tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post3962747333382685644..comments2024-03-01T03:37:20.420-05:00Comments on I'M SOMEWHERE ELSE: First, how I stopped readingAmanda Foresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04200794053287551087noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post-68635571549916443222009-12-30T22:12:45.890-05:002009-12-30T22:12:45.890-05:00no, agreed. sometimes I read romance novels just b...no, agreed. sometimes I read romance novels just because I can actually read them fast and it's really enjoyable to do that. I just wish they were actually good. I should probably read more sci-fi and fantasy since they're actually good a lot of the time.<br /><br />also for some reason I can read Joyce Carol Oates really fast. I think it's because the prose is so breakneck that that gets me revved up enough that I don't become compulsive because it's so hard just to keep up with the words.Amanda Forest Vivianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06284158336100298682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post-60037122383236955922009-12-30T19:58:34.794-05:002009-12-30T19:58:34.794-05:00I know what you mean here re writing styles: IMO t...I know what you mean here re writing styles: IMO the divide isn't purely between "adult" and "young adult" fiction (i've never liked the "young adult" tag, as it feels a bit ghettoising, and i think encourages writers who write for/about teenagers to write formulaic books that fit into a self-imposed literary ghetto, but that's a different rant), but between "literary" (for an IMO somewhat narrow and rather unfair definition of the term "literary") fiction and "genre" fiction, which as well as "YA" fiction includes some categories of "adult" fiction, such as some (but not all) sci-fi, horror and fantasy (and possibly some other genres such as westerns, historical war fiction or detective fiction, though i don't know as i haven't really read any of them). <br /><br />It's difficult to exactly describe, but i sort of think of it as being somewhat like a sliding scale between non-fiction prose and poetry, with the way most "YA" or sci-fi writers write being closer to the non-fiction prose end, and the way most "literary" fiction writers (e.g. John Steinbeck, Toni Morrison and the like) write being closer to the poetry end. There are some notable exceptions that i've read though; Alan Garner's "Red Shift" (from the "YA" genre) and Paul Park's "Celestis" (from the sci-fi genre) stand out as being much nearer the "poetic" end (probably more so than even most "literary" fiction) for me. Both of those are books that i love and find incredibly powerful, but also that i think of as strongly "genre-defying" in their style.<br /><br />(Ignore me if i'm talking about something completely different; in that case, i've misunderstood what you've written...)stevethehydrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18334234855643025449noreply@blogger.com