Fiction-- Unable to read

Kris wrote:..pretty much anymore. I used to read quite voraciously. Some of the work was good, some so-so and the authors were all over the spectrum-- Arthur Hailey, Chase, Harold Robbins, Irving Wallace, Erle Stanley Gardner, some Forsythe and then poof, sometime in mid 20's lost interest in fiction. Can't put my finger on it. Don't know if this was due to less bandwidth, increasing interest in non-fiction or maybe something banal like TV watching. Wonder if this has happened to others?

Rashmun wrote:

Kris wrote:..pretty much anymore. I used to read quite voraciously. Some of the work was good, some so-so and the authors were all over the spectrum-- Arthur Hailey, Chase, Harold Robbins, Irving Wallace, Erle Stanley Gardner, some Forsythe and then poof, sometime in mid 20's lost interest in fiction. Can't put my finger on it. Don't know if this was due to less bandwidth, increasing interest in non-fiction or maybe something banal like TV watching. Wonder if this has happened to others?

hasn't happened to me as yet. i think the trick is to keep reading books from different genres to avoid getting into some kind of a rut and to maintain interest. right now, i am reading books on the u.s. mafia, and while doing so i went back and re-read The Godfather. Did you ever do any reading on the u.s. mafia, particularly the five families of NY? I find some of these guys really fascinating, particularly Frank Costello who was the top mafia boss in the US at one time but who also had a vulnerable side (visiting a psychiatrist for therapy sessions) which i found endearing. and also the fact that most of the people he preferred socializing with were respectable people not involved in crime in any way.

Another interesting character is Myer Lansky who was, besides being a mobster, a brilliant mathematician which helped him fix the odds for any gambling racket and who also was given the responsibility of ensuring how much percentage profit everyone involved in the racket would get commensurate to their contribution. It is believed that Lansky was studying higher mathematics through a private tutor out of his own interest while being a mobster--something that reminded me of Prof Moriarty of Sherlock Holmes fame. And then there was Carlo Gambino who always made the right move at the right time, and Lucky Luciano who can be considered the founding father of organized crime in the U.S..

truthbetold wrote:Kris,
One more name ken follet ( eye of the needle). I lost my apetite for fiction during my college. I could not finish a tom clancy novel. In my case life kept me busy. I read some te chnical reports that could kill you. I got back to reading when i started working with my children's social studies projects. American history, religion and india are my su jects of interest.
my e perience taught me real life is more twisted than any fictional novel.

Kris wrote:..pretty much anymore. I used to read quite voraciously. Some of the work was good, some so-so and the authors were all over the spectrum-- Arthur Hailey, Chase, Harold Robbins, Irving Wallace, Erle Stanley Gardner, some Forsythe and then poof, sometime in mid 20's lost interest in fiction. Can't put my finger on it. Don't know if this was due to less bandwidth, increasing interest in non-fiction or maybe something banal like TV watching. Wonder if this has happened to others?

goodcitizn wrote:

Kris wrote:..pretty much anymore. I used to read quite voraciously. Some of the work was good, some so-so and the authors were all over the spectrum-- Arthur Hailey, Chase, Harold Robbins, Irving Wallace, Erle Stanley Gardner, some Forsythe and then poof, sometime in mid 20's lost interest in fiction. Can't put my finger on it. Don't know if this was due to less bandwidth, increasing interest in non-fiction or maybe something banal like TV watching. Wonder if this has happened to others?

Kris, I can relate to all of the books you mentioned. You probably left out James Hadley Chase, A. A. Fair (ESG's pseudonym with the wonderful characters - Bertha Cool and Donald Lam), Agatha Christie and Ian Fleming, to name a few others. Mystery fiction have always been my favorites albeit I have gotten more ecclectic over time. Like you, I have found Tom Clancy too tedious to read through, the only book I really enjoyed being The Hunt For Red October. I like John le Carre and enjoyed most of his books, particularly Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy. Yes, of course, the usual assortment of John Grisham, Scott Turow, Tony Hillerman, James Patterson, Sue Grafton and others.

TV is a huge distraction, so is SuCH. Now that you've brought the subject up, I am seriously thinking of devoting more time to reading.

atcg wrote:I find myself gravitating lot more to non fiction and the only kind I will plunk dollars for. Fiction is not at all attractive - a good interpretation by great actors in a well crafted movie is all that I have patience for. Even if that interpretation is a bit on the wackier side - sound bites, take aways and a little schwag are all that I look for, in fiction. Yeah, so I do not saturate myself in the endless character descriptions - so what? Before you are done with the character it is passe, neatly packaged for mass commoditization.

atcg wrote:Reading it and writing it are two different things...

atcg wrote:You make it almost sound like the definition of hypocrisy!

Different folks enjoy different things....