Publishers have to do more to “re-masculate” their business
According to Ian McEwan, “when women stop reading, the novel will be dead.” He may be right. A recent survey of 2,000 Britons found that 48 per cent of women can be considered to be “page turners,” or avid readers, compared with only 26 per cent of men. A Guardian blogger suggests a few tweaks to bring the boys back: no matter the subject, always have a tractor and a pint on the cover; or perhaps create a TV series (with book tie-in) featuring “a handsome, profanity-spewing librarian.”