Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Russell
So that's the question of the day - Why do you choose the books you read, and are they "good for you"?
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I choose books that will entertain me. I realize that my taste runs to high-tech thrillers, military thrillers, paranormal romance, paranormal thrillers, suspense, mysteries, high- and low-fantasies, mil-SF, chick-lit (what else would you call 'Confessions of a Shopaholic'?) and most generic forms of SF - as well as libertarian fiction. That means my tastes are wierder than those of other people - and I accept that.
But what I want is a story that will spark my imagination. Too much detail and I'm bored, too little and I find myself constantly warping too far off what the author clearly meant and that jarring dissonance between what I'm imagining and what the author wrote breaks up my concentration and enjoyment. (For example, if the character being described wears a "plum paisley" blouse, my imagination will create what I envision to be the perfect color and pattern. However, if the author details a minor character wearing a pale, plum paisley with hints of sullen redness in a pattern varying in size from 1/2 inch to two inches, filled in-between with dark fucshia chrysanthemum blossoms, the author has added too much detail. On the other hand, if the author mentions the character is wearing a print blouse which I envision as paisley and later he reveals it was printed with eye-searing Hyacinth Macaws, the disconnect shatters my world view.)
Some people, I think, have a hard time getting into the mode where they can create the mental images the author is trying to evoke. I'm not one of them.
Derek