Read like a man?

[jmc_bks]

Tara's column is up over at Readers Gab.  I had some thoughts gathered for Smart Bitches Day, but reading her post made my head explode.  I haven't commented yet because I want to gather my thoughts and not spew like a volcano.

ETA:  the Interweb hates me today.  I've tried to post a comment at Readers Gab and at Dear Author, but they aren't going through.

So here's my comment.

I'm perplexed by the comparison of romance/chick lit to action-thrillers for your intelligence factor. The focus of one genre is the relationship, with the action (even in romantic suspense) as the backdrop only; the focus of the other is the action, with any relationship or character development as ancillary. Are you saying that the heroines of action-thrillers are "smarter" because they are detectives? How does the choice of profession, crime-solver vs. copy editor, speak to intelligence? It strikes me as an apples and oranges comparison. Where do heroines like Eve Dallas, Sookie Stackhouse, Lily Bard, Roe Teagarden, Nell Sweeney and Anita Blake (pre-magic coochie) -- all written by women -- fall in your analysis? What about mysteries written by PJ Ryan, Marcia Muller, Deborah Crombie? Science fiction by LM Bujold? Jacqueline Carey? Anne Bishop? I think there are smart heroines written by women and by men. And there are TSTL heroines written by men and by women. Irritating characters are by no means limited to romance and chick lit.

Comments

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

Wow. Reader's Gab got the "adult content" filter on my work PC rearing its ugly head. Guess I'll have to save it 'til I get home!

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I wish I had saved it til I got home. I feel frustrated and insulted and irritated. Instead of doing work, I want to write a rebuttal.

Part of me wonders if I'm overreacting, or if she just wrote to get a reaction. Or maybe she *intended* to insult women-written characters, women authors and readers as being, writing and/or reading less intelligent than men.

[sarahf.livejournal.com]

I think she did? Maybe? Certainly pissed me off. I tried to be nice in my response, or at least not bite her head off.

[miladyinsanity.livejournal.com]

I'm taking my rant to my blog tomorrow. But I had to say something anyway because I can't post until tomorrow, and it took me about an hour to edit that down to sentences that were not ranty.

[miladyinsanity.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. :)

[(Anonymous)]

I thought it was deliberately provocative, meaning she wanted to get a reaction. I took it as a personal insult to my intelligence as well, although I am not sure that is how she meant it. It definitely comes off, though, with an I am smarter because I read men attitude. At least we'll all be talking about it, right?

[sarahf.livejournal.com]

I was pretty pissed with RTB today, too. Ooh, look, those prolific authors can't be good because, well, they're prolific. Especially those dirty porn writers--oh, sorry, erotica.

Nora Roberts, anyone? JR Ward? Matthew Haldeman-Time?

I think I'm off to rant over there, too.

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

Your reply was measured, I thought, and not ranty at all :)

Heading over to RTB now.

[(Anonymous)]

the above is me, Jane, sorry.

[(Anonymous)]

~I think I'm off to rant over there, too.~

Appreciate that. I nearly responded there, but it seemed like dangerous waters for me. So I didn't.

As to the men write smarter than women, I honestly don't want to acknowledge her column with a comment. I love that readers will--and have.

Nora Roberts

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

That's very restrained of you. How are you holding yourself in check? Inquiring minds want to know, since sitting on my hands to keep them away from the keyboard is only semi-successful.

I haven't commented at RtB yet -- I seldom do, since it seems more author-oriented to me and reader-unfriendly -- but I read the post at lunch. ::sigh:: I'm kind of wondering, did the writers have bad weekends that they are taking out on the romance community, both readers and writers? There seemed to be an awful lot of snark posted fairly early this morning, especially for a Monday morning.

Re: RG, I had to wait until I could be coherent, as I was spluttering this morning when I first read the post.

[sarahf.livejournal.com]

Well, I hope my post(s) there don't make you feel that way. The Kates have been trying to open the blog to non-writers.

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

Nope, I enjoyed your post on literary analysis.

I should be more careful about my broad-brush statements. I check out RtB when a blogger I read (mostly reader bloggers, very few writer bloggers) cross posts about her RtB column. I don't think the author orientation is intentional in the sense that the blog owners want to exclude readers; I just find that many of the posts are about topics such as how to write query letters, or marketing, or how important it is to get an agent. All relevant stuff for writers and wannabe writers, just not of interest to me.

[sarahf.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely welcome.

Someone recently commented on RTB that we're all missing the point of the post, but I really don't think we are. Production values sucked for some authors and for some houses in the 70s with the rise of historicals, in categories all the time, in the late 90s with the rise of paranormals, now with the rise of erotica. It's easy to look at now and say, "It was better in teh Good Old Days," but it's never true.

[(Anonymous)]

I slipped the ropes and commented. This is what happens when I have personal business taking up most of the day instead of writing.

Nora

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

Uh oh. Will rotten tomatoes be hurled your way? Not to sound like a suck up, but you seem to have a thoughtful, careful internet presence, so I'm assuming no slimy vegetables will be tossed at you.

*off to check*

[(Anonymous)]

Haven't read the books she mentions, so it's hard to comment. My experiences of male written action adventure type books are that the women tend to be very thinly drawn - they're beautiful, and they want to have sex with the protagonist. I gave up on Clive Cussler when Dirk Pitt came across the corpse of a drowned woman underwater - and even she was fabulously beautiful.

Marianne McA

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I gave up on Cussler when Dirk Pitt came across teh corpse of a drowned woman underwater - and even she was fabulously beautiful.

Eeeww. Water does not respect the dead, nor do various forms of aquatic life. I'm having a hard time imagining any truly beatiful drowning victims. Ick.