Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Diversity in Reading

I saw this meme over at Iliana's and was curious to see how I'd do. I tend to think that I'm quite good at reading a variety of authors, but let's see!

1. Name the last book by a female author that you’ve read.
I read mostly female authors so the answer to this is The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, which I finished this week. And actually, looking at my list of books read this year, the balance between male and female authors isn't as bad as I thought!

2. Name the last book by an African or African-American author that you’ve read.
I know that this is terrible to admit but Africa is last on my list of regions that interest me. I just don't connect with it and I only have natural curiosity for it, but no passion. Asia, especially the Far East, is the region that I'm drawn to most, for some reason. Strange, eh? Having said that, I have several books by African authors on my TBR shelf, because I do want to find out more about this continent... so I am trying to branch out! The last book I read in this category was in December - Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

Do you connect with certain regions more than with others?

3. Name one from a Latino/a author.
I read The Witch of Portobello by Paolo Coelho earlier this year. I keep meaning to read more Latino/a authors, especially those of magical realism. Any suggestions?

4. How about one from an Asian country or Asian-American?
The Good Women of China by Xinran - fantastic book.

5. What about a GLBT writer?
Hmmm... this might be where my weakness is. I read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson last year... I'm not always aware if the authors I read are or are not GLBT, to be perfectly honest.

6. Why not name an Israeli/Arab/Turk/Persian writer, if you’re feeling lucky?
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi was one my first graphic novels and I now love the genre and the author.

7. Any other “marginalized” authors you’ve read lately?
I suppose that Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky would count, since the author was a Jew during WWII, so definitely marginalised.

I didn't do too badly! Go on, fill this in yourselves, you know you want to! And make sure you let me know in the comments so I can check out your answers! :-)

4 comments:

Iliana said...

Yay, so glad you did this. And, don't feel bad about not connecting with a particular region. I think that happens to everyone. I kind of go through phases. If you want to try more Latino/a authors I highly recommend some of the earlier Isabel Allende novels like House of the Spirits and The Stories of Eva Luna. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is also wonderful and he's got a short story collection, Strange Pilgrims, which I think is fantastic.

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Really interesting answers. Hurston is probably the last African American author that I read as well. I read a lot from the Middle East and India, but last year I read a few memoirs from Africa. You should check out Adichie. Fiction, but very good. Fun Home was my last book book by a gay author, although I don't pay attention to sexuality either. Very good book, though!

Ana S. said...

Oooh..I think I will have to borrow this meme. It's good to take a look at our reading habits every now and then, isn't it? I second Iliana's recommendation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

joanna said...

Iliana - I love Isabel Allende, especially House of the Spirits, which I must re-read soon.

Trish - I have Adichie, it's deifinitely on the list! Always seems to get bumped though...

Nymeth - looking forward to seeing your answers! I really must get to Gabriel Garcia Marquez soon, with all these good comments about his work!