Why do you read? (1 Viewer)

[jhakka]

With so many personalities in this forum and perspectives on reading, I'm interested to see why people read. What books do they like, and for what reasons?

I was in my English tute the other week and one girl said "I'm making a point to never read Dan Brown." I look in Honi Soit today (to read waf's letter that was never going to get published but then did) and there was a token "DAN BROWN IS TEH SUCK LOLOL!" comment in one of the articles. As far as I can tell, these people are bashing Brown because he's popular and (apparently) a bad writer.

I don't get it. I can understand disliking a book for poor writing, but hating it because it's popular is just beyond me. Why do people hate Brown or Rowling before reading them? I haven't read Brown simply because I'm not interested, but Rowling's books are entertaining and engaging and reach their target audience. I don't see why people automatically hate them just because they're popular.

Why are these people embarassed to be seen reading a book that everyone else likes? Does it make them feel inferior because they're reading what the idiotic masses like? I don't know.

I read to be entertained. When I get home from uni or work, I don't particularly want to do much hardcore thinking, so I pick up a novel (maybe a Rowling book, more often something in the more traditional style of fantasy) and read. It's not really an escape, but it's a passtime. It's enjoyable. It's fun. To me anyway.

Then there are people who want to read out of interest in something. Whether that be in astronomy or advanced linear functions or political theory, it's still the same thing.

Others seem to read to prove that they're better than everyone else. To enlarge their intellectual penis. Those who wouldn't be caught dead reading a popular book.

Can someone explain this last to me, please? I just don't get it.

Oh, and why do you read?

 

[walrusbear]

i'd say the 'anti-popular' resentment of dan brown has largely to do with over-exposure
it's more that it becomes over valued by society at large and frustrating that many other more interesting and superior works are overlooked

 

[goldendawn]

I read for 'recreation' - most often before I go to sleep at night, but I can only read books I find stimulating - books where you can really see the author has a sense of artistry and a love of writing. For me, reading has always been something to look forward to at the end of the day, a chance to shut off all the mental chatter and be taken by a story. I reckon it's good for the soul. There's so much formula-written trash out there, and I think that for some, avoiding popular books isn't so much about elitism as it is about simply disliking commercial writing.

 

[xeuyrawp]

i'd say the 'anti-popular' resentment of dan brown has largely to do with over-exposure
it's more that it becomes over valued by society at large and frustrating that many other more interesting and superior works are overlooked

Also remember that a lot of people like to play the intellectual snob and somehow imply that trash-fiction is not worth anyone's time.

That being said, I don't like Dan Brown, but I do love my trashy sci-fi novels. I read these for about 30 mins before going to bed. Since the beginning of this year, I find that reading Star Wars pulp fiction calms my mind and lets me get to sleep. I think it's due to me reading and studying the most difficult content at uni - immersing myself in predictable, shallow plot-lines winds my brain down. Not only that, I do love it.

In relation to 'commercial writing', I used to love all the terrible crim-fiction novels - PD James was awesome to study at school, and I'd call her rather populist. I think, with those novels, you know exactly what you're going to get. You're going to get a murder, and the figuring it out can be up to you, or it can be spoon-fed to you like a baby eating cereal.

During semester time, I don't read anything other than those novels before bed, and uni readings. I just don't have time, unfortunately.

During the holidays, I generally catch up on recommended literature, essays, non-fiction works about history or something else. I find that if I even read something more challenging once or twice a week during the holidays, I'm much more intellectually prepared for readings during semester. There's something about my brain that I just can't turn it on when I want to...

 

[goldendawn]

Yeah, I guess it comes down to what you really like in a book and in what context, and that could be different for everyone. I've been so starved for a book lately - I've got nothing interesting to read at home

 

[transcendent]

i read anything i'm interested in or passionate about. i rarely read books these days. usually magazines or articles of the internet. i love going through wikipedia looking up things.

i've been put off reading because of uni textbooks and stuff.

the last things i've read were The Da Vinci Code because everyone was getting it and i was curious as to why it was so interesting and at the time i was somewhat interested in best sellers, Half Blood Prince, and The Life Of Pi. i have a large collection of Star Wars books and that's about it. i read for enjoyment.

 

[Emma-Jayde]

I read for the entertainment.
Most of the stuff I read is sci-fi or fantasy (Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan, George Martin...) It's fun, I enjoy it, and it can also be an excellent way to fill in 10 minutes here and there, or a couple of hours when you don't want to be around real people.
Occasionally, I'll pick up a book on music, or an interesting looking physics or chemistry text, but most of the time I won't finish reading those.

Personally, I didn't enjoy Dan Brown's novels. I read them because I was given them, but I found them entirely predictable, especially after reading one, and the writing style was just not to my taste.

And I'm always seeking out new things to read. Usually through the recommendations of other people.

 

[nwatts]

I read to be stimulated, provoked and entertained.

In response to why do people react against what's popular: it's part of the human condition. Stereotypes form around pieces of pop culture. People react against the source rather than the stereotype which eventuates. It happens all the time. Moreso in music trends than anything else.

 

[goldendawn]

I read to be stimulated, provoked and entertained.

In response to why do people react against what's popular: it's part of the human condition. Stereotypes form around pieces of pop culture. People react against the source rather than the stereotype which eventuates. It happens all the time. Moreso in music trends than anything else.

I think that some people simply don't want to feel like they've been duped by a craze. On the other hand, I think it is specious to assume that a book is bad or good simply because it's popular, just as it is specious to assume that a book is bad or good simply because it's obscure. The only way to find good books is to take chances, and to accept the risk of being dissapointed. I'm not a big fan of formula written stuff or 'trash novels' (though as Rob points out, just because it's trash doesn't mean it's worthless, unenjoyable or without merit). I know Justin likes to call me a 'book-snob', because I can be pretty selective about what I read. Whether it's good or bad, who knows? I only know that I simply can't enjoy alot of the stuff on the shelf.

 

[jhakka]

Just to clarify, I wasn't defending Brown or Rowling specifically, but just "popular" authors in general. They were just two recent examples that I could think of.

In defence of authors like Rowling, however, I would like to point out that no matter how overexposed they may be, they also appear to be responsible for a lot of younger kids reading. Just remembering news stories a few years ago, there were a lot of kids who would not read at all before the Harry Potter books became big. Though they might not be the best books out there, they are opening an entire world to what was previously a generation of non-readers, and this is surely nothing to be complained about.

I'd take a good book over TV any day of the week.


And yes, Marcus is a book snob, if only for the fact that he refuses to enjoy a book - no matter how terrible it is - as a bit of fun.

 

[goldendawn]

And yes, Marcus is a book snob, if only for the fact that he refuses to enjoy a book - no matter how terrible it is - as a bit of fun.

- the book has to be fun, first. Would you read something you don't enjoy?

 

[jhakka]

Bother me not with details, my friend.

 

[kami]

I read as a form of escapism; it is a way to erect a barrier against whatever is happening for a while and immerse myself in something else. Reading a book, for me, is a far better way of doing this than say watching a movie because I am engaging in my own personal way with the reality portrayed.

As far as people trashing Brown/Rowling/whatever without having read it, well its a vague form of the good old high vs. low culture. Whenever something is identified as low culture, you'll have people who will want to make it distinct from what they enjoy in order to separate and promote themselves as better than that. If you want an example, just look at what Howard is calling many texts in the current HSC syllabus - he's essentially using a similar argument.

 

[ameh]

I read for interesting writing styles, how the author handles the content with their language and overall aesthetic enjoyment. It'd be unlikely for me to read a book if there wasn't any potential knowledge/fresh insight to be gained.

Having said that, I'm awfully selective with any texts I do pick up, although Dan Brown did manage to slip through my fingers last year...

 

[goldendawn]

I read for interesting writing styles, how the author handles the content with their language and overall aesthetic enjoyment...
...Having said that, I'm awfully selective with any texts I do pick up(

I'm not alone .

 

[absolution*]

Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind, all of which lie to some degree within the realm of literary acquisition.

 

[Iron]

Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind, all of which lie to some degree within the realm of literary acquisition.

My my, how succinct.
Other than new, challenging ideas, I think reading makes you a better writer/general communicator. It keeps the words coming, makes you less sloppy in expression etc

 

[transcendent]

I thoroughly enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, though I haven't picked up any of his other books, I got Da Vinci Code and after reading that my little sister went out and bought Angels and Demons but I haven't touched that, I was so intrigued I read it as fast as I could.

Does not reading many books make you a book-snob? I only read things that have been recommended to me, and even though I was given a huge list of fantasy books to choose from I started a David Eddings book and didn't get past the first chapter. Does that make me a snob? Cause it wasn't interesting. However another friend recommended the works of Terry Goodkind and the Sword Of Truth series and THAT was interesting and I went through five of his books in a few weeks, putting them on hold at the local library. I've tried Tolkien but it's too detailed. I had to read PD James for English Extension I but dropped it cause I couldn't finish the book. Is that book snobbery? I think it has to do with interest. If you aren't interested in something why bother forcing yourself to listen, read or understand it?

 

[Iron]

If you aren't interested in something why bother forcing yourself to listen, read or understand it?

Expand your mind, satan

 

[transcendent]

by reading novels?

i'm more interested in learning practical things and i regularly do so looking up things on the internet. other than that i prefer philosophical texts. i remember trying to read a Charles Dickens book and returned it to the library the next day. you can expand your mind in different ways, i prefer a broad or general understanding of just about anything, getting too deep into something isn't something i'm particularly interested in unless i'm passionate about it and it's nothing to be ashamed of.