Why is so much of adult literature awful?

gold21

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 6:56 pm

Seriously. I'm on all sorts of groups and chats and apps and like 75 percent or the books people recommend are like the pits.

Am I just picky?

amother

Ecru

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 6:59 pm

no - people like fluff. There is still plenty good literature out there.

try this list. http://www.cbc.ca/books/canada.....34451

amother

Fuchsia

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 7:46 pm

That's why I stick to kids' books. You can actually find literary themes in them, instead of just romance. Rolling Eyes

Maya

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 7:49 pm

You're not in the right groups Smile

I read literary fiction and nonfiction, mostly, with a light novel thrown in maybe once a year. All of the books I read are good.

33055

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 8:37 pm

Maya wrote:

You're not in the right groups Smile

I read literary fiction and nonfiction, mostly, with a light novel thrown in maybe once a year. All of the books I read are good.

Can you share ?

amother

Ecru

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 8:42 pm

perquacky wrote:

Check out this list. And maybe skip Fifty Shades...
http://www.pbs.org/the-great-a.....home/

And Flowers in the Attic, and The Da Vinci Code.

gold21

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 8:49 pm

amother wrote:

That's why I stick to kids' books. You can actually find literary themes in them, instead of just romance. Rolling Eyes

Lol. I actually agree to an extent, that if you want really good charachterization and relatable human emotion, it's Young Adult all the way. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green type of idea. But why do I have to read about teenagers if I want that sort of intense emotion in a book? I think adults are complex and colorful to write about too... Or are we such boring subjects Confused

gold21

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 8:49 pm

amother wrote:

no - people like fluff. There is still plenty good literature out there.

try this list. http://www.cbc.ca/books/canada.....34451

Thanks.

I don't mind fluff if it's super fast paced and hilarious but otherwise... Snooze fest.

Thanks for the list. I'll check it out.

gold21

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 8:53 pm

Maya wrote:

You're not in the right groups Smile

I read literary fiction and nonfiction, mostly, with a light novel thrown in maybe once a year. All of the books I read are good.

Thank you!

I really enjoy fiction books based on historical realities, so they're fiction but based on truth I guess, like Before We Were Yours and The Secret Life Of Bees.

I haven't gotten into nonfiction so much. Maybe I should.

Last edited by gold21 on Mon, Apr 23 2018, 9:06 pm; edited 1 time in total

gold21

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 8:53 pm

perquacky wrote:

Check out this list. And maybe skip Fifty Shades...
http://www.pbs.org/the-great-a.....home/

Thank you!

gold21

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 8:56 pm

I'm just finding that a lot of adult literature, if it's not in the murder mystery genre or the romance genre, to be dreadfully dull with no depth, like I guess a simpler way of putting it is that I find the books to be boring. Dull. Unrelatable. Not well written. Plot develops slowly. One dimensional charachters. Just don't pique my interest.

I don't enjoy murder mysteries or romance novels, so I guess that is limiting me.

seeker

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 10:08 pm

I'm with you. There are good adult books but it's like a needle in a haystack. Glad I still get enjoyment from youth literature a lot of the time.

This may be one area where Jewish literature is ahead of secular - sure not everything is top quality but at least there seems to be effort going into adult literature. And the proportions of good to meh to trash are better than the public library.

amother

Ecru

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 10:12 pm

gold21 wrote:

Try The Joy Luck Club.

DrMom

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 10:20 pm

I find lots of great books to read. You can get some ideas by googling things like "must-read books" or "100 best books" etc.

https://www.bookbub.com/blog/2.....-read

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.....-read

Etc.

There's bound to be something there that you haven't read and that is of good quality.

amother

Navy

Mon, Apr 23 2018, 10:21 pm

gold21 wrote:

most romance is terribly written, so perhaps your gauge is off.

Miri7

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 12:02 am

I’m an avid reader. I scrolled through the first half or so of of the first link DrMom posted. There are a lot of good books there.

“All the light you cannot see” - I really loved this novel. Great WWII book that isn’t holocaust-based (those are really hard for me).

Also loved “the Goldfinch”.

A lot of the others that I saw are classic fiction.

I enjoyed a science fiction book “Seveneves” recently.

I’m reading Lincoln in the Bardo now but having a hard time getting into it. But that may change.

Do you like fantasy fiction? If so, Name of the Wind is good. Great character development.

It sounds like you like historical fiction. Have your read Ken Follet? The Pillars of the Earth?

I’d be happy to keep you in the loop about what I’m reading. Just pm me

gold21

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 4:41 am

amother wrote:

most romance is terribly written, so perhaps your gauge is off.

No, it's not off. Its not being used as a gauge altogether. I don't read it, so its being used as anything.

Hey, but thanks.

gold21

Tue, Apr 24 2018, 4:44 am

seeker wrote:

You are right, I agree. I don't generally love Jewish books but as adult lit goes, it's true, there is less worthless empty trash in Jewish lit. (more effort put into the writing/editing process?)