New Leaf Nominations for October 2018 • Out of This World: Otherwhence

[gmw]

Originally Posted by issybird

I am indifferent to Amazon classifications; I don't even notice them, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if books don't frequently have a tenuous relationship to a category but have been shoehorned into it for marketing/exposure and the more categories the merrier at that.

Of course, when we say "Amazon" categories they are in fact publisher assigned categories. And categories are signalled by cover images as well as direct assignment - there are large numbers of books that appear under SF/F that are obviously romance (or erotica or whatever) despite their publisher assigned classification.

While I try not to get too hung up on categories either, we are all guilty of judging a book by its cover and its apparent/reported/advertised genre. As noted elsewhere, I would not have picked up The Girl With All the Gifts if I had known what it was in advance; I would quite simply have said "not interested". Similarly, any cover that looks like a standard romance cover gets an automatic pass from me, whatever genre I'm browsing.

These examples show that I do pretty much the same as Catlady does with sci-fi, I just have different targets. So, despite my claim above, I obviously do pay some attention to publisher assigner genre, but I do it on an exclusion rather than inclusion basis. I don't really care what genre is assigned to the books I choose to read, I just need to know what to cull from my browsing.

But the above is mostly about browsing. Given a solid recommendation from a reliable source I am happy to tackle most genres.

[darryl]

I think most of us have similar preferences. I tend to judge more by a blurb with some sort of synopsis of the plot rather than the cover. Having said that, if I see a generic romance cover with the heavily muscled man I won't even get to that stage. Romance is not a genre I often read, though I'm open to doing so if a book was to sufficiently catch my attention or be recommended by someone I take notice of. The last romance I read was some years ago on the recommendation of a friend who thought the book was extraordinary. It was very well out of my comfort zone but I will confess to enjoying it a lot. It was something I would never have imagined myself bothering with, which would have been my loss. I won't comment on it any further, but the book was "About a Girl" by Joanne Horniman, and the romance was a lesbian one.

My reading now tends to be mostly in 3 or 4 genres with the odd non-fiction or literary title thrown in. Like many of us here who love reading I have read most of the classics, in my case mostly in my teens and twenties, though I do like to re-read books I have enjoyed periodically. Up until relatively recently I always finished any book I started, but now take the view that life is too short and the good books too plentiful to waste time on something I am not enjoying. There are probably now 7 or 8 such books which I have abandoned at various stages. I find a lot of literary fiction these days pretentious and over-rated. Not all, but enough for me to mostly avoid the genre unless I have particular reason to believe I will enjoy the book. In particular I like my books to have more than flowery descriptions and torturous character development. In fact, I like my books to have an actual substantial plot.

[issybird]

I think the term "literary fiction" muddies the waters. Ideally for me it's a qualitative judgment, but in reality it seems to be applied to everything that doesn't have a genre label. Eliminate sci-fi, fantasy, romance, thriller, mystery, western, chicklit, etc., and what's left gets put into the "literary" category, irrespective of merit. And to make it more problematic, merit is at least partially subjective, i.e., you can make gross assessments but ultimately it's in the eye of the critic/reader.

The term genre in itself is always faintly pejorative, it seems to me, the more so in regard to romance and chicklit, a term in itself pejorative but I admit to using it. (I admit I don't like what's considered chicklit; I wouldn't be surprised if those who do, resent the term.)

This is a roundabout way of saying that while the term literary fiction has implications of quality, the reality is that as a category it's useless. I've tried searching on literary fiction at OverDrive on occasion and nothing useful to me results, especially since they seem to eschew the term "chicklit" so those books perforce end up as "literary." I was sorry when OverDrive eliminated the ability to search by publisher, as that was far more useful in finding "literary" books.

I've used the term "mainstream" here to describe our typical selection and I think it's a better term to describe non-genre books overall. That said, I don't think our fiction selections would disgrace any club of "literary" bent.

[Bookpossum]

I think mainstream is a good term in the sense that the fiction books we choose might well be classified in one or another genre by Amazon or whoever, but it is not something I consider.

I want to read books by people who write well, rather than having an interest in a particular genre. So I enjoy books by a variety of authors, including some who are listed in one or another genre. For example, Ursula Le Guin and Ray Bradbury are considered as SF writers, Neil Gaiman I suppose is a Fantasy writer, (well, so is Le Guin in some of her books) and so on. As far as I'm concerned, they are just authors whose books I enjoy.

I also read older writers, AKA the Classics, such as Anthony Trollope whose books I am exploring slowly, and of course from time to time I enjoy going back to Jane Austen and others. But I read them because I enjoy them, not because they are Literature with a capital L. Life is too short, and there are too many books out there, for me to read anything just because I think I ought to do so.

[gmw]

Bookpossum, your post reminds me of the one constant that has directed my reading choices from my earliest memories to now: the author. When I find a voice that I like, I will follow them anywhere.

[Catlady]

I tend to be a reverse snob about so-called literary fiction. I think of it as too often plotless and pointless, more concerned about language and character studies than about story. I want a story! I want a plot!

This is why I like mysteries and suspense. The stories follow a predictable, satisfying arc, in which a chaotic situation is revealed, then eventually resolved, and order is restored, however temporarily.

I don't generally pay attention to publishers' labels except when I'm hesitating over a title--the label might push me one way or the other.

[Bookpossum]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I tend to be a reverse snob about so-called literary fiction. I think of it as too often plotless and pointless, more concerned about language and character studies than about story. I want a story! I want a plot!

This is why I like mysteries and suspense. The stories follow a predictable, satisfying arc, in which a chaotic situation is revealed, then eventually resolved, and order is restored, however temporarily.

I don't generally pay attention to publishers' labels except when I'm hesitating over a title--the label might push me one way or the other.

And I think that is just as valid as any other way of finding books to enjoy. I think it was PD James who said that people who like order enjoy mysteries because although they start with chaos, order is restored.

I have read a lot of mysteries in my time, and remember I used to enjoy a good murder mystery especially at the end of doing exams. I don’t read them often these days - maybe I have given up on trying to bring order to chaos!

[Bookpossum]

Originally Posted by gmw

Bookpossum, your post reminds me of the one constant that has directed my reading choices from my earliest memories to now: the author. When I find a voice that I like, I will follow them anywhere.

Me too, and it’s such a joy when I discover a new to me author and realise he or she already has quite a number of books published. Sometimes early ones aren’t so enjoyable, but it’s interesting to follow an author’s development.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

And I think that is just as valid as any other way of finding books to enjoy. I think it was PD James who said that people who like order enjoy mysteries because although they start with chaos, order is restored.

I have read a lot of mysteries in my time, and remember I used to enjoy a good murder mystery especially at the end of doing exams. I don’t read them often these days - maybe I have given up on trying to bring order to chaos!

Yes, the function of the detective in the classic mysteries is generally to restore order and the status quo. And while that's satisfying, I've mostly given up on them--these days I tend to pass up anything with an actual detective, professional or amateur. I like the stories where an apparently average person becomes enmeshed in a suspenseful and/or dangerous situation. The victory over chaos is less clear-cut, especially since there's often some last-minute disruptive twist.

it’s such a joy when I discover a new to me author and realise he or she already has quite a number of books published. Sometimes early ones aren’t so enjoyable, but it’s interesting to follow an author’s development.

That's how I felt upon discovering Chris Bohjalian, whose books I am reading in reverse order. I don't know exactly why I decided to be so strict with myself about the order, but I did. I've been spacing out the titles instead of binge-reading his books--contrary to my usual approach.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I've been spacing out the titles instead of binge-reading his books--contrary to my usual approach.

The more I like a author, the less likely I am to binge-read him.

[Bookpossum]

Once I discover an author, I usually try to go back to the beginning and read the books in order of publication, but interspersed with books by other authors with different styles.

I also like to mix things up if I can, so a contemporary fiction maybe followed by an historical fiction, or a work of non-fiction, whether it's some form of history, a memoir or whatever.

I have such a heap of both paper and electronic books waiting to be read that I'm never short of something different for my next selection!

[gmw]

I used to be very pedantic about going back to the start and reading in publication order, and it's still my preference but I'm less ... obsessive about it now.

Ah, issybird, I wonder if your disinclination to binge-read favourites is related to your disinclination to re-read? You want to savour something you probably won't be revisiting. Whereas, when you're happy to re-read, binge-reading is fine because you know you will be back again.

[CRussel]

I suspect that's part of it, gmw. I know I can now quite happily binge read two kinds of books -- ones that are good, quick reads that I'll never come back to. (Perhaps 90% of my MilSF reading fits this category.) And ones that I know I _will_ come back to. The first I often read only via Audible (or equivalent), whereas the second I will start with the eBook and circle back to re-read with Audible (or, sometimes, the other way around, depending on prices or library availability. )

[issybird]

Originally Posted by gmw

I used to be very pedantic about going back to the start and reading in publication order, and it's still my preference but I'm less ... obsessive about it now.

Ah, issybird, I wonder if your disinclination to binge-read favourites is related to your disinclination to re-read? You want to savour something you probably won't be revisiting. Whereas, when you're happy to re-read, binge-reading is fine because you know you will be back again.

Maybe in part, but I don't think that's the whole story. In part, it's because I think with any binge, what you're consuming starts to lose its savor and by slowing down I feel I appreciate it more. Then there's the pleasure of anticipation. Finally, you can only read with virgin eyes once; never again will you have the pleasure of not knowing what's going to happen. Not that there isn't satisfaction in watching how a story develops when you know the outcome, but it's not the same edge-of-the-seat reaction a first read gets.

[Bookpossum]

Yes, when a book is really good, you want to find out what happens, but you also don't want to get there in a way, because you enjoy the experience so much.