easiest way to pick a good novel from a pile of unfamiliar books: choose the non-default authors

[belenen]

icon: "imperious (photo of me w imperious expression wearing "Red Queen" makeup: searingly red lips, darkened pointed eyebrows, black eyeliner, deep red & black eyeshadow accented with gold & silver, and black-outlined silver hearts & diamonds with red shadows on my cheeks)"
This is a great illustration of why I don't read 'classic' sci-fi. I also

Comments

[citrusjava]

It's such a struggle, isn't it....
With you one "enough already with white cis straight abled etc etc men" though so many books are as bad even by other people....

I used t be so into books, I'd read nearly anything!
For e there's also he issue of ttriggers, that make it impossible for me to enjoy most books anyway(or enjoy them without putting myself in danger, at least)

[belenen]

I used to be so into books I'd read anything too! I'd read the cereal box and the toothpaste ingredients! I found it magical how squiggles could enter my brain and create ideas and even stories.

I understand what you mean about triggers, though books are safer for me than movies/shows that way because I can skim a section to get a general idea of what happens and thus be prepared as I go back and read it while "in it" -- sort of like giving myself a trigger warning.

[thatunicornfizz]

We were considering making 2017 a year of reading only non-cis-male authors, because of this issue. We haven't given it the depth of thought you have, thanks to mental bandwidth issues, so this post was thought provoking, thanks for sharing.

[belenen]

yesssss! I have found it to be completely life-changing.

[thatunicornfizz]

I recently found myself giving up on The Honest Folk of Guadeloupe after just one chapter because I realised I was just over reading about female characters written by men, as if they know how to tell their stories - I think we might start our experiment early!