How would you go about finding a book?

[[deleted user]]

I wasn't sure where to ask this, so forgive me if I've posted inappropriately...

When I was a kid, my dad was big on reading to us. One of my favorite types of books were the interactive novels. Couple pages of action, then the reader got to decide what happened next (and went to a specific page number based on choice, to continue reading on).

I've tried to find these books online for my own children, but my searches have been unsuccessful. Does anyone remember these? What genre do they fall under? How would I go about finding them again?

Thanks in advance!

[Brenda]

Search under the phrase 'choose your own adventure'. They are surely available used, even if no one is doing any new ones

[Cypher]

I used to read those all the time when I was in elementary and middle school. Brenda is right. If you type that phrase into Amazon search bar, a ton of books show up and I think they're exactly what you're looking for.

[Laurel]

The sad thing is that our age of smart phones and video games means there are fewer of these choose your adventure books to choose from. It's a neat format, one that would be interesting to try at some point after some research.

But the natural question for me as an author has to be, "how much interest remains in this genre/format?"

Your thoughts on that?

[[deleted user]]

Laurel wrote: "The sad thing is that our age of smart phones and video games means there are fewer of these choose your adventure books to choose from. It's a neat format, one that would be interesting to try at..."

Thanks so much, everyone, for your answers!

Laurel,

I'm afraid there probably isn't much interest anymore. Entertainment, these days, has become effortless. Creativity and imagination are no longer required (the way they used to be) to pass the time.

I look at my kids toys, video games, etc., and think of how different their world is from the one I grew up in. As a child, I spent long hours lost in my own imagination. I couldn't space out with Angry Birds or The Sims and those "interactive books" were what prompted me to write my first story (because I wanted even more options, lol).

Yours was an excellent question. Thank you for it!

[Laurel]

Elle wrote: "Laurel wrote: "The sad thing is that our age of smart phones and video games means there are fewer of these choose your adventure books to choose from. It's a neat format, one that would be intere..."

I don't think this new generation understands just how important those imagination activities (even just taking a walk through a park or botanic garden) really are or how much those experiences influence their ability to think, problem solve, or write. One guy I ran into last week bragged what a great writer he was. But when I answered his question as to what genre my books are as "medieval science fiction" he said something like "why are your books evil -- are you a Satanist?"

Then he demanded to know why I'm a Satanist and so forth. He didn't know what the word "medieval" meant, couldn't be bothered to look it up, and just made up a meaning for it based on sound. And he wants to publish a book this year?

[[deleted user]]

Laurel wrote: "Elle wrote: "Laurel wrote: "The sad thing is that our age of smart phones and video games means there are fewer of these choose your adventure books to choose from. It's a neat format, one that wo..."

That's unbelievable! Ill admit I've never heard of the genre specifically, but I do know what medieval means. There's a widespread lack of knowledge in our society, and a reluctance to learn. Many people are content to believe they "know enough" and can get by. I read a post the other day written in a format and with the spelling commonly seen in texts. Maybe I'm a snob, but I was a little bothered by it. Shouldn't we still crave knowledge? New experiences? Enlightenment?

This is off topic, but I'm curious about your book. Could you tell me a little more about it?

[Laurel]

Elle wrote: "Laurel wrote: "Elle wrote: "Laurel wrote: "The sad thing is that our age of smart phones and video games means there are fewer of these choose your adventure books to choose from. It's a neat form..."

Elle: I'm just as snobby about language and probably more so. :)

I'm the author of the Peers of Beinan series which sits right smack in the middle between classic science fiction world building in the Tolkien and Frank Herbert traditions (two of my biggest sci-fi, fantasy influences) and medieval historical fiction.

These are medieval stories set in another galaxy so that I can examine social issues and sometimes current events without people being offended. At one time in my life, I tried to pursue teacher certification for history -- then was told I am too passionate about history as a data-grounded social science to be able to tolerate the politically-charged, propaganda versions of events that sadly have taken over our schools. The "history" taught in secondary schools today is NOT the history I studied in university or even in my 20+ years in the society for creative anachronism.

So I set my books in another galaxy and engage in extremely detailed world building (including units of time and distance, ecology, heritage and modern weapons, cuisine, heraldry, religion, even physics, astronomy, and chemistry) to facilitate a more honest exploration of history.

The world building and setting in another galaxy makes The Peers of Beinan series science fiction. But the society, the feudal politics, the inter-play between politics and religion, and the story arcs themselves are historical fiction.

Following the Tolkien tradition, every book has glossaries in them rather than dummy down the writing and world building as I've seen WAY TOO MANY science fiction and fantasy books, screenplays, and teleplays do!

And yes, I've had millenials complain that my books are "too difficult" to read because I use precise language. Don't know a word in my books? LOOK IT UP! If you use the provided data files along with a radical notion called a DICTIONARY my books are NOT difficult to read!

But I do expect actual literacy in order to enjoy them!


That said, I did eventually hypertext link and QR code index my digital editions and special QR Interactive paperback editions so that those who really don't want to flip to the back of the book to use those materials can more readily access them. This has the added benefit of being able to display more of the heraldry I created for the books while offering recordings of key songs written into the books.

I suppose my interactive features are the middle ground between regular and choose your adventure. There's a lot of supplementary material in my data files (appendices) and the web pages tied to the hypertext links and QR codes that you don't find in the direct narrative.

Yes, my Tolkien influence shows! :)

[[deleted user]]

Laurel wrote: "Elle wrote: "Laurel wrote: "Elle wrote: "Laurel wrote: "The sad thing is that our age of smart phones and video games means there are fewer of these choose your adventure books to choose from. It'..."

Well, you've certainly piqued my curiosity! Though I had a hard time getting into LOTR, it's been years (more than I'm willing to admit) since I tried and the way you've described this is very appealing.

[Laurel]

Elle wrote: "Laurel wrote: "Elle wrote: "Laurel wrote: "Elle wrote: "Laurel wrote: "The sad thing is that our age of smart phones and video games means there are fewer of these choose your adventure books to ch..."

Thanks, Elle! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the books! :)

[Arabella]

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro of Saint Germain fame consistently uses words I have to look up. Though I will have to admit---one SF author also indulge in OED level words in a series. I couldn't find it in the Webster's on my desk (this was in the 1980s) and I had to go down the hall to the library (I worked at the LA Times) to find it in the OED.
I want to own a copy of the OED one day---but I feel that that kind of word usage can boomerang back on you. It stops the flow of your tale...especially when, as I said, it wasn't even in Webster's. (Of course I can't remember the word. I think it was "levin" but I am not sure)
Exact world building is also entertaining...especially when a new language is developed. But again, if I constantly have to refer to a glossary/indices/author notes...it saps the joy out of the story.
For me there has to be a happy medium in creating your new world and communicating your story. I love Tolkien--and Herbert But even both of these authors story momentum was not delayed by stumbling over their unfamiliar terms.

[Laurel]

Arabella: I've had reviewers make exactly the same comment about slowing down the flow when they hit words like "yen-ar" (a Beinarian year) or "li" (1/3rd of an English mile, this unit of distance is a rounded version of the Chinese li which is still used in China today; the terms for "meters" and English miles have modifiers on li to specify those).

Believe me, this was something I had to think long and hard about. In the end, I realized that the words are readily understood through their contexts. If you are talking about an adult being sixty yen-ars old odds are really good that yen-ar must be some sort of year.

I actually got the idea for creating my own units of time and distance from both exoplanetary astronomy (no two planets in the universe have the same rotational and revolutionary periods) and from the original Battlestar Galactica where you encountered the same thing.

Even as a child, I never had a problem understanding "centon" or "micron" or "yahren" during the original broadcast. Context tells you what those are.

It's not hard to figure out -- if you think about it just a little.

[Arabella]

Context is indeed what helps....but when authors put in sentences and quotes in their own language or say something on the level of "Well, you must have seen him! He was the carrying the blue jagrit." Okay : fish, food or fowl? You understand what I mean. Unfortunately I see this kind of thing all the time. Yes, I hop over it. But of course it gets tedious when it happens a lot.

[Laurel]

Arabella wrote: "Context is indeed what helps....but when authors put in sentences and quotes in their own language or say something on the level of "Well, you must have seen him! He was the carrying the blue jagri..."

Point taken. That is why it's critical not to be vague so it's clear what exactly something is. that example is very isolated; it's nearly impossible to know what that something is from what is around it. On the other hand, in my feast/reception scenes, when I'm describing banquet tables, it shouldn't be hard to figure out that "Belarian waffles" are food and kara berry mead is a type of wine. :)

[Michelle]

Hi Elle, thanks for reminding me about those "choose your adventure" books! I read those myself and loved them, though they frustrated me, too. I understand why they prompted you to write your own stories - I remember thinking, "But I don't want to do either of these! I want the story to go in this other direction..."

It saddens me to think these books may have gone by the wayside. What you said is true: "There's a widespread lack of knowledge in our society, and a reluctance to learn." We're mired deep in the age of instant gratification, which I think has spawned a widespread apathy. Things are too easy and that's hurting our drive to discover.

But all we can do is work on our own little corners of the world...my son is a voracious reader and budding writer. Now that you've reminded me about those books, I'll introduce them to him! Thanks again...

[[deleted user]]

Michelle wrote: "Hi Elle, thanks for reminding me about those "choose your adventure" books! I read those myself and loved them, though they frustrated me, too. I understand why they prompted you to write your own ..."

Oh, yeah--the age of instant gratification. It explains so much. Nicely said, Michelle.

I hope your son enjoys them!

[Gregor]

Also search for "Which Way" books. It was a "Choose Your Own Adventure" knock-off series but I liked them just as much as a kid.

[[deleted user]]

Gregor wrote: "Also search for "Which Way" books. It was a "Choose Your Own Adventure" knock-off series but I liked them just as much as a kid."

Thanks, Gregor!