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Originally Posted by faithbw
I hate Twilight as well but why is it wrong to read Twilight to be entertained? When people read Dickens, Gaskell, Trollope, etc. in the 19th century, they read them, in part, to be entertained. They were published in magazines and their novels were often published in serial format before being published as the novels we have today. No one back then would be ashamed to say "I read Oliver Twist because it's entertaining." Yet, now this is now seen as a negative.
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I hope you don't feel I'm attacking you. I'm not and I apologize if I come off that way. I just think if we want people to read more and want them to read out of their comfort zone (reading Steinbeck in addition to Stephanie Meyer), we should also stress that these works can be entertaining in addition to edifying. That people can actually enjoy them. Right now, people get exposure to "classics" in their English classes and they're expected to read them looking for different literary devices they just learned and it often ends up not being an enjoyable experience for many people. So many people see these books as being stuffy novels they were forced to read in school and never look back at them as adults.
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I'm not saying it's necessarily wrong - you won't go to hell for it- only that I personally rather read something that enriches my life and makes me think. Twilight isn't going to do that.
I don't have the time or inclination to be merely 'entertained'. If I wanted that, I'd watch TV (which I don't).
Now I'm not saying that something like Dostoevsky isn't entertaining. Allah knows I'm entertained by him! Any good writing should grab you and hold you to it. I just abhor shallowness.
As far as people being forced to read them in school...well, they'll just have to make the effort and 'un-learn'- hit the reset button in their minds, so to speak. Reading 'the Da Vinci Code' is not going to help.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetpea
I've not even a clue what edified means, but if you don't read to be entertained, why read at all?
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For edification?