In 2012 I read almost twice as many books by men as women, and in 2013 I wanted to change that. But my approach was kind of lazy. I didn’t actually do much to seek out books by women. I kind of forgot my mission, and just read whatever I found interesting, so I was a little worried about what I’d find.
In 2013 I read 171 books, 81 books written or edited by women, and 90 written or edited by men, 47% and 53% respectively. A heck of a lot better than the 35% I discovered last year, but still not balanced.
I read a lot more poetry (47) than fiction (22) in 2013, and of those, 62% of the poetry was written by women, and 55% of the fiction. It’s encouraging to see improvement here. I read more literary criticism and books on writing by women than I did previously, though this still accounts for only 42%. (NB: Still looking for recommendations for great critics – women or men.)
Brief snippets of opinion and a too-long list. This month’s themes? Sex and writing, apparently.
Another month, another eclectic mix.