2013 He Said, She Said; He Wrote, She Wrote Reading Challenge

[Lisarenee]

This challenge was inspired by Tia, who asked:

"I was wondering if we could do a 'Female Author Challenge' (but with a wittier title). So many of the books published and written have male authors, so I think this would be a good way to push people outside of their comfort zones and give female authors the recognition it deserves."

What we, the moderators, noticed is that many of us have the exact opposite problem from Tia, we read mostly books written by female authors. So we decided to make this a Ying Yang type of challenge.

So, with that said, look at your book shelves and determine which you read more of--books written by male authors or books written by female authors--and try to set yourself a goal to read more of the ones you are significantly lacking in.

Thanks Tia. I hope you like it.

Levels:
Novice - Read 1 - 6 books
Amateur - Read 7 - 12 books
Freelance - Read 13 - 18 books
Professional - 19 or more books

[Lisarenee]

Reserved.

[Desperado]

Great idea, Lisarenee & Tia! I don't even need to look at my TBR shelves to know it's an estrogen Tupperware party. I definitely need to read more books by the oblivious sex.

NBRC's "2013 He Said, She Said; He Wrote, She Wrote Reading" Challenge
Level: Amateur
Duration: January 1, 2013-December 31, 2013
Goal: 0/10

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[Sarah]

This is a great challenge! I definitely read wayyy more female authors than male authors, and I'd love to expand. I will use this post if I decide to join.

[Catherine]

I read a fair amount of both..what should I do?

[~Melissa~]

I'm in. I definitely read more female authors ~ go girl power and all that. I will work at reading more male authors.

question? do all the books read need to be by different male authors??

[[deleted user]]

I love what you did with this idea! I especially like the idea of including both male and female authors so then anyone can participate. Plus, the title is much wittier than mine. ;)

Thanks so much for using my idea as inspiration for something this cool!

[Lisarenee]

Tia wrote: "I love what you did with this idea! I especially like the idea of including both male and female authors so then anyone can participate. Plus, the title is much wittier than mine. ;)

Thanks so muc..."

You're welcome. I'm glad you liked it.

[Stefani]

Oh, this is a great idea! Let's look at my 2012 read, 79 total...30 male and 49 female. It's pretty even, but I'm definitely leaning toward more women so I will try for more male authors.

2013 He Said, She Said; He Wrote, She Wrote Reading Challenge
Level: Amateur
Duration: January 1, 2013-December 31, 2013
Goal: 1/12

1. The 19th Wife - 1/12/13

[[deleted user]]

I think I'm going to shoot for Freelance, but hopefully I'll make Professional! I'll need to think of the list, but I know for sure Doris Lessing is going to be on it.

[Mary]

I'm challenging myself to read more books by male authors than I read last year. I read over 100 books last year and only 18 were written by men.

I'll aim to read at least 25 books by men this year. I guess that would make me an amateur, since I'm reading seven more than last year.

Start date: January 2, 2013
End date: December 31, 2013
Books read: 14/25

1. Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett - Good Omens - 1/17/13
2. Kevin Hearne - Hammered - 1/23/13
3. Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game - 1/26/13
4. Kevin Hearne - Tricked - 1/29/13
5. L.A. Meyer - Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy - 2/23/13
6. John Green & David Levithan - Will Grayson, Will Grayson - 2/24/13
7. Neil Gaiman - The Graveyard Book - 2/26/13
8. Kevin Hearne - Trapped - 3/4/13
9. L.A. Meyer - Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady - 3/6/13
10. L.A. Meyer - Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber - 3/12/13
11. Isaac Marion - Warm Bodies - 3/18/13
12. Rick Yancey - The 5th Wave - 3/24/13
13. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - Wind, Sand, and Stars - 3/29/13
14. Neal Shusterman - Unwind - 4/6/13

[Barbara ★]

WOW 300 female authors to 90 male authors in 2013. Well actually I counted books not individual authors so lots of duplicates, but still that 3:1.

My reading list for 2013 has 51 different male authors so I'm going to attempt to read them all unless of course a book I have chosen to read is unavailable or impossible to get my hands on. I've already had to knock one male off since I can't find his book anywhere so this list is subject to change.

Level: Professional - 19 or more books

READ: 44/51
Alternates: 21/21

✔1. The Monster of Florence - Douglas Preston 1/18
✔2. In Golden Blood - Stephen Woodworth 2/6
✔3. The Big Over Easy - Jasper Fforde 1/8
✔4. The Convicts - Iain Lawrence 1/7
✔5. Hungry As The Sea - Wilbur Smith 1/27
✔6. Into Thin Air:Mt. Everest Disaster - Jon Krakauer 1/13
✔7. Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld 1/16
✔8. Zugzwang - Ronan Bennett 1/31
✔9. The Andromeda Strain - Michael Crichton 2/28
✔10. Blood Lies - Daniel Kalla 10/3
✔11. Creepers - David Morrell 2/24
✔12. Grendel - John Gardner 2/16
✔13. Mortal Coil - Derek Landy 3/29
✔14. On Call In Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story - Cdr. Richard Jadick 2/27
✔15. Sea Hunter - Paul Garrison 2/16
✔16. Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane 2/19
✔17. Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card 2/13
✔18. Stormdancer - Jay Kristoff 2/13
✔19. The Paris Vendetta - Steve Berry 7/8
✔20. Toehold: A Novel - Stephen Foreman 2/8
21. The Woods - Harlan Coben
✔22. A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin 3/25
✔23. The Forgotten - David Baldacci 3/14
✔24. Six Seconds - Rick Mofina 6/29
✔25. On Stranger Tides - Tim Powers 4/5
✔26. Snow Angels - James Thompson 5/7
✔27. Blue Latitudes - Tony Horwitz 2/25
✔28. Hearts of Smoke and Steam - Andrew Mayer 10/17
✔29. Unnatural - Michael Griffo 2/28
30. Bermuda Schwartz - Bob Morris (Not Available at Library)
✔31. Curfew - Phil Rickman 11/6
32. Flesh - Khanh Ha (attempted to read, terribly boring)
✔33. Florence of Arabia - Christopher Buckley 5/15
✔34. The Folly of the World - Jesse Bullington 5/13
✔35. Guilty Wives - James Patterson 2/25
36. The Island of Dr. Moreau - H.G. Wells
37. Lethal Investments - K.O. Dahl
38. Lords of the Pacific - Grant Hyde (Not Available at Library)
✔39. Mutiny on the Bounty - John Boyne 8/20
✔40. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith 5/18
41. Private Dancer - Stephen Leather (Not Available at Library)
✔42. Sandstorm - James Rollins 8/26
✔43. The Skull Mantra - Eliot Pattison 6/14
✔44. The Bridge to Never Land - Dave Barry/Ridley Pearson 3/31
45. The Templar Legion - Paul Christopher
✔46. This Dark Endeavour - Kenneth Oppel 6/26
✔47. Whitechapel Gods - S.M. Peter 11/11
48. The Yemen Connection - M.H. Sargent (Not Available at Library)
49. Hellhole West Virginia - Rich Bottles (Not Available at Library)
50. Libriomancer - Jim Hines
✔51. The Rosary Girls - Richard Montanari 5/26

Alternates:
✔52. Odd Apocalypse - Dean Koontz 1/17
✔53. Someone Like You - Roald Dahl 6/7
✔54. Unencumbered - Dennis Glawe 7/5
✔55. Hot Head - Damon Suede 7/11
✔56. NOS4A2 - Joe Hill 7/18
✔57. The Rook - Daniel O'Malley 7/24
✔58. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey - Trenton Lee Stewart 7/26
✔59. The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman 7/26
✔60. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame-Smith 8/4
✔61. The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler 8/16
✔62. Frog King, The: A Love Story - Adam Davies 8/11
✔63. Eyes Wide Open - Andrew Gross 8/26
✔64. Forced to Kill - Andrew Peterson 9/4
✔65. Z for Zachariah - Robert O'Brien 9/9
✔66. The Sisters Brothers - Patrick deWitt 9/28
✔67. Ugly Beautiful - Seanpaul Thomas 10/1
✔68. The Terror - Dan Simmons 10/23
✔69. Blood Rites - Jim Butcher 10/29
✔70. Eternity Base - Bob Mayer 11/21
✔71. Black Hole Sun - David Macinnis Gill 12/22
✔72. Sleight of Hand - Phillip Margolin 12/27

CHALLENGE COMPLETE

[Juuli]

Last year I read over 160 books and only 23 were written by male authors. So this year I would like to read more. Because I found this challenge just now, I have a question. Can I go back in time and add the books I have already read this year?

[Suzanne]

Nothing but Reading Challenges
2013 He Said, She Said; He Wrote, She Wrote Reading Challenge
Duration: 4/1/2013 - 3/31/2014

Progress: 24 out of 19 (Professional)

1. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley - **** - 4/2/2013
2. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler - **** - 4/16/2013
3. Unclean Spirits by M.L.N. Hanover - ***** - 6/2/2013
4. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley - **** - 7/11/2013
5. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl - *** - 7/11/2013
6. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl - **** - 7/12/2013
7. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl - * - 7/12/2013
8. Curran, Vol. I by Gordon Andrews - ***** - 7/23/2013
9. Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher - ***** - 7/28/2013
10. The Dresden Files: Storm Front, Volume 1: The Gathering Storm by Jim Butcher - ***** - 7/30/2013
11. The Dresden Files: Storm Front, Volume 2: Maelstrom by Jim Butcher - ***** - 8/1/2013
12. Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley - ***** - 8/20/2013
13. Mister Monday by Garth Nix - * - 8/27/2013
14. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff - ***** - 8/28/2013
15. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell - ***** - 8/29/2013
16. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher - **** - 9/3/2013
17. Zoo by James Patterson - *** - 9/4/2013
18. The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings - **** - 9/6/2013
19. The Coolest Race on Earth: Mud, Madmen, Glaciers, and Grannies at the Antarctica Marathon by John Hanc - ***** - 10/24/2013
20. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher - ***** - 10/28/2013
21. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - ***** - 10/31/2013
22. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss - *** - 11/5/2013
23. Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov - *** - 11/12/2013
24. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt - ***** - 12/11/2013

[Lisa Kay]

This one, too, Suzanne? Great!

[Juuli]

Nothing but Reading Challenges
2013 He Said, She Said; He Wrote, She Wrote Reading Challenge
Duration: 01 January 2013 - 31 December 2013

Because nobody answered my question I decided to add the books I have already read this year. If it's not allowed, I'll remove them later and change the duration of the challenge.

As I wrote some days ago, I read 23 books written by male last year. So, my goal for this year is to read more books by male authors.

Original titles:
1. Dead Simple by Peter James
2. Steget efter by Henning Mankell
3. Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny
4. Dr. Dave's Stallside Manner: More Adventures Of A Country Vet by David Perrin
5. Dick Francis's Gamble by Felix Francis
6. Theodore Boone: The Abduction by John Grisham
7. Crossfire by Dick Francis and Felix Francis
8. Ivan Orava mälestused, ehk, Minevik kui helesinised mäed by Andrus Kivirähk
9. Inglid kuuendas B-s by Ilmar Tomusk
10. Mördare utan ansikte by Henning Mankell
11. Bolt by Dick Francis
12. Snømannen by Jo Nesbø
13. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
14. Mannen som log by Henning Mankell
15. Der Funke Leben. by Erich Maria Remarque
16. The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
17. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote


Covers of the Estonian editions:

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Sorry for not getting back to you, Juuli. Yes, by all means, you can post-date to January. Looks good, by the way.

[Juuli]

Moderators of Nothing but Reading Challenges wrote: "Sorry for not getting back to you, Juuli. Yes, by all means, you can post-date to January. Looks good, by the way."

Thank you. :)

[Jex]

So I originally didn't do this challenge because I had no idea which to choose, male or female. Therefore, I'm going to use this challenge to figure it out! I'm going to read both and do my best to try to keep them even as I go. We'll see what happens. (post dating to January).

[Jex]

He Said, She Said, He Wrote, She Wrote
Start: January 1st, 2013
End: December 31st, 2013
Score: 19 Male - 15 Female

Male Authors:
1. Genesis - 1/12/13 - ★★★★★
2. A Drizzle of Zombies - 1/16/13 - ★★★☆☆
3. Maus, Vol. 1: My Father Bleeds History - 3/11/13 - ★★★☆☆
4. The Magicians - 3/15/13 - ★★★★☆
5. Maus, Vol. 2: And Here My Troubles Began - 4/8/13 - ★★★☆☆
6. Unwind - 4/8/13 - ★★★★☆
7. Stay Awake - 4/29/13 - ★★★☆☆
8. Little Brother - 5/4/13 - ★★★★★
9. UnStrung - 4/16/13 - ★★★★☆
10.UnWholly - 4/24/13 - ★★★★☆
11. Memoirs of a Geisha - 6/2/13 - ★★★☆☆
12. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend - 6/3/13 - ★★★★☆
13. The Passage - 7/14/13 - ★★★★☆
14. The Lost Symbol - 8/18/13 - ★★★☆☆
15. I Suck at Girls - 8/21/13 - ★★★☆☆
16. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - 10/31/13 - ★★★★☆
17. Coraline - 11/5/13 - ★★★☆☆
18. The Graveyard Book - 11/20/13 - ★★★☆☆
19. Next - 12/23/13 - ★★★☆☆



Female Authors:
1. Stolen: A Letter to My Captor - 1/11/13 - ★★★★☆
2. Legend - 1/22/13 - ★★★★★
3. Level 2 - 1/27/13 - ★★☆☆☆
4. The Restorer - 2/18/13 - ★★★☆☆
5. Paper Valentine - 2/24/13 - ★★★★☆
6. Carnival of Souls - 3/26/12 - ★★☆☆☆
7. Firelight - 4/25/13 - ★★★☆☆
8. A Discovery of Witches - 5/1/13 - ★★★★☆
9. The Age of Miracles - 7/14/13 - ★★☆☆☆
10. Splintered - 8/21/13 - ★★★★☆
11. Mind Games - 9/15/13 - ★★★☆☆
12. Dualed - 11/6/13 - ★★★★☆
13. Under the Never Sky - 11/28/13 - ★★★☆☆
14. Kiss Me First - 11/29/13 - ★★★☆☆
15. Beautiful Creatures - 12/23/13 - ★★★☆☆

[Lisa Kay]

Very equable of you, Jex.

[Jex]

If by equable of me, you mean very indecisive, then yes, definitely :-P

[Lisa Kay]

☺

[Jex]

Magically still exactly even between male and female although I'm not trying to even it out.

[Lisa Kay]

Amazing, Jex! **giggles**

[Holly]

Male Authors
Start Date 1/1/2014 Completion Date:
Trying for Professional 0/19

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[Lisa Kay]

Welcome to the challenge, Holly!

[Tammie]

question how do we do this

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Tammie wrote: "question how do we do this"

Tammie, do you read more books by male authors, or by female authors? Whichever is least, set your goal to read a certain number by the lower sex.

[Barbara ★]

Well I didn't read the original 51 mainly because a few were unavailable at the library but I did read 21 additional male authors for a total of 63 so I'm calling this challenge complete.

[Shan ~A~]

NBRC's "2013 He Said, She Said; He Wrote, She Wrote Reading" Challenge
Level: Amateur (Reading Male Authors)
Duration: January 1, 2014-December 31, 2014
Goal: 4/12

1.The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion 4/23
2.Moonwalk by Michael Jackson 6/13
3.Unlucky 13 by James Patterson 7/26
4.Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard 8/22
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[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Woohoo! Congrats, Barbara★!

Welcome to the challenge, Shan!

[Jex]

For 2013 my goal was to read an equal number of male and female authors. I came close - 19 males, 15 female.

Post Link

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Welcome to the challenge, Jex. **hee hee**

[Juuli]

I failed miserably last year. So, I want to try again.

Nothing but Reading Challenges
2014 He Said, She Said; He Wrote, She Wrote Reading Challenge
Goal: 24 books by male authors
Duration: 01 January 2014 - 31 December 2014

1. Hundarna i Riga by Henning Mankell
2. Salapärasuste käsiraamat by Mauri Kunnas
3. Pyramiden by Henning Mankell
4. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
5. Even Money by Dick and Felix Francis
6. Сказка о царе Салтане by Aleksandr Puškin
7. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
8. Vahva rätsep by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
9. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
10. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
11. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
12. Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
13. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
14. Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
15. Aesop's Fables by Aesop
16. Gallows View by Peter Robinson
17. La sombra del viento by Carlos Ruiz Zafron
18. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
19. A Dedicated Man by Peter Robinson
20. The Danger by Dick Francis
21. The Frightened Lady by Edgar Wallace
22. Simple Peter Cradd by E. Phillips Oppenheim
23. Põhjavalgus by Raimond Kaugver
24. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan
25. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
26. Gangsta Granny by David Walliams
27. Jõulujutud by Mauri Kunnas

Covers of the editions I read

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Welcome back to the challenge, Juuli! Good luck.

[Beth]

Jan 1 2014 - Dec 31 2014
Level: Freelance
Goal: 15 books by women writers (I only read 6 women writers last year)
I'll cross these off as I go.

1. The Hero and the Crown Robin McKinley 3/5/2014 **
2. Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora ed. Sheree Thomas - 4/30/2014 ****
3. The Door in the Hedge Robin McKinley 5/22/2014 **
4. Deathless Valente, Catherynne 6/10/2014 ***
5. The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye A.S. Byatt 6/27/2014****
6. Swamplandia! Karen Russell 7/23/2014 **
7. To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf 8/20/2014 ***
8. A Bed of Earth Tanith Lee 8/25/2014 **
9. The Crystal Cave Mary Stewart 9/10/2014 **
10. Who Fears Death Nnedi Okorafor 9/27/2014 ***
11. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - finished 11/30/2014 ***
12. The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif - finished 12/6/2014 ****
13. The Borders of Life by Gael A. Kathryns - finished 12/16/2014 ****
14. The Book of the Mad by Tanith Lee - finished 12/19/2014 ***
15. Greenwitch by Susan Cooper - finished 12/31/2014 ***

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Welcome to the challenge, Beth!

[☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎]

Hi I have a few questions about this challenge. Are we going by the authors we read last year? And what happens if you have almost an even amount? Because last year I read 34 males and 36 females. I tend to be fair when it comes to reading. LOL just kidding. It just happened that way. :) so I'm at a lost. Was wondering if I could do a split of the 2 genders. Help :)

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Hey, Carmen. Sure, feel free to shoot for a 50/50 split and keep things equal. That could be a challenge by itself.

[☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎]

Thanks :)

[☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎]

NBRC's "2013 He Said, She Said; He Wrote, She Wrote Reading" Challenge
Level: Professional (1/2 female and 1/2 male)
Duration: January 1, 2014-December 31, 2014
Goal completed: 13/20

Female:

✔1. The Husband's Secret,Liane Moriarty, 1/9/14
✔2. Hearts in Darkness, Laura Kaye,1/12/14
✔3. A Wicked Hunger, Kriesten Fay, 1/17/14
✔4. Naked in Death, JD Robb, 1/30/14
✔5. Until the End, Tracy Ward,2/3/14
✔6. Tangled, Emma Chase,2/7/14
✔7. My Life as a White Trash Zombie, Diana Rowland,2/19/14
✔8. First Ink, Laura Wright, 2/22/14
✔9. Seducing Simon, Maya Banks,2/27/14
✔10. Covet, Felicity E. Heaton, 3/8/14




Male

✔1. Zero Day,David Baldacci, 1/24/14
✔2. The Book of Lost Things,John Connolly, 1/24/14
✔3. Switchblade, Michael Connelly, 1/27/14
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I need to work more on my male authors because I have read a lot of females. I may up the amount on both since I do have other females but first I'm going to play catch-up. :)

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Welcome (officially) to the challenge, Carmen!

[☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎]

Thank you!! :)

[Juuli]

I can't believe it, but I actually finished this challenge in 2014. My goal was to read 24 books written by male authors and I read 27. Yes! :)