Do you read books that make you uncomfortable?

[Sydney's Mom]

I Just finished a book that made me very uncomfortable. The book was Jim Crow's Legacy by Ruth Thompson-Miller & Joe R. Feagin & Leslie H. Picca. While I was reading it, at several points I wanted to stop-it was too upsetting. But then I figured I had to keep reading for just that reason.

I was not old enough to experience those days. And I grew up in Wisconsin, which is very far north, and very white. I lived all of my working life in Chicago, which is very segregated, for just the reasons the authors pointed out. I retired in Idaho, which is in the Northwest, and very, very white. I didn't pick Idaho for the racial make-up, but for the skiing, which is the same thing.

I know Americans have a difficult history of racism. So I think I will chose more books like this. Do you read books that make you uncomfortable? Why or Why not?

[haertig]

Do you read books that make you uncomfortable?

No, I abandon them. My motivation to read is fun and enjoyment. The way our world is heading is too depressing as it is, for me to want to add on even more depression by reading a downer of a book.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by haertig

No, I abandon them. My motivation to read is fun and enjoyment. The way our world is heading is too depressing as it is, for me to want to add on even more depression by reading a downer of a book.

That's me also. Well, mostly. I do read Wikipedia articles and stuff on all manner of topics, but I prefer my uncomfy stuff in small doses (like articles), not as a book. That would be too depressing.

[Karellen]

It depends...

If the entire book is an uncomfortable topic, most likely I did not realise when I read the description, so I'll just stop reading it.

If it is just some odd scenes in the novel, I stop reading, go off and do other things, then come back to it.

It's the same with movies and tv shows. Sometimes the scenes are too depressing or antagonistic, so I switch off, attend to other things, and once my "happiness" tank has been refilled, I can continue.

[Quoth]

Only by accident, and not a second time. Books can be uncomfortable in different ways.

[DiapDealer]

I don't look for books that make me uncomfortable, but I rarely stop reading one just because it does. I typically only abandon books because I feel the writing is subpar.

[ownedbycats]

Ever since the Stardoc incident I've taken to skimming negative reviews of the book before buying/borrowing. However, except for a few extreme cases it rarely deters me from reading the book; I just prefer not to be caught off-guard again.

[gmw]

My reading is very mood driven. Sometimes I'm only there to be distracted and entertained, sometimes for interest/curiosity, and sometimes I'm there to be challenged.

I rarely deliberately pick up a book that I think would make me uncomfortable, but discovering that it does would not necessarily make me put it down. If there is more to it, or there is good reason (as in your example), then I would normally keep reading. But some books seem only intent on shock value, or on manipulating the reader's emotions for the sake of it, and if that's what it seemed like to me then I would toss it.

[Deskisamess]

Sometimes, but in non-fiction, not fiction. I've read several books about China that were tough to read. A couple by people who spent time in prisons, some about Mao, one most recent about the Beijing Olympics and the years prior. I had to put one aside, by a Poet who spent time in prison. Not sure I can get back to it. Mao's Great Famine is a tough read.

I can't read books like before bed. 75% of my reading is "harmless."

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Books can be uncomfortable in different ways.

Yes.

This was uncomfortable because it describes what happened to my extended family. That kind of discomfort would not reduce the chances of my reading a book.

What is harder is to finish a book written from a POV I strongly disagree with. Sometimes I've done it, but it's the equivalent of eating a healthy food I don't like.

[Asawi]

Yes I do. I'm usually going between 3-4 book: One "regular" fiction, one nonfiction and one that's more difficult one way or the other. It can be because of a language I'm not relatively fluent in or it can be because of content that makes me uncomfortable (but I still consider important). In that case there's also a humor book in the mix. I pick my moment to read the "uncomfortable" one and sometimes it takes me a long time to finish it.
(This going between books is for me one of the fantastic options you have with eReader vs paper books. Imagine packing 3-4 paper books in your handbag for that shopping trip by bus )

[Luffy]

I avoid true crime and any shade of thriller under the sun(because of psychopathic behaviour but also because I got bored with the genre). I read a lot of nonfiction that are historical or educational, this year. I simply don't encounter the type of books that make me uncomfortable. So far my interests have not taken me to slavery in the history of the US and topics regarding black history. I simply have no curiosity about these, but I guess I stay away because they might make me depressed.

[DuskyRose]

I think it depends on why it's making me uncomfortable. I enjoyed the Barbra Hambly "Benjamin January" series, with deals with an educated black man with medical training in New Orleans in the 1830's. The discrimination is relentless and brutal. But I ended up loving the character and it was worth 'experiencing' his stories.

The past was what it was, and I think the stories of how people dealt with it can be worth the stuggle to get through the ugly parts.

One thing I've seen that makes me uncomforable is what I call torture porn. Where the author focuses many scenes and much detail on the scenes where rape and/or torture are preformed. Where it's no longer feeling like a way to get across all the harsh and subltle nuances of such a scene, but feels like it's 'reveling' in it. A torture scene from the villain's POV is especially troubling when the author seems to just have the scene there to portray the villain's glee and emotional satisfaction in the torture.

It's not happened often, but I've quit books at that point. I think it's a lot more problem in fanfic.

[icallaci]

I'm still thinking about this excellent question. I've started to answer several times, but can't seem to find the correct words to describe how I approach uncomfortable books. There are some things I just don't want taking up space in my head (violence, anger, hatred, etc.), but then I think about how much of history is concerned with those very things. And I love reading about history. A lot of true crime is also about those same things. I'm not a big fan of true crime, but once in a while I want to understand WHY someone did what they did. I guess my answer is that I tend to shy away from uncomfortable books unless I can learn something from them. And the knowledge I gain has to overcome the uncomfortableness of the book. It's completely subjective. Sometimes I will stop reading a book if the uncomfortableness overpowers the learning.

[maddz]

I think there’s a difference between reading a book because you want to read it (entertainment) and reading a book because you have to (work or education).

In the first case, it depends: a historical novel should include material that makes it true to period without sanitising it; I certainly don’t want that airbrushed out. However, it needs to be in the background not the foreground - I’m reading to be entertained not to be disgusted. I can and do drop books I find banal and boring, but I would not drop a challenging book unless it comes across as gratuitous.

In the second case, yes, I would read it - I’m reading the book for a reason. The idea here is to challenge my assumptions - either what I believed to be true or to educate myself on conditions (historical or present day). If that makes me uncomfortable, then so be it.