I do not like most serious modern novels. I wish something to happen in a novel. Things happened in works of literature all the way up to around the 1950s, when suddenly writing had to be all twee and introspective to be respected. There was once a New Yorker cartoon that poked fun at the very type of fiction the New Yorker often runs. It showed a guy in the kitchen making a sandwich and said something like "He smoothed the peanut butter over the crisp toasted bread, the same whole wheat bread his mother had bought all those years ago. He watched as his knife formed hills and valleys in the brown paste and dreamily slid the knife over his creation again and again. There should be jelly, made from wild beach plums....."
Buffy. When I saw you stop the world from, you know, ending, I just assumed that was a big week for you. Turns out I suddenly find myself needing to know the plural of 'apocalypse.'
Riley ,'Potential'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Ginger - Oct 01, 2007 1:19:03 pm PDT #4092 of 28222
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
Connie Neil - Oct 01, 2007 1:24:53 pm PDT #4093 of 28222
brillig
Why can't you do both at the same time?
Because it shows you're not the serious-minded sort who can take their enlightenment straight-up, without being diluted with paltry pleasure.
Connie Neil - Oct 01, 2007 1:26:26 pm PDT #4094 of 28222
brillig
up to around the 1950s, when suddenly writing had to be all twee and introspective to be respected
When the beatniks started being ironic and sophisticated, and enthusiasm became gauche.
Kathy A - Oct 01, 2007 1:27:16 pm PDT #4095 of 28222
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
I just took an online "Geek, Nerd, or Dork?" test, and the first question was "Do you read fiction?"
WTF?
Toddson - Oct 01, 2007 1:43:23 pm PDT #4096 of 28222
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"
well, obviously, reading anything other than non-fiction or technical manuals completely contradicts anyother geek/nerd/dork credentials you may wave at it
megan walker - Oct 01, 2007 1:46:03 pm PDT #4097 of 28222
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
I do not like most serious modern novels. I wish something to happen in a novel. Things happened in works of literature all the way up to around the 1950s, when suddenly writing had to be all twee and introspective to be respected.
Ginger is me regarding the "modern" novel. And, when someone is obnoxious in their recommendation of the latest X, I usually refer to this trend as masturbatory fiction.
Toddson - Oct 01, 2007 1:58:43 pm PDT #4098 of 28222
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"
I like plots ... silly, I know, but I do. And character development. And things happening. That sort of thing has been relegated to genre fiction to a large extent, so a lot of what I read falls in that category.
Ginger - Oct 01, 2007 2:17:06 pm PDT #4099 of 28222
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
It seems like mysteries and YA fiction are the last bastions of the plot.
§ ita § - Oct 01, 2007 2:27:57 pm PDT #4100 of 28222
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I don't read that much, but I haven't had much of a problem finding plots when I need them. Thrillers, chicklit, science fiction and fantasy, wherever.
Hmm, reading the bestseller list reminds me of two things:
- Must read Dexter
- Hate James Patterson
Connie Neil - Oct 01, 2007 2:29:29 pm PDT #4101 of 28222
brillig
Hmm, reading the bestseller list reminds me of two things:
There's a new Pratchett! Ankh-Morpork!