4 ms·

I've tried to read female authors. Outside of JK Rowling, and Ayn Rand, I haven't had much success. There's a fundamental disconnect in outlook and mentality

by douche 10y ago

I've tried to read female authors. Outside of JK Rowling, and Ayn Rand, I haven't had much success. There's a fundamental disconnect in outlook and mentality that I struggle to bridge. I don't think anything like these female authors do, and their world is incredibly foreign to me.

projektfu 10y ago
Try In Sunlight, in a Beautiful Garden by Kathleen Cambor.
- facepalm 10y ago
  Thanks, will do
tempodox 10y ago
Try Ricarda Huch. Or Barbara Tuchman.
- facepalm 10y ago
  Thanks, I will
ashark 10y ago
Which ones have you tried? If you want to have something to talk about when people are talking about female authors and Austen inevitably comes up, I'd recommend Persuasion, and maybe Emma provided you are OK with imagining your own ending to make it the slow-motion soul-crushing tragedy it so clearly wanted to be. Persuasion wasn't given her final punch-up editing pass before she died, and so it lacks much of the "gosh I, the author, am so clever and my remarks so cutting!" tone that I've been unable to get past in her other books (save Emma) while still actually being reasonably clever. It's also quite short. Emma is kind of a take-down of that exact tendency in Austen herself, so it worked OK for me. Mind: if you're not OK with the prose, tone, and topics of 19th century English literature in general, you'll hate any of it regardless. Anyway, it can be a good thing to get a taste of the "foreign" in reading.
- douche 10y ago
  Persuasion is fucking awful, and was enough to make me write off Austen entirely. There are so many good books, I don't see much point in wasting time on that kind of trash
  - ashark 10y ago
    Ah. OK, given that and listing Rand as one you connected with, I don't think I'll be able to help.
facepalm 10y ago
Apart from JK Rowling, I have also enjoyed reading Patricia Highsmith and Fred Vargas (she is a woman, despite of the name). Haven't read Rand yet. I also remember that I liked Earthsea, but don't remember the details. I think many of those "read more women" lists tend to be heavy on feminist topics, therefore less appealing. Of course in general good female authors exist. (Just remembered that as a teen I was also impressed by Virginia Wolf's "The Waves"). Edit: and of course Agatha Christie

by douche 10y ago

projektfu 10y ago

Try In Sunlight, in a Beautiful Garden by Kathleen Cambor.

facepalm 10y ago
Thanks, will do

tempodox 10y ago

Try Ricarda Huch. Or Barbara Tuchman.

facepalm 10y ago
Thanks, I will

ashark 10y ago

Which ones have you tried? If you want to have something to talk about when people are talking about female authors and Austen inevitably comes up, I'd recommend Persuasion, and maybe Emma provided you are OK with imagining your own ending to make it the slow-motion soul-crushing tragedy it so clearly wanted to be. Persuasion wasn't given her final punch-up editing pass before she died, and so it lacks much of the "gosh I, the author, am so clever and my remarks so cutting!" tone that I've been unable to get past in her other books (save Emma) while still actually being reasonably clever. It's also quite short. Emma is kind of a take-down of that exact tendency in Austen herself, so it worked OK for me. Mind: if you're not OK with the prose, tone, and topics of 19th century English literature in general, you'll hate any of it regardless. Anyway, it can be a good thing to get a taste of the "foreign" in reading.

douche 10y ago
Persuasion is fucking awful, and was enough to make me write off Austen entirely. There are so many good books, I don't see much point in wasting time on that kind of trash
- ashark 10y ago
  Ah. OK, given that and listing Rand as one you connected with, I don't think I'll be able to help.

facepalm 10y ago

Apart from JK Rowling, I have also enjoyed reading Patricia Highsmith and Fred Vargas (she is a woman, despite of the name). Haven't read Rand yet. I also remember that I liked Earthsea, but don't remember the details. I think many of those "read more women" lists tend to be heavy on feminist topics, therefore less appealing. Of course in general good female authors exist. (Just remembered that as a teen I was also impressed by Virginia Wolf's "The Waves"). Edit: and of course Agatha Christie