While away with friends I’ve had some very interesting discussions about reading and what we read. The result? I realized just how narrow minded I have been and that there is a common thread in between why and what we read.
I read for escapism. So I love fantasy and books that make me reminisce my golden years, in other words, YA books. My other half reads for general knowledge, therefore he is into autobiographies, adventures based on real life stories or conspiracy/political novels. My cousin Barbara, loves well known established Brazilian writers and old classics. One of my friends, a romantic to the core, loves ‘Chick Lit’ and poems. Some of the boys are into conspiracy and murder mysteries or anything action packed. My friend Ruth is incredibly open minded about reading and will read anything her friends highly recommend. She reads to relax, ‘books = holidays’ kind of thing, as long as the story is good she will read it.
Talking to my friends changed my attitude towards genre. Originally, I narrow mindedly thought genre was connected to a reader's stereotype. My conversation proved there is a lot more to it. As a matter of fact stereotypes didn’t even come into it. Quite simply is a matter of taste and what you want to get out of a book at a particular time of your life. A little like food, over time your taste in books can also change and you might end up reading something you had no interest in reading before.
Interesting. Very interesting indeed. What about you? What are you into and, apart from loving books, why do you read?
Im like you girl i read to escape so i tend to read more fantasy, supernatural books. But since i have started blogging i have opened my eyes to more genres. I never would have know there were so many for example Steampunk i didnt know that was one until recently. I think i have been a bit narrow minded myself because i have been going through so much in my life i didnt want to read those books that are more closer to home. However now i see that i have been passing up on some good books, so now though i still love fantasy and will still read them im going to throw in a few others. We must think a like girl because i was thinking of this topic this week.
ReplyDeleteEscapism, definitely. I enjoy action-packed stories, but also well-written historicals, comedies, etc. I have tended to be a little narrow-minded in the past, though! I'm not much into pure romance unless it's got a smart, brave heroine and hero. And, the plot has to be interesting. I'm in a critique group with a couple of romance writers, as well as paranormal and thriller writers. They've helped me learn to appreciate good writing, no matter the genre. Here's to expanding our horizons in fiction!
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