Comments on: The Significance of “Soft” Novels from a Young Man’s Perspective http://www.litdrift.com/2009/12/22/the-significance-of-soft-novels-from-a-young-mans-perspective/ Storytelling in the 21st Century Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:04:22 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: R. D. Allen http://www.litdrift.com/2009/12/22/the-significance-of-soft-novels-from-a-young-mans-perspective/comment-page-1/#comment-1080 R. D. Allen Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:30:15 +0000 http://www.litdrift.com/?p=3381#comment-1080 Exactly! The point is that it instills a love of reading in children. That's who they were written for, by the way. CHILDREN. TEENAGERS. They weren't made to be analyzed to death. They were written to be enjoyed, to make someone laugh or smile, to experience the literary world. Maybe for the first time in years. Those books aren't BAD. I still feel moved by them, if not as much as, say, Lord of the Rings or Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. But you can't judge across age gaps! A kid might read and understand these novels, but they're not expected to. Appreciate books the way they are, instead of expecting them to be something more. I actually find it nice to read a "soft" novel, every once in a while. It's soothing and I enjoy the break. Gunter Grass has the very idea. Books are sacred, an art, and should be treated like such. Exactly! The point is that it instills a love of reading in children. That’s who they were written for, by the way. CHILDREN. TEENAGERS. They weren’t made to be analyzed to death. They were written to be enjoyed, to make someone laugh or smile, to experience the literary world. Maybe for the first time in years. Those books aren’t BAD. I still feel moved by them, if not as much as, say, Lord of the Rings or Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. But you can’t judge across age gaps! A kid might read and understand these novels, but they’re not expected to.

Appreciate books the way they are, instead of expecting them to be something more. I actually find it nice to read a “soft” novel, every once in a while. It’s soothing and I enjoy the break. Gunter Grass has the very idea. Books are sacred, an art, and should be treated like such.

]]> By: JoniB http://www.litdrift.com/2009/12/22/the-significance-of-soft-novels-from-a-young-mans-perspective/comment-page-1/#comment-909 JoniB Fri, 25 Dec 2009 02:37:43 +0000 http://www.litdrift.com/?p=3381#comment-909 A lot of people quit reading because of high school classes that analyze books to death and take all the fun of reading right out of them. This was my experience. My English teacher preached: Never read for fun or escape! It was YEARS before I picked up another book and I read it for escape. And I LIKED IT! A lot of people quit reading because of high school classes that analyze books to death and take all the fun of reading right out of them. This was my experience. My English teacher preached: Never read for fun or escape! It was YEARS before I picked up another book and I read it for escape. And I LIKED IT!

]]> By: Kate http://www.litdrift.com/2009/12/22/the-significance-of-soft-novels-from-a-young-mans-perspective/comment-page-1/#comment-897 Kate Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:24:14 +0000 http://www.litdrift.com/?p=3381#comment-897 I agree. It seems to me to be a matter of locating the bridge from the light to more serious literature. For instance, a reader who is interested by the moral dilemma (vampire v. human nature) that plagues the Cullens or Louis from _The Vampire Chronicles_ might also find herself absorbed in the story of Raskolnikov. My sister is a college-aged Twilight fan. I read the first two books in the series out of curiosity, being a casual fan of Ann Rice and Charlaine Harris. She picked them up idly and then unexpectedly turned all Team Edward overnight. She subsequently surprised me by taking up a copy I had lent her of _Dracula_, which I can admit is a tough sell these days despite being a personal favourite of mine. I also got her into Neil Gaiman, having convinced her that she would love _Good Omens_ since she likes the _Hitchhiker's Guide_ series, and the rest of his oeuvre pretty much sells itself. The point is, I can allow myself to be dragged to any number of Volturi Vampire Balls for the chance to bond over literature with my sister. In _Beowulf on the Beach_, Jack Murnighan muses on the state of literary education in America--he's of the opinion that younger teenagers are done a disservice by being forced to slog through works that are best appreciated by perspicacious adults. This was in the context of his discussion of _Great Expectations_. I take his point; I read it for the first time and consider myself a fangirl for life of Dickens now, whereas I sulked my way through _Oliver Twist_ in ninth grade, despite being an avid reader of all levels of literature from an early age. It's a very interesting issue. I agree. It seems to me to be a matter of locating the bridge from the light to more serious literature. For instance, a reader who is interested by the moral dilemma (vampire v. human nature) that plagues the Cullens or Louis from _The Vampire Chronicles_ might also find herself absorbed in the story of Raskolnikov.

My sister is a college-aged Twilight fan. I read the first two books in the series out of curiosity, being a casual fan of Ann Rice and Charlaine Harris. She picked them up idly and then unexpectedly turned all Team Edward overnight. She subsequently surprised me by taking up a copy I had lent her of _Dracula_, which I can admit is a tough sell these days despite being a personal favourite of mine. I also got her into Neil Gaiman, having convinced her that she would love _Good Omens_ since she likes the _Hitchhiker’s Guide_ series, and the rest of his oeuvre pretty much sells itself. The point is, I can allow myself to be dragged to any number of Volturi Vampire Balls for the chance to bond over literature with my sister.

In _Beowulf on the Beach_, Jack Murnighan muses on the state of literary education in America–he’s of the opinion that younger teenagers are done a disservice by being forced to slog through works that are best appreciated by perspicacious adults. This was in the context of his discussion of _Great Expectations_. I take his point; I read it for the first time and consider myself a fangirl for life of Dickens now, whereas I sulked my way through _Oliver Twist_ in ninth grade, despite being an avid reader of all levels of literature from an early age. It’s a very interesting issue.

]]> By: Caleb J Ross http://www.litdrift.com/2009/12/22/the-significance-of-soft-novels-from-a-young-mans-perspective/comment-page-1/#comment-893 Caleb J Ross Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:23:11 +0000 http://www.litdrift.com/?p=3381#comment-893 Amen. Some even go so far as to say that the younger generation, having grown up with the internet, read MORE than older generations. If you consider that so much of internet usage involves reading. True, they aren't reading narratives, but the words are still guiding them. The trick to instilling a love of reading is to find an enjoyable book. For many, that's the Twilights and the Harry Potters of the world. Me, I didn't enjoy reading until late high school, when I found Frankenstein. Before that, reading was for nerds. Encourage reading in all its forms. Amen. Some even go so far as to say that the younger generation, having grown up with the internet, read MORE than older generations. If you consider that so much of internet usage involves reading. True, they aren’t reading narratives, but the words are still guiding them.

The trick to instilling a love of reading is to find an enjoyable book. For many, that’s the Twilights and the Harry Potters of the world. Me, I didn’t enjoy reading until late high school, when I found Frankenstein. Before that, reading was for nerds.

Encourage reading in all its forms.

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