SHE READ ...HE READ

 

I was reading a female complaint on MOON CALLED, the first Mercy Thompson urban fantasy:

 

that there was precious little steamy content ... which was appreciated by this male.

 

A male complained about RIVER MARKED that it was nearly a third of the book before the action

started.

 

It brings to mind the conventional wisdom that MEN DO NOT READ BOOKS WRITTEN BY WOMEN.

 

What do you think of that, by the way?

 

A study of reading habits showed almost half of women are 'page turners' who finish a book

soon after starting it compared to only 26 per cent of men.

 

Men are also more likely to have shelves full of books that have never been opened.

 

If that woman next to you on the train or bus seems unusually engrossed in her e-reader, there may
be a good reason.
 

Electronic readers, and the reading privacy they provide, are fueling a boom in sales of sexy romance novels, or "romantica," as the genre is called in the book industry.

There is sex in romantica—a lot of it.
 
Yet unlike traditional erotica, romantica always includes what's known as "HEA"—
"happily ever after."

Men see a problem and want to see action taken to resolve it.  Women want to see empathy evoked.

Erotica on the Mischief Books site is tagged with icons. Handcuffs denote "kinky";

an upraised palm means "discipline."

The HarperCollins imprint says it plans to publish at least 60 e-titles a year.

Then, there's ...

It works like this. Girl meets boy, preferably in a quaint seaside town. Happiness.

They clash. Sadness. Gradually they realize that opposites attract and fall in love. Happiness.

But they cannot be together because of leukemia/difficult parents/war/Alzheimer’s/a psychotic ex. Sadness. They get together anyway. Happiness.

Somebody dies. Huge sadness. But the survivors lead richer, fuller lives for having known each other. Happiness.

Publish, collect millions, turn the story into a film, collect more millions, repeat. Massive happiness.

That’s the algorithm that has fueled Nicholas Sparks’ success for the past decade and a half.

It is a male's nightmare. Where are the fast cars, blazing bullets, and sizzing hot femme fatales?

Which is why I, as a card-carrying/dues paying male, read Mercy Thompson.  Who's she?

Mercedes is a Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington.

Her Native American heritage has gifted her with the ability to take the form of a coyote at will.

She's surrounded by far more powerful supernatural beings, including werewolves, vampires and an assortment of fae.

Her world seems real.  She is surrounded by powerful entities, while she is fragile in comparison.
She survives by wit, courage, and endurcance.

Throughout the first book, Mercy kicks ass. Adam, the love interest, tells Mercy that he values her for her independence.

  He isn't threatened by a strong woman, but finds that strength attractive.

Then he's the one kidnapped and drugged and helpless -
it's Mercy who rescues Prince Charming.

And after being rescued, he turns around and leads werewolves into battle -

he isn't any less awesome or less of a man for needing a woman's help once in a while.

There are three women in the pack besides Mercy. Auriele is the second's mate, but it's
emphasized several times that her air of authority doesn't come from him, but from her job
as a teacher controlling a classroom of teenagers. 

(If you've ever been a teacher, you can relate.) 

She draws strength from her occupation and her own experiences instead of someone else.

There's Honey, who's highly dominant in her own self - Adam says that if she were a man,
she'd be second or third in the pack.

But she chose to mate with a submissive werewolf, sacrificing the status she desires and deserves,
so that she wouldn't have to live with someone who'd try to control her.

What do you think? 
Do you know men who read (besides writers).  Do men read less than women?

Is erotica all that women read?  For a woman to read a book must it contain romance?

Do you read
non-fiction?