Women, Men, and Books
So are women still a closed book to men? The verdict of The Observer is that men finally realized what they are missing (to know women) and yet they don't seem to do anything about it. This is the conclusion of a study into sex (gender) differences in reading habits. According to Queen Mary College academics Lisa Jardine and Annie Watkins, who have interviewed 500 English men and women, men's top choices are The Stranger by Albert Camus, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Women opt for reading materials that usually belong to the stereotype that is imputed on them: the romance and the literary. Reading and books constitute to the bedrock of women's values, thoughts, and emotions. Women outvalue books so much more drastically than men do. In addition to being the lightning rod of ethic and morality, women rely on novels for solace. Novels could be the ultimate source of emulation in women's living and behavior. Men is the opposite pole. Books to men are no more than instruments to kill time. They seem to draw a clear demarcation between the characters and themselves, meaning, what goes on in the books stays in that virtual world of language and authorial meaning. Men are completely detached from the figurative and literary content in novels that women deem as reflections of their lives. Note that the novels men favor all share common themes of alienation, personal struggle, and indifference. But I'm a little surprised that thrillers and mysteries fail to dominate men's poll as much as I think men have a predilection for them.
6 Comments:
For the straight men, they don't have the need to read cuz they have Star Trek, football and Hooters.
LOL It's true Rob.
I read the post about Wu Xian Song, do you read/speak Chinese?
I speak Cantonese since I'm from HK, and I believe that you are, too. Wu Xian Song is from a Buddhist chant CD that I purchased awhile back, I listen to it quite often. From that, I only know a few words. I asked a friend of mine to translate, he said the writing actually is a bit difficult to decipher, but he did give me the bulk of the meaning to it. I'm happy. :-) You read much that I know, do you know the full meaning of the words?
Anyway, I'll write to you tonight via email! :-) Happy Friday Matt!
I find interesting that men and women are ever able to connect beyond just the sexual. My single female friends are always lamenting. Of course, I lament as well.
"...where have all the cowboys gone?"
I do so wish I spoke Cantonese --- or any other language. I took French for 4 years and am supposed to be fluent. I can only say 2 things:
"Je suis fromage"
and
"j'mapelle matt" ....and I doubt I spelled any of that correctly.
However, it should be noted that my love of Asian cinema has led me to be able to recognize curse words in Korean. I can't seem to mimic the sound of the words, but I know a dirty Korean word when I hear one. Same for Japanese. Tho, not with Cantonese. sigh.
Hey Matt, I can teach you Cantonese! It's more a spoken than a written language. :)
I'd love to learn it! ...I wonder if I could, tho. I've never had luck with learning languages. ...I do well to speak english.
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