What are you reading?

[emily_in_nc]

As an English major and voracious reader, I am embarrassed to admit that I haven't even heard of most of these books! I'm strictly (almost) a pulp fiction reader - I want something that will entertain me, and that I can easily escape into. Basically, I want a TV show without TV (I once had an English professor who said that novels should be like TV for the mind. I guess it stuck). So, I read Kristen Hannah, Sandra Brown, Elin Hildebrand, Jodi Picoult, Anita Shreve, Chris Bohjalian... I do like to read New England-based authors - makes it slightly easier to envision the location of the story.

I am kind of the same, SheFly, and also haven't heard about most of the books or even authors being discussed in this thread. I like some of the same authors as you, along with southern authors, since I'm from the southeast, so authors like Anne Rivers Siddons, Dorothea Benton Frank, and others I can't even think of now fulfill that southern part of me. I also like crazy gory murder mysteries by James Patterson, Andrew Gross, Patricia Cornwell, and Jeffrey Deaver, Jonathan Kellerman, and the like. I make no apologies. Some of what I read is truly on the up and up, "literature", as it were, but as a psychology major, anything psychological is appealing to me, including biographies.

I read nothing but nonfiction for decades after graduation, for some reason, and have only started delving back into fiction since I retired in 2011 -- and realizing how very much I have been missing. My mother is very into British lit and British mysteries, so I've been getting into some of those as well, as she passes them along to me. I was skeptical but have ended up liking them quite a bit!

[salsabike]

The books others have mentioned aren't, I don't think, different from the ones that you guys just listed. I always feel a little badly when people put down what they read--to me, reading is GOOD. I don't really care what people read or whether it's in book, Kindle, audio, or any other form. Reading is wonderful, period.

By the way, Anne Rivers Siddons wrote one of the scariest books I have EVER read: "The House Next Door". I have reread it many times and every single time it is so quietly terrifying. Just got the goosebumps again thinking about it.

[lph]

I agree, Salsa, it's all good. I read the way I listen to music, to fulfill some need or desire. It can be entertainment or comfort or to challenge myself. I enjoy good writing much more than a good plot, a terrific plot described With cliched writing makes me want to chew my arm off, but I'll happily endure pages going nowhere if I enjoy the way it's described.

[OakLeaf]

I always feel a little badly when people put down what they read--to me, reading is GOOD. I don't really care what people read or whether it's in book, Kindle, audio, or any other form. Reading is wonderful, period.

+100 !!!!

I think I was pretty clear that I read a whole lot of noise in proportion to actual signal. I mentioned Seanan McGuire because she's some of the more entertaining trash I've read lately, but I read a LOT of trash that doesn't necessarily deserve any kind of a recommendation here. Reading is good!

[Catrin]

I read to escape and to relax. Most of what I read is genre, though I do love a lot of the 19th and 20th century Russian novelists and I am picky about the translater(s). I also enjoy good steam punk fiction and certain periods of historic fiction.

Sometimes I want to be challenged and made to think, sometimes I want what I call "mental candy". My point is that it is all good, reading is great no matter what/how/when/where. Read on!

I really enjoy this tread as I've discovered authors here I've not heard of!

[Crankin]

She Fly and Emily, I only read books by authors like you mentioned. I have been on an "adventure reading" kick, due to the virtual book club I joined, and my interest in endurance sports. But, my reading isn't heavy duty, except for some of the non-fiction, maybe. Heck, I was an English minor and English teacher; I have always disliked classic lit. Not only do I find it difficult because of the language, I like to read stories that i can connect to in some way. That might sound anti-intellectual, but reading is reading. I get the New Yorker every week, and make it a rule to get through the entire magazine in a week... so I get my fill of "high end" authors that way, in a short form. Sometimes, I do skip the major piece of fiction, if I can't get into it, but the non-fiction content keeps me very informed, too.
I love New England authors, too and took a whole course on southern lit in college.

[salsabike]

I read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves over the winter, and really loved it..

OH! I just finished it. What an extraordinary, wonderful book.

I would just add: to those who haven't read it yet, it is better if you can read it without having read any reviews, interviews or other spoilers. It really does make a difference--so don't read these interviews yet.

[OakLeaf]

If you're interested, it was this interview with Karen Joy Fowler that originally led me to that book.

[Pax]

My ex's mom was highly educated, corporate VP, and very snobby... but she devoured romance novels. She called them "literary palate cleansers"; always made me crack up.

I'm a big fan of read whatever you want, but please read something! It forces our minds to think differently than images do, different is good.

[salsabike]

I couldn't get your link to work, Oak, so I went hunting. Was it this interview? http://karenjoyfowler.com/books/we-a...-ourselves-qa/

[OakLeaf]

No, though it covers a lot of the same ground. I see now the link was censored. The domain name is "books-l-u-t.com" without the dashes ...

[OakLeaf]

It forces our minds to think differently than images do, different is good.

Which of course brings up this article that's gotten so much play in the last few days.

I'd always been skeptical of Leonard Shlain's scholarship in The Alphabet vs. the Goddess - as appealing to me as many of his ideas are - but this latest research kind of reinforces it in a sideways fashion.

My attention isn't what it used to be, but I'd attributed that to other things. To reference the other thread ... might be a good reason to go back to reading on the Kindle and not having all the distractions quite so close to hand ...

[Veronica]

That's a really fascinating article.

I've been doing a lot of testing this year on the computer, it's the direction high stakes testing is going. But a few of the tests the students did paper pencil in class first. Their paper pencil grades were almost always better than those on the computer.

The testing the students have to do is crazy. Fifth graders - 10 and 11 year olds - watch a video on a topic and take notes on the computer, read two articles on the computer about the same topic and then compose an essay. The practice tests are available here. Check out the ELA performance test. It's ridiculous!

Veronica

[emily_in_nc]

The books others have mentioned aren't, I don't think, different from the ones that you guys just listed. I always feel a little badly when people put down what they read--to me, reading is GOOD. I don't really care what people read or whether it's in book, Kindle, audio, or any other form. Reading is wonderful, period.

By the way, Anne Rivers Siddons wrote one of the scariest books I have EVER read: "The House Next Door". I have reread it many times and every single time it is so quietly terrifying. Just got the goosebumps again thinking about it.

Thanks, Salsa, both for the encouragement and the recommendation for The House Next Door -- that's one I haven't read. I put it on my "want to read" list.

By the way, I don't know how many on this thread are members of goodreads.com, but I find it a great place to read reviews, review and mark what I've read (so I don't forget - ha!), and get recommendations on other books I might like. It's a really fun site if you enjoy books.

[salsabike]

And it's ELEGANTLY written--just beautifully, quietly done. Let me know what you think whenever you get to it!