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Not really, at least as long as the author in question is able to adequately convey both convincive female and male characters.

I'm not sure if my answer here matters at all, but I'm one of those weird readers who sometimes don't even know if the authors are male or female, and as you mentioned, some female writers do use male pen-names. If I like the book too much, then I look up the author and learn who they are.

SpiritPhoenix wrote: ↑21 May 2019, 10:00 I'm not sure if my answer here matters at all, but I'm one of those weird readers who sometimes don't even know if the authors are male or female, and as you mentioned, some female writers do use male pen-names. If I like the book too much, then I look up the author and learn who they are.

This is usually the case for me, too. Not to mention the number of times I've made an assumption on the author's gender due to their name being unisex, only to find out they're something else. I think it also depends on the area. (For example, I mostly had female Taylors at my school so I assumed most Taylors were female, but at the school two towns over, my friend mentioned most of their Taylors were male so she assumed most Taylors were male.)

No, that doesn't make you weird at all! That's the whole fun of it to me...well, unless I'm being weird too I suppose.
I like trying to decide by the writing if it seems to be a male or female, then go check for a bio with a picture. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes totally and completely surprised; in all cases, happy with the "sleuthing" aspect of it. It's also fascinating to see how writing has changed culturally over the decades/centuries. And also how it hasn't.

Lindsey Klaus wrote: ↑21 May 2019, 14:21

SpiritPhoenix wrote: ↑21 May 2019, 10:00 I'm not sure if my answer here matters at all, but I'm one of those weird readers who sometimes don't even know if the authors are male or female, and as you mentioned, some female writers do use male pen-names. If I like the book too much, then I look up the author and learn who they are.

This is usually the case for me, too. Not to mention the number of times I've made an assumption on the author's gender due to their name being unisex, only to find out they're something else. I think it also depends on the area. (For example, I mostly had female Taylors at my school so I assumed most Taylors were female, but at the school two towns over, my friend mentioned most of their Taylors were male so she assumed most Taylors were male.)

The area! Yes! I'm Indian and our names are very different from western names. I remember being surprised at finding out Sidney Sheldon is male and Enid Blyton is female.

Gender doesn't matter to me. The genre it's what affects me more when I pick my next reading.

I rarely ever pay attention to the author specifically unless their work manages to impress me so much that I then hunt after their other works. I haven't experienced sex differences making a novel more or less entertaining for me. It entirely depends on the voice and mood of the work, or how well the characters are developed. I'm in it for the detail, not the author's identity.

In my opinion,

The brain differs between males & females as each has a certain way of thinking that specialize the gender tendencies.

For example, male writers tend to be more rational and intellectual, their own characteristic is based on dominance, and through writing they are more realistic regarding logics and emotionally stable.

Unlikely to female writers, their writings are based on descriptions and a lot of emotions and fantasy because females are sensitive and warm, their imagination is wider as well as feelings.

Thus, each choose which book is suitable to their type of taste either more description by females or more facts by males based on gender, and i would advice to choose the book by dividing into categories as leaving the choice of romantic,fantasy books by the female writers, and the logics, self improvement, studies by the male writers.

I don't honestly see why being Male or female is relevant to writing. Both men and woman can and do write great books. I don't see sex being an issue when it comes to the brains, imagination, and patience it takes to write a book. I've read great works of art from both, and will never consider not reading a book simply because you was wrote by a man or a woman.

I find that I read more female authors than male authors but I don’t do it on purpose, I suppose. I think I’ve just found a few authors that I really like and I want to read everything they have written as of late.

I guess that I gravitate towards female authors more than I do male authors. However, I must say that I tend to always look for books by the few male authors that I know are really good. Interestingly enough they all write Christian themes or mystery.

I think gender does not make a difference in this case because what matters is imagination and the quality of writing, which is independent of gender.

SpiritPhoenix wrote: ↑21 May 2019, 10:00 I'm not sure if my answer here matters at all, but I'm one of those weird readers who sometimes don't even know if the authors are male or female, and as you mentioned, some female writers do use male pen-names. If I like the book too much, then I look up the author and learn who they are.

I agree with you on that. In some cases, I do not know whether the author is male or female.

For me personally, it depends on what I'm reading. I haven't read any political thrillers by a female author. Consequently, I "assume" that I prefer male authors. When it comes to romance novels, I'm not aware that I've read any male authors so, again, I "assume" I prefer female authors. When it comes to history books, I've read great books by both sexes, so I don't really care, as long as the book is well-written.

My favorite authors have been a mix of male and female just like my favorite protagonists have been a mix. Although not every case is so (in fact, it's in the minority, and most of it is in older books from a different age,) I've encountered male authors who write their female characters in a way that makes me slightly uncomfortable, and I'm tired about reading about women who are conventionally beautiful (but they don't think it themselves!) who need a man to save them, or whose only trait/character is being a femme fatal. Because of this, when a book seems to fall into that category, I tend to be more wary of male authors for those specific books.