Reading
 

I know a lot of people here read a lot, but I'm wondering how common a practice it is today.

When I was in high school there were no dvd players, no personal computers, no internet, not even VCrs.

Besides listening to music, getting stoned and going to midnight movies and live concerts, one of the main activities my crowd was into was reading. There was a whole library of literature that everyone was expected to read, and we traded books frequently. Our list of shared literature included:

Vonnegut
Tom Robbins
Tolkein
Harlan Ellison
Robert Heinlein (Stranger in a Strange Land)
Anthony Burgess
Steal This Book
Alan Watts
Richard Brautigan
Ray Bradbury
The Whole Earth Catalog
Underground Comics
Ken Kesey

When we got together after school to hang out, conversations frequently could have been mistaken for book discussion groups.

I have a feeling that with the internet, DVDs, video games and such, shared literary experience is not so common. Would anyone like to comment on this, or share your experience of sharing literature as you grew up- or were my friends and I a bunch of nerdy freaks?

I've been a reader since I was a kid, I love it, my mother insisted. ;) She loves books, and even managed a bookstore for years. But honestly, besides her, and one other friend of mine, I know very few people that read on a regular basis. I was considered a nerd (okay, probably still am...ha) and even now, its rare (except on forums like this one) that I actually meet anyone that enjoys reading as much as I do.

And the people that I meet that do read as much as I do, definitely do not read what I do, so its also rare for me to have a conversation about the books I read. Though I do read a bit of everything, tend to stick mostly with mysteries, both the more graphic mysteries and cozies, and horror, but I love the classics, hell I'm still the only person I know (again, outside of forums) that reads Shakespeare....for FUN. I read nonfiction, history mostly, but also some true crime. Fantasy. Like I said, everything. But it wasn't ever really something I shared with my peers.

So it wasn't common where I was from when I was growing up. Most kids seemed to feel that reading was something you just HAD to do to pass a class, and that it couldn't be enjoyable. I certainly always thought they were the ones that had it all wrong, but they seemed to be convinced I was.

Thanks for the reply Jenna. I imagine that's going to be the most common experience.

One hour, seventeen minutes:)


HAHAHAAA









dammit, I should have put some money down:mad:



























Now, what's this thread all about....:p

Probably so, unfortunately. My dad (who doesn't read much anymore for fun, because now he's stuck reading boring manuals and the like all day) has told me that it was the same way for him that it was for you and your friends, that there were certain books that you were just expected to read in his circle of friends. Many of those he recommended to me. And that is how I was introduced to two of my favorite books of all time: Catch-22 and A Clockwork Orange.

I would have loved that. I may have actually fit in somewhere then during school...haha....:o

I've always loved to read but I know I'm in the minority. I can't discuss books with any of my friends because they don't read anything except web pages. Fewer and fewer people have the patience, discipline, and imagination to read anymore. Also, with sites like sparknotes most kids can get away without even doing the assigned reading, because god knows hardly any of them read for leisure anymore. I think it's really sad...and as a result I think there's a serious lack of writing and grammatical skills which make us seem like a country of retards.

Books played a HUGE part in my life.
My mom read to me from the womb, I got older,I started reading and never stopped.

I remember reading Dune and how sad I was when the series ended.
It was like leaving someone I cared deeply about.
I recommended it to all my friends, A few actually took to it and many late coffee nights began exploring what was meant by this or that.
I have nothing but wonderful memories of that time.


I have been in ALL the groups growing up and every one of them had book discussions...some more than others.

That's cool Novakru. The Dune series is really great.

Noire- that's pretty much what I expected. I don't read much myself anymore- I don't have that much time. I recently read Doc Faustus' book though and had a great time. I should make myself read more.

I'm the type that loves to read...but usually finds something else to do. For some reason I rarely can bring myself to just sit down and read a book, even though I always enjoy it when I do.

That's one of my personal resolutions, actually...to become a more avid reader.

NE, the only author I read in high school was Ray Bradbury (Something Wicked This Way Comes). My class and I read Shakespeare a lot. I especially liked Macbeth.

I still want to read Lord of the Flies and watch the movie.

I have around 20 books here that I need to read. I've always loved reading. I have to admit that when I was in school, I hated reading about politicians, and doing book reports and research papers on them. I still hate politics.

I go through spells or "binges" with everything. Before I started getting into the internet of late, I was reading a lot for months. I bought books any time the library didn't have something I wanted because to get an interlibrary loan, I still had to pay 2 to 3 dollars for postage and sometimes the books were not in good shape. All I could get with those loans were hardbacks (too heavy after a while) and I prefer fresh, clean paperbacks.

I can't stand to get a book that smells like dust, mold or mildew, smoke, or perfume. It's one of my bigger pet peeves, but that's another story. I mostly read suspense and some of the books I read are twisted.

Disease or Phalanx suggested Crash by J.G. Ballard, and I got a loan from the library for it. I wanted to read it before seeing the movie. Same with The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum.

It's actually strange because I can read about violence, but I have a hard time seeing such things as rape and animal cruelty in a movie. I know it's not real but I still get upset.

My mom and I trade books. She decided she liked James Patterson and I had already read many of his books. I had already started reading Michael Connelly and I gave her some books of mine. Now she likes him. Non of my other friends read much. My son bought a book about Anthony Kiedis of The Red Hot Chili Peppers and never read it. He reads anime novels.

If you've got any good suggestions, that would be great. I might read A Clockwork Orange. I'm getting interested in horror.

What is Doc's book about? I'd like to know more about what genre(s) he writes. I can ask him if you don't have time to answer my question.

I'm glad you posted this thread because I run out of patience when I go through the What book are you reading now? thread. There aren't too many descriptions on any of them.

I've read some of Dean Koontz's books and the same with Stephen King. I like books about cops and murder, mostly serial killers.

Sorry to turn my post into a book. :)

I used to enjoy reading a lot more when I was younger but I still flip through a book when I have time. I've had a few friends who I've shared books with throughout the years (in fact, the most at one time is probably now as I have four people I read the same books as or trade books, I wonder when I'll get American Psycho back...). When I was younger, if I was with three or more people, it was much more common to go play some basketball, football, or baseball than it was to read.

Unfortunately I only have a couple of friends who read as a hobby. Most of the people at my high school do nothing but play video games, watch mediocre movies, and are, unfortunately illiterate.

It all starts with the parents
You see your folks reading from the time you were a shortie, you get curious as to why.
I think it adds to the experience if parents read them books as well

My oldest has to be dragged out of bed around noon on Saturdays cause she's so into whatever book of the moment.

My 8 year old, she'll read when her nintendo needs charging, but she'll read the ENTIRE book.:)

My son is 2 and already has a great respect for books.
He doesn't even chew them anymore.

I don't remember my parents reading to me, though we always had books around, including something you'll never see in a house any more- a full set of encyclopedias- and a huge Funk & Wagnal's dictionary. I used to pour over them incesantly.

I bought my son some encyclopedias at a yard sale for $40. They were printed 40 years ago, but still very informative. I remember enjoying ours when I was in school. I used them for research assignments many times. My son never used the ones I bought so I just gave them to Goodwill.

I really need to read more. I read so much when I was in middle school and high school...

I would go out of my way to read (though come middle school I would weigh it with computer games from Sierra and Lucas Arts, among others) and blow off my friends to do so.

The authors and works stick out in my mind as making impressions on me at the time...

• Poe (My dad used to read him to me when I was younger... I memorized "The Raven" in second grade but my teacher wouldn't let me recite it)... "Annabel Lee" and "A Dream Within A Dream" were my two absolute favorite poems. I also remember vividly him reading "The Cask of Amontillado" to me
• Ray Bradbury (The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, October Country)
• Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse Five, Welcome to the Monkey House)
• Anthony Burgess (Clockwork Orange)
• Art Spiegelman (Maus, Maus II)
• David Sedaris (Barrel Fever, Naked)
• Shakespeare (at the time Hamlet and Othello were personal favorites of mine)

Come college I was an English major... Discussing the works of these authors changed their meaning for me and made me respect them on a whole other level:

Poe (It was great to return to Poe in my college life and analyze the literary works that I had embraced in my childhood)

• "The Black Cat"
• "The Fall of the House of Usher"
• "The Pit and the Pendulum"
• "William Wilson"

Shakespeare

• As You Like It
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Henry IV Part I

Faulkner (his short stories were especially compelling)

• The Sounds and the Fury <-- (personal favorite of mine)
• Light in August
• "A Rose for Emily"
• "Red Leaves"

Favorite Poets

• Blake (Songs of Innocence and Experience)
• Coleridge ("Dejection: An Ode")
• Wordsworth ("Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood")
• John Keats ("Nightingale")
• Lord Byron ("When We Two Parted")
• Robert Herrick <-- A VERY cunning linguist ("Delight in Disorder," "Upon Julia's Clothes," "The Bracelet to Julia")
• T. S. Eliot ("The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock")

I also read a lot of Camus and Sartre.

...

Post-college I didn't read nearly enough as I had expected to. Some of the best books I've read after college (that would be after 2004) include:

• Nabokov's Lolita
• Irving's World According to Garp <-- (life-changing novel; I recommend it)
• Atwood's Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake (for scifi literary fans, I HIGHLY recommend this book)
• Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis I and Persepolis II
• Steven Hall's The Raw Shark Texts
• Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore

I've also gone through all of the Harry Potter books and most of The Series of Unfortunate Events books.

I'd like to say that in my adult life I devote more time to reading. Unfortunately I just don't have the attention span for it most of the time (and I'm a slow reader who takes in every individual word that it's frustrating sometimes how long it takes to finish a book). I do most of my reading now the 15 minutes before I crash at night. With the stress of work, I pretty much crash with the television when I get home... Or the damn XBox360... I SWEAR I'm losing brain cells with every passing day...

I am such a big reader. I started reading at a young age and was reading adult novels in elementary school, though I still read the young adult books too. Stephen King was my favorite author from 5th grade well into middle school.

I also go through books really quickly as I can read rather fast, especially if it's good. I also read every day. When I'm at work I spend my lunch hour reading and before bed. I will also read while eating breakfast if I'm on an a real page turner.

I'm a very creative person and when I read, the book just really comes alive for me. I love movies, but books fufill a different kind of entertainment. I also love that they are portable and you just take them anywhere, especially if you're stuck waiting, like at a doctor's office or mechanic.

I've read classics and horror novels, and some action, thriller, and suspense books. Though, probably for the past year or so I've been reading romance novels. Yes, they are trashy, but I just find them so entertaining. :p I enjoy the subgenre of paranormal romance, which is vampire, werewolves, witches and the like.

I also read so much, that's it's just too expensive to buy all my books (though if I've been waiting for one to come out I'll just pick it up from Barnes & Noble), that I go to the library every month. I probably get out about 20 books and read most of them. Some I start but skip over because they don't really catch my attention. My husband thinks I'm crazy because I go to the library with a tote back. :p I also read manga as well from the library because they're expensive.


@Neverending
We had a Funk & Wagnall's Encyclopedia! I would thumb through it as a kid when I was bored. :D


@Chrono
I enjoyed Atwood's "A Handmaid's Tale". I couldn't get into "The Blind Assassin". What's "Oryx & Crake" like?

I also enjoyed parts of "Lolita" and the plot as a whole, but the prose didn't flow that well for me and I found it rather boring. I think I read this off and on for a year or two before I finally got through it. I just enjoyed the movie so much that I felt I had to read the book (and it's a classic). :o

I also read all the Harry Potter books and rather enjoyed them.

I also read the Twilight books, except for the last one. I really enjoyed them, though I've been holding off on the last one because of the bad reviews.

Chrono- check out William Butler Yeats' poetry some time!

i think people either read nothing (other than news or the odd magazine) or they are rabid.

there simply isnt anything in between.

i've read like a demon all my life .. it's as much as an addiction as any substance abuse. and its that way for almost anyone who will bother to sit through an entire novel.

i've never met a casual reader.

but there arent many of them .. i doubt more than 1 in 20 people read after getting out of school. probably far less.

This is a problem we run up against all the time in the small press world, people don't read, and when they do read, they settle for what's on the shelves at bookstore. If we don't like our local videostore, we join Netflix. That's smart. If you don't like what's on the shelves of your local bookstore, do not compromise. There's a world of smaller presses doing more interesting stuff. At the convention last week I met the author of a book about a man who fell in love with his house, the author of a book about apocalyptic acid rock, the author of a book about a tour group of zealots hunting flying sharks in the Garden of Eden, an author who was at Clarion under Harlan Ellison in the 70s and wrote a book of stories that take American magical realism to a new level, the author of a book about a man who survives the apocalypse by wearing a cockroach suit. Weird, perhaps a bit zany, but possibilities are examined, limits are tested and reality is bent to the breaking point. Our imaginations do not have to settle. Why don't people read? Because what's on the shelves isn't distinctive enough that they feel it speaks for them. What can be done about it? Do your research and legwork. Read the reviews in Cemetery Dance, check out small presses and unique authors. Reading can be fun if we remember the age of being told what we like is over.

That's a very underground writer kind of statement- no offense intended.

I think good lit can be found in your everyday chain bookstore. People don't read anymore because it's just not fashionable. This is an age of moving image with sound- preferably fast & loud. I think the average person these days finds reading a book a bit, well- boring.

Not to mention the obvious link to being read to as a child being a great influence. I'm willing to bet in these fast times not many people do that any more.

It very much is, but it's not an uninformed statement. Yes, good literature does reach the shelves, but that which doesn't reach the shelves and ends up discarded is often bolder and more interesting than that which does. Much of what hits the shelves comes from agented writers and, for the most part, literary agents are only interested in the bottom line. Most of the best films in the horror genre were independently produced and now the same thing is happening much more often with books. The only thing is, an independent film has an ingrained audience, while a small press book has to take greater risks and do more self-promotion to a wide audience of non readers. There aren't people who don't watch movies. Small presses also have the early books by authors that end up peppering the shelves with third, fourth...hell, seventh novels. A lot of horror writers do things for Dybbuk, Bloodletting or Delirium before they get on the Leisure horror thing, and Leisure horror is a very mixed bag, often representing inferior more commercial works from smaller press authors. I would recommend people do research before thinking that some author's book from Leisure is the best thing of theirs they can get. It's usually the contrary. Leisure doesn't want to blur genre, take risks or offend anybody, which are huge components of good horror instead of vanilla crap. Look an author up and see where his early work came from and check it out. Also, check out work somebody does with a smaller press after they're a decent sized name. Did all of the best performances in rock come out of the Albert Hall? I think not. If you want really good horror or something unusual to read, slum it.

Any comments on the original question of this thread? Did you share reading experiences with your peers growing up. and if so, what were they?

This wasn't intended as a disection of the horror novel today.

And there are people who don't watch movies- incredible as that may sound. In my work I get told frequently "oh I don't watch movies." Now certainly most are saying that just so I'll go away, but there are people who think movies today are just filthy, immoral crap- and some who just don't like movies today- and it's not as rare as you would think. I've had normal seeming parents tell me they won't watch Disney any more because they're just too inappropriate for their kids.

in my case - the people i know who dont watch movies - it has nothing to do with morality - it has to do with moronity...

they'll watch nascar, hockey games and lowest common denominator TV sit-coms ... but sit through an entire movie ? shit no !

well ... maybe the Dukes of Hazard remake .. cause that were a durn good picture.

I grew up in a neighborhood of comic collectors and became one myself (and still am 45 years later) and there was comic talk going on all the time. Then a fellow comic freak introduced me to science fiction (and then horror and fantasy) and before I knew it I had two life-time hobbies: books and comics. Much of my time in school and now in adult life was and still is spent book hunting and talking about books. The internet hasn't really diminished the fire. (Though truth to tell, time I would normally spend reading is now spent posting. But I still do read.)

I read a lot through my formative years, still do. In fact, you ll see an equal number of books and dvds on my table any given hour of the day. I ve always been partial to the book especially because it lets the imagination flow any way and direction it can.

But I can see where you are coming from, NE. The lives today are on the fast lane, and most people just dont have that kind of time to spare anymore. Its easily comparable to the school and college years, when you could actually take some time out to read through your favorite books. Its not necessarily the intrusion of the visual/audio media today, than the busy schedules of people, especially the working class.

I'll go ahead and say... I HATE THE INTERNET, IT HAS RUINED MY MIND.

Hahaha. But seriously, it really has lead to a decline in my *pauses to think* mental function?

As a kid, reading was a great joy. I'd sit for hours reading... I'd read while eating, read in the bath, read on the bus to and from school, read in bed... sometimes I'd stay awake all night until the sun had come up just READING!

And then, along came the internet... and I forgot my beloved books.
Even now that I'm older I can't control myself and stay away long enough to have a good long read. I wish I could... but it's like I have the attention span of a newt these days. It's sad. Really sad.

What I need is one of those breaks away from technology, so I can get in touch with myself again. :)

Generalizations are everywhere... very intelligent people can enjoy hockey, films, books, wrestling, art, "Friends", and the theater. I think Neverending is closer to the truth, in this time of instant gratification a book just isn't fast enough. A lot of people simply aren't going to choose ink and paper over high definition visuals and deafening surround sound.

sure - but those people will enjoy films - and reading - too .. i'm talking about the ones (i know in person) that don't.

I know, it just seems with a lot of your posts lately you've tied certain things to redneck culture that don't necessarily fit. I thought it HAD to be a personal thing, that somebody you know has shaped your view, and it turns out that's it heh.

i run into it a lot at work and where i live ...

5 minutes outside the biggest city in canada and still the cracker mentality thrives.

if anything - you should realize by now that 99% of anything i'm willing to put out there - is based on personal experience !

Ha, I do but when I'm curious I still ask. ;)

WOW I haven't checked this thread in a while.

Oryx and Crake is closer to A Handmaid's Tale than it is The Blind Assassin. It's definitely more science fiction/post-apocalyptic/bleak dystopic future leaning.

I highly recommend it, especially if you enjoy science fiction stuff. :)