tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post6479871439921516482..comments2024-03-28T06:05:17.085-04:00Comments on THE READING APE: The Tyranny of Pleasurethe Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-24140529845531562672011-05-14T09:43:35.508-04:002011-05-14T09:43:35.508-04:00I think there's something about time, effort, ...I think there's something about time, effort, and energy, too. After my son was born, I only read "light" (mysteries, romances, etc) for 6 years. The only "serious" reading I could keep up with was The New Yorker, everything else fell by the wayside.<br /><br />For me, the X-Factor was time and attention. If I have 20 minutes to read, and I might be interrupted at any second, the book had to be something I could put down and then pick right back up again without really having to think too hard about where I left off.<br /><br />All the easy reading just kept me in the habit, and now that my son is older (and I know when he goes to bed he's really going to stay asleep!), I have more time and energy for other kinds of fiction.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13205737257301534685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-38029493600020125292011-05-11T19:42:58.935-04:002011-05-11T19:42:58.935-04:00I do like that phrase "tyranny of pleasure.&q...I do like that phrase "tyranny of pleasure." At the other end of the spectrum from the "page turners" there is the pleasure of rereading a (classic) book time after time. Most crime and romance fiction don't yield any more on a reread than on a first read.bibliophiliachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15495943887513443615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-55510374641668278132011-05-10T12:13:52.389-04:002011-05-10T12:13:52.389-04:00As I read your post, the sentence structure and ca...As I read your post, the sentence structure and cantor seemed very Pauline.<br /><br />I can relate to the "more pages, more murders, more romantic intrigue, more and more and more" on a few reads. For example Ken Follett, a suspense/mystery author who moonlit PILLARS OF THE EARTH and WORLD WITHOUT END, has now released the first of a 20th Century trilogy that I am resisting reading for the very reason you describe - I felt as though I needed a shower upon finishing each listed above (not to mention two days to catch up on sleep).<br /><br />In the end, the pleasurable reads rarely stay with me. Whereas I often recall reads like 2666, THE ROAD, FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS and LES MISERABLES that I did not exactly "enjoy" reading (in the case of the Hemingway, I outright disliked).<br /><br />The Pauline reference seems fitting because once we break free of the tyranny of pleasure, we can cease being "infants, tossed back and forth by the waves..."Clintonhttp://about.me/clintonkablernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-63581911161751559612011-05-10T11:18:08.456-04:002011-05-10T11:18:08.456-04:00Very interesting post! Also I think people find a ...Very interesting post! Also I think people find a lot of comfort in the familiar - especially when purchasing, it is easy to fear getting something you won't like. (A big plus for libraries- free experimenting.)bookspersonallyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01931047825445272188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-65800360873740878532011-05-10T08:18:34.353-04:002011-05-10T08:18:34.353-04:00Great post! I think that your analysis of the who...Great post! I think that your analysis of the whole comfort-of-the-known and normative resolutions is very well done!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16606360048165203407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-22158046780440792942011-05-10T08:10:12.896-04:002011-05-10T08:10:12.896-04:00Ben-
I was really only thinking about fiction, but...Ben-<br />I was really only thinking about fiction, but memoir does seem to have these two traits as well (and not surprisingly sells well as a result).<br /><br />I'm sort of working up toward a longer "why we read" post, but I am definitely thinking along the same lines, both for my own reading life and for the life of this blog. <br /><br />Enrichment is the best word that I can come up with right now, but it has some problems as well.the Apehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-5314399617641557972011-05-10T04:41:44.675-04:002011-05-10T04:41:44.675-04:00Excellent. This is something I've felt without...Excellent. This is something I've felt without articulating, and I think enjoyment vs. enrichment pretty much nails it.<br /><br />Even the very basic issue of why I spend my time reading has popped up in my head a couple of times recently, and this is a much healthier angle to approach it from than 'there's not a lot on TV.'<br /><br />I wonder if the familiarity and order-from-choas traits that you identify in both those genres are more widespread? Surely familiarity must be at the heart of all who read exclusively by genre. <br /><br />I work in a bookshop, and sell crime novels and romance at a rate of knots -- but also misery memoirs, where you have familiarity (presumably) and moral order-from-chaos (i'm guessing.)Ben Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03308876297341347389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-60894088806290912072011-05-10T03:26:35.125-04:002011-05-10T03:26:35.125-04:00Great post. I completely agree.Great post. I completely agree.Alexis @ Reflections of a Bookaholichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13745513625965620545noreply@blogger.com