aw, fuck it. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. I also second the suggestions from Kari as well. Lots of great writers there.

And Kari, I think you’re right that my list would be largely male, too, but I doubt anyone would’ve written about this list if it had contained 20-25 women. 7 out of 100 is just a ridiculously low number.

By: Emma

Emma — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:22:59 +0000

Patrick, you’re a peach. That’s all.

By: Kati

Kati — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:35:01 +0000

Any list of the 100 greatest english-language books of the last 100 years is obviously going to be mostly male and mostly white. I haven’t read a good chunk of the books on his list so it’s hard to claim he’s wrong. Especially since it’s just his opinion. In any event, if you want to read some wonderful books by truly great female writers of the last 100 years, might I recommend Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy (a favorite rec’d to me by an editor at the New York Review of Books), Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, Sara Wheeler’s Terra Incognita (nonfiction), Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies, Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin, Kelly Link’s Magic for Beginners, or Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things. I’ve enjoyed all of these immensely. For the teenage set, anything by Madeleine L’Engle, Susan Cooper, Diana Wynne Jones, or Robin McKinley is fantastic as well.
To be honest, though, my list would be largely male too.

By: Shandon

Shandon — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:10:34 +0000

Who are your favorite women writers, Patrick?