The Year of Reading Women

I first heard about the Year of Reading Women through the Twitter hashtag #readwomen2014.

In Joanna Walsh's article, Will #readwomen2014 change our sexist reading habits? she writes,

"It's a truth universally acknowledged that, although women read more than men, and books by female authors are published in roughly the same numbers, they are more easily overlooked".

Do we place more value in and respect for books written by men? I'd hate to think so but looking at my own reading choices, I have to admit that 75 - 80% of the books I read are written by men. Do I respect male writers more than female? Not consciously, no. It's an interesting topic that I'm sure will be discussed further throughout the year but for now I'm going to add my support by making a conscious effort to read more books by female writers, not instead of books by male writers but in a larger percentage than I currently do.

Adding to my previous list of writers that I converse with whom I wish to support, is the author, Satya Robyn. I'm particularly interested in reading her novel, Small Kindnesses.

From my book shelf (which holds far too many books that I haven't read), there is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and Sepulchre from Kate Mosse. Stealing over to (and from) my children's bookshelves, I'll be reading Magyk, the first of the Septimus Heap books by Angie Sage.

What about you? Do you read more women writers, men or a mixture of both? Do you think there is a preference towards men's books? I'd love to hear from you.