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http://dghudson-rainwriting.blogspot.com/
in her comment on my last post wrote:
"It also seems that many 'creative' writers are writing whatever is selling, and to many, that is YA or NA. What happened to just 'Adult' writing?
Or are there no adult readers left? There seems to be fewer and fewer books that make you think."
Now, the books I like to read are the ones that make me pause off and on,
reflecting on what it means to be human in a world that no longer seems to care about humanity.
(A mindset reflected in the mass shooting of 50 human beings in Orlando --
Our games are of killing; our movies of death. We cannot see the worth of those around us for the blood in our eyes.)
Now, the Longmire mysteries, Spenser P.I. cases, Harry Dresden magical mayhems, and Neil Gaiman fantasies ...
all are what you might flippantly call genre ...
But they all make you think.
Neil says Genre is like Pornography films.
What is important are the sex scenes in those films.
The scenes leading up to and away from there are merely fillers.
In genre books, the Westerns must have shoot-outs;
the action thrillers must have deadly fight scenes;
the zombie tales must have the undead chomping on the living,
and the bodice rippers must have steamy sex scenes.
The other scenes are only important in that they lead up to those genre scenes and lead to others.
But in a real novel, each scene is like a link in a bicycle chain
in that each scene is pivotal to the flow of the whole book.
{I mean did it really take THREE entire books to tell the saga of a kinky sexual relationship?}
Have you ever felt that reading a good book
makes you better able to connect with your fellow human beings?
If so, the results of a new scientific study back you up,
but only if your reading material is literary fiction – pulp fiction or non-fiction will not do.
I work to have substance in all of my books though they could be seen as genre by a casual reader.
Sam McCord, Victor Standish, Wolf Howl, even Hibbs, the cub with no clue,
strain to find meaning in their lives and in the world around them.
I like cotton candy. I like popcorn.
But a steady diet of either would make me sick and long for something substantial to sink my teeth into.
I feel the same way about books.
What do you think?
I'm with you, Roland. I like cotton candy and popcorn too, but they're just snacks. I NEED more intelligent books on a steady diet. Same thing with movies, which is why my favorite movie last year was Bridge of Spies--not only was it superbly crafted, it was a grown-up movie for intelligent grown-ups. Not enough of those these day. And on TV I loved The Night Manager; with the novelist John le Carre behind the story, you know it would be about real, complicated, and fault-filled human beings.
ReplyDeleteBridge of Spies was an excellent movie that made you think. The Night Manager felt real with flawed people trying to find closure in a dangerous world. Great entertainment both of them.
DeleteYou know my answer, Roland, I like literary and genre books that make me wonder and think about history, humans and their social behaviour, and the unknowns of space beyond our world. Books that tell of our past as an alternate history also make us wonder if the textbooks are as truthful as we were told they were. . .only the writer of those textbooks and reference book knows.
ReplyDeleteSo sad about the shooting of so many in Orlando. . .
The winners write the histories. In doing my research on my novels, I have found so many crimes covered up by politicians and business moguls that I know we do not know what is truly going on in today's world or who the true criminals really are. Rather depressing. :-(
DeleteThat is why I try to incorporate humor into all my novels. If we are on the Titanic, we might as well tell a joke or two!
I like books which cross genres. I like (insist) that the characters have flaws. And books which I have to stop, to think, to go back and reread. To learn. To grow.
ReplyDeleteI also read the quick reads, but they aren't the books which stay in my head and heart.
Like you, I need to have the characters feel real to enjoy the books I read. A sense of family and of humor will make me re-read a book over and over like visiting old friends. :-)
DeleteI like to read a variety of books. Any story that is stimulating, words that draw me in and strong characters are worth reading. What I do despise is literary snobbery - I think all types of books have value. Great post, Roland.
ReplyDeleteI detest literary snobbery like the time when Stephen King won the National Book Foundation award and the outrage from Harold Bloom, a noted scholar, who sniffed that the low-brow masses were only interested in entertainment not literature.
DeleteShakespeare wrote for the masses who worked hard for the coins they spent to divert their minds from the drudgery of their daily lives.
My requirements for books are much like yours. Thanks so much for the comment.
I love variety in all things! Life is tough day to day and a great escape is usually what it's all about, and it that includes learning something new at the same time. I'm all for it. Biographies can be entertaining and educational, and eye opening!
ReplyDeleteYes, what are considered literary classics by Shakespeare were written for the "common" man.
DeleteI go through phases: mysteries, fantasies, sci fi, then into non-fiction (but they must illuminate not preach! and hopefully still have humor!) :-)
I'm all about variety. From Buddhism to scifi, middle grade to adult. Right now I'm reading Christine Alberta's Father by H.G. Wells, a title I was/am totally unfamiliar with. The author explores the personalities of the characters with delightful humor. Published in 1925 Wells also touches on the MC's vague discomfort with sign of the swastika as well as describing a group of bohemian artists who could easily have been hippies from the '60s. Diversity is the best!
ReplyDeleteI was totally unaware as well of Christine Alberta's Father by H.G. Wells. I will have to see if Amazon has a Kindle edition of it. It sounds fascinating.
DeleteMany people are unaware he lived until August 1946 and was a prolific English writer in many genres, including the novel, history, politics, and social commentary, and textbooks and rules for war games.
And I, too, am wide in my range of reading subjects: from collections of the letters of famous authors to biographies of politicians I only thought I knew to poetry to all manner of fiction.
Great of you to drop by and chat with me. :-)
I agree with you about so-called genre books that make you think. The Longmire books are definitely like that. My favorite are James Lee Burke's Dave Robichioux stories. Boy, you can't blow through one of those without stopping several times to think about them.
ReplyDelete@Kathleen01930 Blog
Now, you have me interested in the James Lee Burke's Dave Robichioux stories. See? Thanks to you and Bish I now have two new fiction interests!
DeleteThank you for being my friend. :-)
I don't read genre books as much as I used to, but I don't have any hard and fast rules. Sometimes I want simple escapism and sometimes I want to be stretched. I've just 'discovered' the Irish author Kevin Barry and his writing is both hard hitting and lyrical in the way that Irish writers seem to be so gifted at.
ReplyDeleteSusan at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
Another new author to check out: thanks. :-) T he Irish author Kevin Barry in now on my list as well. Hard hitting yet lyrical. Sounds like my kind of writer.
DeleteI would have to agree. Some of my favorite authors include Barbara Kingsolver (The Poisonwood Bible and The Lacuna), Ann Pachett (Bel Canto, State of Wonder), and Jhumpa Lahiri (The Namesake, Unaccustomed Earth). I do write genre fiction but I love stuffing symbolism or themes in my work.
ReplyDeleteAs a former English teacher, I, too, like to put symbolism and themes in my novels for any who are of a mind to look for them beyond the exciting tale I am spinning. :-)
DeleteWell, whatever genre scenes I needed to include to make my books science fiction, I'm guessing I forgot to include those.
ReplyDeleteI think even genre fiction can teach us how to deal with others and the world. The good stories take real life situations and put them in a place where we can understand and deal with them.
Exactly. To Neil Gaiman, you can have a good novel which happens to be in the Old West, Outer Space, an alternate version of the world we know, a town where murder is rampant -- but it will not be a genre novel -- only one with a setting that is shared by some genre novels but with a story that reveals a facet of what it means to be human. :-)
DeleteI'm an eclectic reader, even delving into YA, NA and romance upon occasion. As DG says, I miss the days of adult fiction, and I tire easily of non-fiction works.
ReplyDeleteReading, for me, opens my mind to the wonders of the world, even a future world. So many possibilities.
Good to see you here, Donna. Like you, I am an eclectic reader. Where are the new novels of adult fiction?
DeleteI love to wander the realms of real and fantasy books open up for me. Indeed, there are so many possibilities. :-)
Nothing wrong with genre novels. Genre novels sell. And any novel can make you think if it's written well enough.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to have a diet of more than one genre, of course.
Neil was making a point that good novels may tell a story in a genre setting, but it has transcended genre to become literature.
DeleteAnd one note literary diets, as you say, get old eventually! :-)