What gets you reading now?
January 19 2010 — JA
Here’s what I’ve noticed about my reading habits over the years. Back in the day (and I’m talking teens here), I was never without a book – I’d jump from one paperback to the next and would go into a blind panic if I didn’t have something to read, preferably new, even for a day or two. I was also much more willing to give things a go and, even if I didn’t like it all that much, I’d usually be compelled to read to the end.
Over the last five years or so though, things have gone downhill. For one, I’m getting much more picky about what I read. If a book doesn’t grab me within the first few chapters, I’ll happily leave it to disintegrate on my top shelf for time immemorial. As a result, I’m left for weeks if not months without a new book, aimlessly going back over old favourites until another likely candidate pops up. And that takes its time too. Luckily, I’m currently onto Alex Garland’s The Beach which is threatening to make me miss my train connections, it’s that good.
The question of what makes a great read is, of course, highly subjective and probably unanswerable, but still I’m curious about what keeps us reading. This was something that came up at my writer’s group the other day, with the very talented Pierz Newton-John and Jon Bauer. Among the topics bandied about was the argument that the ‘patient reader’, who is willing to give more ponderous, classical prose a go, is becoming increasingly rare. While I love Wuthering Heights and Hemingway, the classics have never really managed to grab me. They’re in the ‘should read’ rather than ‘want to read’ pile. I only ever got halfway through Lolita, not because I disliked it but simply because I put it down and never picked it back up.
I don’t mean to suggest that no one reads the classics anymore, for clearly they do, and will continue to. But I do wonder how our tastes are changing and whether there’s an idea that books need to concentrate far more heavily on pace than they ever did. Are we less tolerant to books that don’t crack the whip and, if so, what does that mean for publishers and new titles that they decide to take on?
HTML Giant and Brian Spears over at Incertus have also put out another question on the flipside, asking readers when they last read a book that they really didn’t want to read and whether they managed to finish it. The responses are worth a gander.
Image via moriza
Comments
That's an interesting question. I'll admit that when I read a book, I want to be entertained on some level - whether that's being amused by satire or comic prose, being sucked into the relationships or the plot, being struck by new ideas beautifully communicated, being informed and/or looking at something in a different way, or simply seduced by the language. (Though I do like a mix of the above.)
I think we've probably always been that way as a reading culture, though.
In terms of sheer pace, you could be right. I think there's more of a demand for storytelling and less tolerance for books that rely on the reader patiently waiting for a story to unfold, trusting that the author is taking them somewhere worthwhile. (Though once again, maybe that's always been the case to some extent.)
Maybe the change in your reading habits is partly a reflection of getting older - as a student, with more time on your hands, you rationed your time less and the notion of 'wasting' it on a book that you didn't ultimately like wasn't such a big deal? Or your reading tastes are more refined and you have a much clearer sense of what you do and don't like, and thus recognise earlier when a book isn't going to work for you? (Pure speculation on my part.)
I suspect that your age has an affect on whether you are still reading all the time. I have been reading for many years and am still like you as a teenager - need to always have a book on the go. Still that book can be fiction or non fiction. Also I tend to have favourite authors whose new books I will generally get. Sometimes though I will choose not to get their new book based on reviews or the topic it is about. However I am more fussy about what I will read, although I will try to finish a book that is slow, to gain insight from it. Reading is a great educational pastime
I think the main thing that stops me from reading like I did back in high school (in a manner very similar to yours) is something like Ariel's reasoning. I call it the should factor. If I have the time to read a book, chances are pretty good there is something else I should be doing. I should be collecting some more data, I should be doing chores around the house. I should be making sure my car won't conk out on the way to work tomorrow. It's transformed the act of reading from an epic broadening of horizons to a guilty pleasure. Unfortunately, as far as I can see, such is life.
As for which books I read, I think I'm mostly informed by my previous reading. Like Ceal, I have a subset of authors whose new releases I will buy (usually) without question. Recommendations also play a big part, though whether I take them up is highly dependant on a) if I actually like the person's taste in books, and b) if they are willing to give me their copy. Lately I've also been getting into the classics (both modern and, er, classic?) because they are more often than not justified as being so.
I've found my reading habits have changed totally from when I was young. These days I tend to read a) because I'm researching something. b) because i feel like a pacy plot for relaxation - sci fi and thrillers or c) writing that seriously challenges me. It's the more middlebrow writing that is falling a way.
Yes definitely - I agree that being time poor these days makes me more picky. Also, the more I learn about the techniques behind writing, the less its obvious use impresses me, presumably because I feel like I can see through the artifice.
I guess these things have always been around in one sense or another, but I do feel it’s more accentuated these days. Labels of genre and literary fiction are largely unhelpful at the best of times, but I’m going to use them here to make a point – at my writers’ group the idea was also floated that emphasis on pace means that books will move up along the spectrum. Therefore a book that might have been perceived as more ‘genre’ in style a while ago might now be said to be ‘literary’ as stories speed up. Just a thought.
After reading what is new on the shelf, this year I'm going back to reading more of the Classics. Classics so it is called is timeless. Some of my favourite books for the year have been classics, although I only read a handful of it. "The Quiet American" reads like a recent war, 1984 Big-Brotherish culture is far from being ancient, more so in the current digital age. "The Great Gatsby" - 20's pursuit of wealth and reinventing himself only to succumb to decadence is an everyday story today. "Catcher in the Rye" - 50's still echos the voice of dissenting youth of today.
I definitely recommend the classics, it's time-less.
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