Reading genre

[steve319]

We're burdened by the tedium of a mundane existence. Fiction offers an escape from the humdrum to a world of the fantastic. We can vicariously experience a world of excitement that doesn't exist except on the written page and in the imagination of its author. The more gifted the author, the more real the adventure seems. A little escapism can be healthy.

[post=300710]Quoted post[/post]​

Ah! I knew someone could come up with a good one!

I'm certainly not putting down these genres. I love these books! What I was asking was if someone saw a connection between the kind of person who would enjoy the atmosphere at LPSG and the person who reads scifi/fantasy/horror/etc.

I've always been a big fan/defender of outlandish elements in fiction and love so-called "genre fiction" (a dismissive term that bugs me but for which I don't have a good replacement). I go through my phases of scifi, fantasy, horror, the works, and have always championed authors who are willing to do "unrealistic" (whatever that means) things to illustrate a particular theme. I've often been met with rolling eyes and derisive comments, but I think that's just a poseur's stance.

These same elitist jokers are the same folks who would admire fanciful books like Naked Lunch , which essentially uses similarly "unrealistic" elements. But since it doesn't fit into scifi or another genre chosen as "not serious fiction," they can admit to loving it (as I do). It's a nauseating double standard.

I think it goes back to why we read fiction in the first place (as opposed to strictly nonfiction). Through fiction, we can shine light into the dark corners of our world in ways that aren't possible under the constrictions of "true events." I've always enjoyed fiction more than nonfiction and have always particularly enjoyed novels with outlandish elements. I mean, Catch-22 isn't strictly realistic--it's absurd (and uproarious&#33 at times, but liking it is considered OK. There are probably other, better examples of what I mean.

Anyway, what I was trying to say earlier (and wasn't clear about) is wondering if there might be an explanation as to why so many of us who love these books have ended up being so comfortable here at LPSG.

Are we just generally more open-minded? Is it that simple or is there a better explanation? (Is that more clear?)

 

[taven]

An aspect of all genre I've read is that I can view the human experience from many points of view and understand, to some extent, many types of people. I think Harold Bloom said something along this line, but much better than I can express it. At any rate, vicarious experience can be had in greater quantity than only personal experience. One thing I've been particularly interested in is the repetition of reactions to situations (such as death of a child, thinking of Cylissa in Aeschylus) regardless of era , religion, or culture. I really like books that make me think and react to what I'm reading. When I was in college, I'd pick up a trashy novel to read as soon as finals were over. I always said it was garbage to flush out &/or fertilize the serious stuff I was doing in school. What I found was that even the most banal things I read said something about the human condition. (Maybe I just never found anything totally worthless...even ROTC...but that's another thread).