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.
Plus bonus points for use of the word 'mosey'.
Oz ,'Same Time, Same Place'
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."
Connie Neil - Oct 01, 2007 1:26:26 pm PDT #4094 of 28222
brillig
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!
Ginger - Oct 01, 2007 2:34:34 pm PDT #4102 of 28222
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
SANDWORMS OF DUNE, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson?!!
This is why I should never read bestseller lists. I need to put the new Kathy Reichs on hold at the library. I'll probably be about 200 down the list.
Susan W. - Oct 01, 2007 2:36:42 pm PDT #4103 of 28222
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights
I read across a variety of genres (even including litfic--I'm expanding my horizons, Hec!), but historical fiction and whatever you call the kind of fantasy you get from writers like Novik and Bujold and Jacqueline Carey and so on that feels like historical fiction are my home genres. Which makes it not that surprising that my muse fed me an alternate history plot bunny, I guess. Best of both worlds.
I'm just baffled by my coworker deciding to critique my taste, because I wouldn't do that. If a friend or coworker consistently reads books I dislike, I wouldn't go to them for book recommendations, but I don't get in their face and demand to know why they're reading such trash. (Though I do kinda want to give the guy who gets on my bus at the stop after mine every afternoon a novel or some fun nonfiction, because he's always reading these For Dummies software guides and the like, and I'm all, "Dude! Workday is OVER. It's time to unwind." But I don't, because it's not my business and I'm too busy with whatever I'm reading myself. And he's probably posting on a board somewhere about the weird woman on the bus who's been reading a book about Napoleonic military tactics for the past two weeks.)