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Goodreads members prefer books by own gender

Goodreads has published data analysis that shows its members prefer to read books by writers of their own sex, reports the Guardian. The data showed male authors accounted for 45 of men’s 50 most-read titles published in the past year, while female authors accounted for 45 of women’s 50 most-read titles in the same period. However, it also found that men make up 20% of a female author’s audience within a year of publication, while women make up 50% of a male author’s audience. Goodreads published its findings in the wake of the ‘#readwomen’ movement, which was prompted by arts organisation Vida’s statistics showing an imbalance in the number of women reviewed and reviewing in literary presses. Author Joanna Walsh said of the Goodreads findings: ‘It’s worth bearing in mind that the Vida statistics concentrate on literary fiction, and non-fiction, in which a bias towards books and reviews by men is clear in some publications, whereas the top Goodreads books include many crime, young adult and other titles less likely to be reviewed in the publications Vida covers.’

 

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Category: International news