Joined
·
2,554 Posts
Hi,
(Just changed the "always" to "Mostly", because there's no good argument for "always"--it is just a hyperbolic statement, and a quote from a place I don't recall. With always, it's just too easy to make a case against it, and the provocation to thinking about how we often, some of us including I at times, succumb to the herd mentality--that discussion gets sidelined or does not get the importance it deserves)
Many writers who have lasted more than a hundred years after their deaths often could barely sell a few copies of their work in a lifetime. Many of the popular authors of the 19th century are forgotten today.
I find most bestsellers difficult to read. I can't read "success books" or thrillers.(Used to, at one time read lots of them--was omnivorous, enjoyed everything, though not equally.)
Writing has to hold me--language has to hold me, interest me, grip me. The voice, the urgency, the passion, the honesty. Or else, it must be about sex, fresh, original, honest, personal--not mechanical.
Are there others who feel that in their reading tastes, they belong to a minority?
(Just changed the "always" to "Mostly", because there's no good argument for "always"--it is just a hyperbolic statement, and a quote from a place I don't recall. With always, it's just too easy to make a case against it, and the provocation to thinking about how we often, some of us including I at times, succumb to the herd mentality--that discussion gets sidelined or does not get the importance it deserves)
Many writers who have lasted more than a hundred years after their deaths often could barely sell a few copies of their work in a lifetime. Many of the popular authors of the 19th century are forgotten today.
I find most bestsellers difficult to read. I can't read "success books" or thrillers.(Used to, at one time read lots of them--was omnivorous, enjoyed everything, though not equally.)
Writing has to hold me--language has to hold me, interest me, grip me. The voice, the urgency, the passion, the honesty. Or else, it must be about sex, fresh, original, honest, personal--not mechanical.
Are there others who feel that in their reading tastes, they belong to a minority?