21st Century Literature discussion
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How Would You Describe The Reader You Are Today Compared To 10 And/Or 20 Years Ago? (3/24/24)
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I have gone through different stages. When I was younger, I was self-taught in my reading and read what I encountered based on what I liked. I spent a lot of time browsing used book stores.
Then, at a certain point, I started trying to read more of what was "important" or classic, and I do very much enjoy a lot of that. But there were certain classic writers that I read, regardless of the fact that I don't really enjoy them.
Nowadays, I'm getting a bit older and have circled back to reading for enjoyment. I read a wide mix, everything from fantasy/SF to classics to literary fiction to poetry. I think in many ways I've returned to the mix I read when I was younger, where I care much more about my experience of a book than the book's reputation.
In terms of the way I read though, it's pretty much the same. I have always taken notes as I read. I never research before, always after. I want to form my own idea of books before I get influenced by the ways others read them, and I feel hostile to any book that can't be read that way. I don't mind a book that requires research to get the full experience, but if I need a secret decoder ring in advance of reading, I'm out. For example, I very much enjoyed The Wasteland without any prior research; despite the complexity, there was a lot I could piece together and form ideas on without it. But I didn't much care for Ulysses. People tell me I need to read it alongside other books with explicatory content; I just refuse to read that way. I want to have my own fresh experience of a book first and only then dig into what others thought. I'm stubborn that way.
20 years ago I had young children so I was doing very little reading for myself (but lots of out loud reading for my children). 10 years ago I really was starting to branch out to try more translated literature & more odd/unusual/surreal fiction.
I keep separate yearly shelves on GR so it was fun to look back at what I read in 2004 vs. 2014 (great reading year when I look back on it) vs. now.
Lark made a comment a few months ago (not sure if it was here or in another group & I really wish I could find it again), saying that each thing they read (& how they read it) is a result/reflection/progression of everything they have read previously. I think that's so true & especially feels like a statement of how I think my reading has morphed over time -- I read much more widely now (from around the world) & have read books that I might never have known about previously. I make a conscious effort to seek out translated books or books from different groups/life experiences from my own.
Ways that my reading is the same:
- I tend to strongly associate a place where I read the book with the book itself (so I can look back at books I was reading & I can tell you if I was on vacation in a certain place or sitting at an emergency vet office in the middle of the night or ...).
- I use bookmarks.
- I rarely or never annotate or take notes (other than writing down some quotes from a book).
- I read by whim/feel/serendipity.
- I will cry easily for stories so I select a book carefully if I'm going to be reading in public (like on a plane flight).
- Books with violence toward animals are a no go for me.
- I like it to be quiet when I'm reading.
- I will read at various times in the afternoon or evening but almost always in a chair, almost never in bed.
- I abandon books I don't like.
- Like Greg, I don't like to know much, if anything, about a book prior to reading it. And I do like to read reviews & additional information after I've finished a book.
Ways that my reading is different:
- My perspective has broadened & I want to & expect myself to read more widely (translated, unusual books or narratives, etc.)
- I've sometimes gotten into reading a grouping of books where one book may lead me to something else that is directly or indirectly related, etc. I like seeing the interplay & juxtapositions. For example, I recently read You Dreamed of Empires and The Savage Detectives, both of which feature Mexico. I want to soon read Not Even the Dead & perhaps revisit Pedro Páramo while I'm still somewhat immersed in Mexico.
- I'm less likely to keep books & I use the library more. I used to keep all my books but at some point realized that I don't reread often so I started passing my books on after finishing. (Though, very recently, I've been rethinking that a little bit.)
- I'm much more likely to seek out books from small/indie publishers & am much more aware of the variety of books out there (vs. what a typical retail chain might carry).
- I prefer to read one book at a time.
- I have started delving into horror more over the past few years.
Great question, Marc, and I love reading people’s thoughts! Let’s see. About 25 years ago is when I had a short break from work and read a book called The Day I Became an Autodidact and the Advice, Adventures, and Acrimonies That Befell Me Thereafter, which inspired me to catch up on all the classics I had missed over the years. I remember starting with David Copperfield, and everything changed. Back to working, I fit books into my busy schedule, reading at lunch and on the bus commute, where I recall outright laughter when I pulled out War and Peace. It was almost 10 years ago when I joined Goodreads and enjoyed SO many recommendations, took part in group reads, and started reviewing books. I’d always taken notes and collected quotes, but I’ve found the process of distilling them into a review really satisfying.
What has stayed the same: physical books, sticky note inside the back cover where I jot down thoughts and page numbers of quotes, which get written up when I’m done in a Word doc. And the love of reading, well that’s been lifelong.
What has changed: the number of books I read has increased, but the number I want to read has exploded. Fortunately, I’m a better judge of what I’ll like and happily skip the rest, most of the time. I think the joy I find in reading has increased too. It feels like travel. The more you see the more that’s added to your awareness and the more you get out of the new places you see. Reading is like that--it just gets better and better the more you read.
In terms of what I read. I probably read more of what appeals to me than what I feel I should read although that has been a developing trend over the last 40+ years. There are still some books lodged in my head as should read. Mainly because they are spoken of in such a way that I feel I will be missing something if I don’t. I am now trying these as audiobooks - currently Moby Dick is my first ever audiobook.I am less inclined to finish something if it has become a slog, but I still chip away at some things if I feel I may be rewarded eventually.
One notable change is that I have started to reread, which I never used to do. Too many books in the world- move on.
I started to read graphic novels about 30 years ago. I had read comic books as a child. Rupert was a firm favourite as you got twice as much to read.
I have never been much of a genre reader & the vast majority of the time I read contemporary fiction.
I rarely, if ever, pick up a book ‘cold’.
Going back 30 or so years, the opening up of global communications vastly increased the scope of choice for all.
In terms of how I read. I made a clear distinction between reading for study & reading for pleasure. Strangely, I never really counted the works I studied as ‘reading’. If someone asked what I was reading it wouldn’t have occurred to me to mention a novel I was reading for a course. That’s not to say, I haven’t appreciated them just it’s an entirely different experience for me. One more akin to dissection. It took me a long time to shake off that approach & read for enjoyment.
I no longer take any notes - for me, it interrupts the flow if I do it whilst reading & I’m too impatient to move on to the next book when I’ve finished. That is also why I rarely write reviews, although crystallising my thoughts would be beneficial.
I have a fairly analytical reading style. I read slowly & stop frequently to consider & absorb what I’ve read. I have never been able to scan or skim read.
It’s enlightening to read the comments on the different ways people read & what they look for in a book.
20 years ago, I was sneaking manga past my helicopter parents. 10 years ago, I was wrenching my reading habits away from the status quo of my school days. These days, it's a mix of getting through my huge backlog of used book sale/shop acquisitions and poaching whatever latest acquisitions at my work place that look especially promising. I can't say I'm liking everything I read, but there are some diamonds in the rough in both the old and the new. Also, figuring out that I'm queer has really helped with zeroing in on books that I not only enjoy, but are also good for me.
What a wonderful thread . Thinking about the act of reading is something I seldom do , like thinking of the act of eating or walking . I gave it more thought during the pandemic though , when I drew comfort from sitting in a chair with a view to the road , a physical book and the cover , numerous bookmarks designed for the purpose ( not old receipts or bus tickets ) and developed the habit of pausing a lot as time seemed infinite and deadlines evaporated . Like many I have become a more confident reader as I age , like a grazing cow I like to wander through many fields but my grass is literary fiction and it's what I'll come back to , despite nibbling on the odd bush or thistle for variety . I used to have a lot of "shoulds" and " musts" on my list but the world wide web has thrown the doors of choice wide open and there's a risk of being overwhelmed and getting bovine indigestion . So I like the discipline of reading groups and libraries, where I can browse with a sturdy fence . I'm not usually going to be reading off the newest prize lists until they appear on real or virtual library shelves without a waiting list and I will now spit out any book that doesn't satisfy within the first hundred pages .. ( As a reading cow I have several stomachs but can still suffer heartburn).
Hester wrote: "What a wonderful thread . Thinking about the act of reading is something I seldom do , like thinking of the act of eating or walking . I gave it more thought during the pandemic though , when I dre..."Your analogy of reading groups as grazing in a particular pasture made me smile. Great way to put it.
The whole conceit of reading & ruminants works well - I’ll have to consider which variety I am.
I'm very frustrated with my reading speed--it's one of the biggest unpleasant side effects (I think) of aging. I used to be a very fast reader. Every year I seem to slow down and have more difficulty focusing.On the plus side, I think because of this, I enter into each book more deeply and reflectively.
Maybe the biggest difference though is that I am much less patient with books I dislike and DNF much more readily. Time is so valuable to me now.
And I'm reading more contemporary literature than I used to, and from more geographically diverse areas although I think I started shifting in that direction 10 or even 15 years ago.
This is a fabulous post and thread discussion, and it is interesting hearing everyone's thoughts. I think that 20 years ago I was not reading as much even though I know I always liked reading. I was just busier with things, and friends and work and everything, but I was still reading just not reading as much. I feel like lately in the past 10 years or so I have had a pretty steady reading pace. I think reading is something I think about all the time, sort of metacognitive thing. I try to read every single day , even if it is 30 pages of a book I am currently reading, and if I don't I feel weird. I pick up the pace quite a bit in the summer when I have quite a bit of free time but during the school year sometimes it's tough. But, like I said, I like to read every day, it feels like I'm entering a new chapter or adventure or escape every time I pick up a book.
Ellie wrote: "I'm very frustrated with my reading speed--it's one of the biggest unpleasant side effects (I think) of aging. I used to be a very fast reader. Every year I seem to slow down and have more difficul..."I'm sorry to hear that Ellie, but I think on the plus side, what you're doing is probably a great mental exercise to stave things off as much as possible.
The brain is a miraculous thing biologically, and we all depend on it so much. My in-laws have been struggling lately with cognitive issues, though I think my mother in law was starting from such a high level of cognitive function that I suspect her decreased-cognitive brain still functions better than my fully functioning one in many circumstances. :)
I applaud you reading more widely; I find myself doing that as well, partly because things like Goodreads put me in contact with friends from other countries that give me a bigger scope.
There has been a huge shift in my reading. 20 years ago I hated translated novels and experimental ones, preferring a solid story (I guess the term is plot based) instead.My epiphany happened ten years ago exactly when I read Ali Smith's Artful , which is an experimental novel, At the same time The Goldsmiths prize was inaugurated and Artful was nominated. The winner impressed me and that was that.
Also my second epiphany happened in 2013 when I joined the mookse and gripes group and discovered the joy of small presses, which include translations and I found out that translated lit is the closest thing to travelling without moving and that expanded my reading horizons.
the bad is, like most people have said is that my reading has slowed down. Back when I was 19 (i'm 45 now), I would read a doorstopper in three days now it's stretched out
My tolerance has declined. If a book doesn't grab me by page 50 then I DNF as well.
Yes Robert . I am a late convert to translated fiction too and dabbling in experimental fiction has helped me have more confidence . Some books are better read out loud for me , as the cadence has a musicality or the voice demands to be heard on it's own bold terms .
In quiet moments I sometimes think that being able to read is the best present in the world, especially as my senses are beginning to fail and time is clapping it's cold hands to my forehead . Each story I'm immersed in gives me a place to be in beyond the familiar and unsolvable challenges of my days .
Greg wrote: "Ellie wrote: "I'm very frustrated with my reading speed--it's one of the biggest unpleasant side effects (I think) of aging. I used to be a very fast reader. Every year I seem to slow down and have..."Thanks Greg: your response was very helpful to me
What a wonderful thread, I have so enjoyed reading everyone's reading stories.20 years ago I was finishing a literature degree and trying to read a personal book pick for every school book I had to read. I became very burnt out and I have almost no memory of what any of those books were about.
After graduation and four years of reading mostly the classics, I tried to get into contemporary fiction and failed miserably. I would check prize lists and read newspaper book reviews and try some things, but there were so few I liked. I don't know if this was a lack of maturity or just not connecting at all with the Canadian literary fiction scene circa 2004! I drifted back to the classics and more recent classics.
In 2013 my new boyfriend (now husband!) gave me Diary of a Bad Year and the collected stories of Lorrie Moore and I finally started to see the kind of contemporary fiction I could enjoy. And then I joined Goodreads ten years ago and discovered groups like this one around 2019 and it opened up a whole new world of reading, of knowing about small presses and so on. (And my TBR pile is the most terrifying thing now.)
Mod
I would say 20 years ago I was mostly reading mid- to late 20th century fiction with a few earlier works/classics thrown in there. I was reading about postmodern and critical theory (Derrida, Jameson, Deleuze & Guattari, etc.). There were a handful of authors that were must-reads when they published.
Today, I read a lot more contemporary fiction. I try to write reviews for everything I read. The list of authors I feel I "have" to read or whose entire collections I want to read has ballooned out of control. I probably read more books in terms of sheer number, but I have absolutely no concern about quantity. It used to be I'd never give up on a book, but I'm getting much better about abandoning books. I probably read more translations now, but I've never really looked at that closely. I used to commute daily by train so would do a lot of reading then. Now my reading is sort of spread sporadically throughout the day. I still love reading before bedtime.
Lol, twenty years ago my first child was born and I under took my last ambitious reading project - got through most of Ulysses while nursing. Between that and the pandemic is pretty much a blur as far as reading goes. Then I decided to read through Nobel prize winners: started with La Quarantaine and thus also back to regularly reading in French, joined Goodreads and a zoom book club with my high school friends that is still meeting regularly. All of that to say I feel like I am back to myself, 20 years later, but enjoying how much more community there is now as a result of being on line than when I was younger and it was only my husband to annoy comparing translations of Beowulf.
Ah, yeah. What a great question. My reading has changed so much over the years. 50 years ago when I was 5, I would probably have enjoyed playing outside with my friends a lot. But we lived in AZ and it was often 116 degrees Fahrenheit outside in the summer, and my mom used to make us spend a couple hours inside during midday when temperatures were at their most stifling. This was boring to me, so I would draw or read to keep myself occupied until I could get outside again. My parents also used to like to take weekend camping trips and that also resulted in a lot of down time that I filled with reading. I read a lot of children's books, the award-winners of the time (Island of the Blue Dolphins stands out as one I really like) as well as many of the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Three Investigators, Encyclopedia Brown and other mystery series.
40 years ago, as I was a teenager into my high school years, I discovered Science Fiction and Fantasy books, as well as some of the thriller and espionage books of the day. I worked for extra money so I could afford a car and I liked to go to movies and hang out with friends, but still found time to read, often between classes or at night before bed. Favorites of this era included The Hobbit, Ill Met in Lankhmar, Gateway, Ender’s Game and The Odessa File.
30 years ago I was out of college and in the working world. I was absorbed with hanging out with friends after work, playing some basketball, going to bars, being in some casual relationships. But I found time to read too. My tastes matured a little bit, but I read a lot off the best-seller lists, like Michael Crichton and Scott Turow, while also reading some Science Fiction like Neuromancer and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and even some horror like The Damnation Game.
20 years ago, my daughter was born, and I suddenly found myself often staying up late trying to get her to sleep or at least to stop crying (she was a great kid, but a terrible sleeper). I was still reading a lot of the same stuff I had read 10 years prior, but now I was expanding a little bit into some classics like E.M. Forster, older fantasy like the Lord of the Rings books, classic mystery crime books like The Postman Always Rings Twice and The Grifters, many of which I would read out loud to my daughter while vainly trying to get her to fall asleep. I swear that kid didn't sleep through the night until she was 4 years old. And neither did I, hahaha.
10 years ago, having emerged from an ugly divorce (aren't they all?) with custody of my daughter, I really re-discovered reading with a vengeance, and I started becoming very active here at GR. I had discovered - and was completely absorbed by - The Road and No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, A Game of Thrones and all of its sequels (or at least the ones that he got around to completing, but don't get me started on that), Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, True Grit by Charles Portis, and maybe my all-time favorite novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey.
Now, I find myself surrounded by a few hundred unread books double and triple stacked on bookshelves in three different rooms of my little house. I've gotten more into classic novels and short stories, I've delved into Russian Literature, Weird Fiction, Non-Fiction - especially history - and award-winning novels like the Pulitzer and Booker winners and finalists of the 20th Century. I no longer wander aimlessly through bookstores looking at all the pretty covers and picking books that have been - or are going to be - made into movies. Instead I'm very focused on what I want to read. I still read some "junk" or "guilty pleasures" but my overall reads are much more...fulfilling maybe would be the word? I've decided to focus on the quality of my reads and I've been pretty successful at just tossing out books I don't enjoy and moving on to the better stuff.
It's been a long strange trip as the man said. Here's to seeing where the next 10 years leads me.
21st Century Literature
Books mentioned in this topic
Ender’s Game (other topics)Gateway (other topics)
Neuromancer (other topics)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (other topics)
The Odessa File (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Michael Crichton (other topics)Scott Turow (other topics)
E.M. Forster (other topics)
Cormac McCarthy (other topics)
Neal Stephenson (other topics)
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What you read, how you read, size or number of books, speed, priorities, comprehension, memory, research or review reading before or after reading, where you read, what format you prefer, note-taking/marginalia, etc., etc. ...