Why read novels?
Mar. 6th, 2008 10:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stinglikeabeeWoo! A Flash Fiction contest recently posted at nanoljers. Worth $10 for the winning entry. The rules state said entry has to be up to 1000 words and pertaining to the theme of 'coming of age'. Deadline is 24 March 2008. Sounds like a great incentive to get started. I had spent 30 minutes yesterday plotting something new, but that was a failure once I read the latest issue of Nightwing. *sigh* That's what I get for putting off readings comics on Wednesdays >___<
Speaking of comics, I've been spending entirely too much time immersed in them. Yesterday someone asked me what's the last novel I read and I was embarrassed to admit I couldn't remember. The last book I read was the tpb of Batman & the Red Hood arc, but does that count? I guess not. So looking around at my bookshelf and the disorganised room, I have to say I don't read novels at all. This is probably the result of my time at the boarding school, where our library carried dusty old Tom Clancy/Stephen King paperbacks and the soft smut books of Sidney Sheldon.
Hey, funny anecdote time. When I volunteered at a Catholic Church-supported cancer hospital, they had a bunch of Sheldon paperbooks in their library. And I noticed quite of a few of the names in the 'borrower' column were the same as the nuns I had met. Hmmm...
nanoljers. Worth $10 for the winning entry. The rules state said entry has to be up to 1000 words and pertaining to the theme of 'coming of age'. Deadline is 24 March 2008. Sounds like a great incentive to get started. I had spent 30 minutes yesterday plotting something new, but that was a failure once I read the latest issue of Nightwing. *sigh* That's what I get for putting off readings comics on Wednesdays >___<Speaking of comics, I've been spending entirely too much time immersed in them. Yesterday someone asked me what's the last novel I read and I was embarrassed to admit I couldn't remember. The last book I read was the tpb of Batman & the Red Hood arc, but does that count? I guess not. So looking around at my bookshelf and the disorganised room, I have to say I don't read novels at all. This is probably the result of my time at the boarding school, where our library carried dusty old Tom Clancy/Stephen King paperbacks and the soft smut books of Sidney Sheldon.
Hey, funny anecdote time. When I volunteered at a Catholic Church-supported cancer hospital, they had a bunch of Sheldon paperbooks in their library. And I noticed quite of a few of the names in the 'borrower' column were the same as the nuns I had met. Hmmm...
So back the our crappy school library. After a while, you get sick of re-reading the same old romance novel or Agatha Christie whodunnit. What a waste of time it was to read a novel that may have a stupid ending, or not an ending at all, or worse be written by Thomas Hardy. God Hardy was emo. What was much more rewarding was reading non-fiction books. I especially enjoyed reading my textbooks from cover to cover. For instance, my history textbook (published late 1970s) was hilariously anti-Communist and biased towards Thatcher. The class would often use it as a 'primary source' to justify gameplay in Risk.
A: Comrade, attack the capitalist pig army!
B: --the hell?
A: You are from Finland. We are Soviet Russia. You shall sign our treaty.
B: Finland isn't part of the Soviet Union.
A: (lifts textbook menacingly) Don't make us annex you again, Comrade.
B: (cowers)
I do notice that I have a William Gibson novel and several anonymous chicklit ones in the cardboard box beside the bed. All more than 5 years old. That's how out of it I am. It just doesn't seem necessary to read new fiction nowadays. With the slop that's been out recently, nothing's just not captivating my interest. Think of back when novelizations have been utilised for: a) social awareness (see Upton Sinclair), b) observation of social mores (see Jane Austen), c) pure mindless entertainment (see anything with a Fabio-esque cover) etc.
A) Social Awareness
Great thing about the Internet is the ability to connect with others all over the globe who share your concerns and ideals. If your thing is animal rights, there's tons of sites for that. Angry about horrible customer service at a certain store, there's a forum for that. And instead of relying on old media to print the investigative report, there are bloggers who do the exact same thing sometimes faster and for free. But does this have the same impact as reading say Fast Food Nation? Besides, in terms of non-fiction the trend hasn't recently been for awareness.
B) Societal Observation
Wasn't there a non-fiction book published a couple of years ago on how young girls now are much more vicious than of previous years? This sort of speculation, relying on mostly anecdotal evidence, is interesting to read and is probably something I'd rather read online on MSN. Not spend my money on. And if it's a fictionalised account meant to describe its readers ala Bridget Jones and her legion of Singletons, I'd be less likely to acquire it. And chicklit so doesn't count.
C) Mindless entertainment
You mean fanfiction? Internet wins.
Unless there's a new novel out there that combines my interest in noir smutty slashy socially aware detective stories, I'm going to remain sceptical. Meanwhile comics can satisfy two or more of the categories in a go and has pretty pictures, yay!
A: Comrade, attack the capitalist pig army!
B: --the hell?
A: You are from Finland. We are Soviet Russia. You shall sign our treaty.
B: Finland isn't part of the Soviet Union.
A: (lifts textbook menacingly) Don't make us annex you again, Comrade.
B: (cowers)
I do notice that I have a William Gibson novel and several anonymous chicklit ones in the cardboard box beside the bed. All more than 5 years old. That's how out of it I am. It just doesn't seem necessary to read new fiction nowadays. With the slop that's been out recently, nothing's just not captivating my interest. Think of back when novelizations have been utilised for: a) social awareness (see Upton Sinclair), b) observation of social mores (see Jane Austen), c) pure mindless entertainment (see anything with a Fabio-esque cover) etc.
A) Social Awareness
Great thing about the Internet is the ability to connect with others all over the globe who share your concerns and ideals. If your thing is animal rights, there's tons of sites for that. Angry about horrible customer service at a certain store, there's a forum for that. And instead of relying on old media to print the investigative report, there are bloggers who do the exact same thing sometimes faster and for free. But does this have the same impact as reading say Fast Food Nation? Besides, in terms of non-fiction the trend hasn't recently been for awareness.
B) Societal Observation
Wasn't there a non-fiction book published a couple of years ago on how young girls now are much more vicious than of previous years? This sort of speculation, relying on mostly anecdotal evidence, is interesting to read and is probably something I'd rather read online on MSN. Not spend my money on. And if it's a fictionalised account meant to describe its readers ala Bridget Jones and her legion of Singletons, I'd be less likely to acquire it. And chicklit so doesn't count.
C) Mindless entertainment
You mean fanfiction? Internet wins.
Unless there's a new novel out there that combines my interest in noir smutty slashy socially aware detective stories, I'm going to remain sceptical. Meanwhile comics can satisfy two or more of the categories in a go and has pretty pictures, yay!
