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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2009 10:57:05 GMT
I will dare to suppose that quite a few of us read a little of just about everything, so it seems more logical to have people say what they DO NOT generally read... and if you would like to explain why, that might be interesting.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 12, 2009 14:21:18 GMT
Mmmm ~ the poll has to be read very closely in order to answer honestly. Good poll! Unfortunately, answering honestly triggered a certain amount of guilt. For instance, I feel my not reading books on science or poetry is a measure of my intellectual laziness. I guess I do read sociology, since I become absorbed by books such as Malcolm Gladwell writes. However, a friend is always pressing books of up-to-the-minute political exposes and commentary on me, which I wave aside, calling them her "grown-up books". |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2009 17:55:43 GMT
Historical fiction does nothing for me. However, if a book is an authentic old classic, the style and content can interest me.
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Post by Jazz on May 12, 2009 18:09:06 GMT
I am an eclectic reader and read them all, except for these:
Self-help books: I went through a period when I read many of these. With time, I felt that that essentially they were all saying the same thing and that one should, simply, act. I had a yard sale and sold them all except for a very few valuable books that I felt best helped me.
Science: boring, dry and couldn't keep my attention.
Dictionaries, encyclopedias: Again, boring and dry. I seem to learn by reading of a more personal experience. I mostly use dictionaries when I am dealing with a translation question...ie: the Larousse dictionary is excellent.
Graphic novels and manga: What is a 'graphic novel'? Do you mean porn? No, I don't usually read porn unless it is sensually and beautifully written. I will have to look up 'manga'.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2009 18:29:38 GMT
Graphic novel:
A graphic novel is a type of comic book, usually with a lengthy and complex storyline similar to those of novels. The term also encompasses comic short story anthologies, and in some cases bound collections of previously published comic book series (more commonly referred to as trade paperbacks).
Graphic novels are typically bound in longer and more durable formats than familiar comic magazines, using the same materials and methods as printed books, and are generally sold in bookstores and specialty comic book shops rather than at newsstands.
For example: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi or Maus by Art Spiegelman (winner of the Pulitzer Prize)
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Post by Jazz on May 12, 2009 19:08:04 GMT
Ah! No, I don't read graphic novels. When I was a little girl I read Classic Comic Books. My first and the one I loved the most was The Last Days of Pompei. It was great and fascinated me.
After seeing the film Persepolis, (brilliant), I checked for the book and found it was very expensive. If given a choice, I would buy the film and not the 'graphic' book. (both relatively the same price)
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2009 19:18:42 GMT
Yes, they are quite expensive. I often consider them to be art books, and I spend an inordinate amount on them.
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Post by Kimby on May 12, 2009 19:25:58 GMT
Historical fiction does nothing for me. However, if a book is an authentic old classic, the style and content can interest me. Kerouac, have you read Follow the River by James Alexander Thom? Retells the true story of a frontier wife captured by Indians and taken hundreds of miles away from her home and husband, and details her escape and arduous return to her settlement, naked and in the beginning of winter. Fascinating. Though the dialog and particulars of course are all invented by the author, the story is true. |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2009 19:50:28 GMT
Errrr.... if it is historical fiction, I think not. Maybe I'll see the movie.
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Post by hwinpp on May 13, 2009 8:40:13 GMT
Is 'The Three Musketeers' historical fiction? No, right? On second thoughts, stupid question...
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Post by bjd on May 13, 2009 15:40:20 GMT
I read a lot but no poetry, science fiction, psychology or self-help stuff. Not too keen on historial fiction either.
I read a lot of novels including detective stories, travel books, history (except USA or Canada which I find boring), and the occasional science book if it's about genetics or stuff like that. I also love atlases and dictionaries. I'm also interested in politics but don't usually buy any books dealing with contemporary politics. I have a subscription to the New York Review of Books and get my serious stuff fix that way.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2009 15:51:27 GMT
I like biographies, especially about real people who lived many years ago. I like most Dean Knootz books.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2009 17:50:46 GMT
What am I saying?! By 'real' people I meant not movie stars etc.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2009 18:22:31 GMT
Is 'The Three Musketeers' historical fiction? No, right? On second thoughts, stupid question... The Three Musketeers would be along the line of classical fiction. Historical fiction concerns books written recently but set in the historical past. |
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Post by spindrift on May 13, 2009 22:26:26 GMT
Who is reading all the Self Help books? Not me anyway
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2009 23:20:13 GMT
The poll indicates books people do NOT like therefore,self help books got a high percentage.
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Post by hwinpp on May 16, 2009 4:46:51 GMT
Is 'The Three Musketeers' historical fiction? No, right? On second thoughts, stupid question... The Three Musketeers would be along the line of classical fiction. Historical fiction concerns books written recently but set in the historical past. Yes, I'd consider it a classic. I think a lot of self help stuff is being read in Asia, Jazz. I've never seen as big self help departments as here! |
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Post by nic on Jul 19, 2009 10:09:22 GMT
I initially said that I don't read 'historical fiction', but while going through what passes for my library, I noticed that I've read several of the Sharpe novels, and the Aubrey-Maturin series. You'll know the latter by the more familiar Master and Commander sobriquet.  |
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Post by hwinpp on Jul 20, 2009 6:13:25 GMT
Similar to the 'Hornblower' series. Even the 'Flashman Papers'.
;D ;D ;D
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Post by Kimby on Jul 31, 2009 16:55:46 GMT
Historical fiction does nothing for me. However, if a book is an authentic old classic, the style and content can interest me. Kerouac, have you read Follow the River by James Alexander Thom? Retells the true story of a frontier wife captured by Indians and taken hundreds of miles away from her home and husband, and details her escape and arduous return to her settlement, naked and in the beginning of winter. Fascinating. Though the dialog and particulars of course are all invented by the author, the story is true. Just finished "From Sea to Shining Sea" by the same author. It details the story of the Clark family of America, following George Rogers Clark through the Revolution and Indian Wars, and then William Clark on the Lewis and Clark expedition. I loved it, even though the dialog was obviously invented by the author. |
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Post by cigalechanta on Jul 31, 2009 18:12:38 GMT
i don't usually like historical books but THE LAST KING was special, it read like a good mystery book.
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