A musing on the (un)diversity of tastes

Tastes. Genres. Favourites.

For some reason, my tastes in movies and tv, and even music, are quite eclectic, but for books, I'm almost always reading teen. (Or I would have said that a month ago at least.) I've watched movies from Funny People, to 27 Dresses, to Star Trek, and liked all of them. I've followed tv series like Glee, Lost, Modern Family, 24. Music, while mostly alt and indie, can be diverse.

But... books? Almost strictly teen. And when I realized that- I started to try to branch out. (Hellooo classics and adult.) I didn't like the idea of being so one-streamed, especially with books, which are hands down my favourite out of books, movies, tv, and music. That said, of course I still love teen. And the teen genre really is diverse.

However, my point of this post is to ruminate on why. My taste in everything else is varied. But I've been reading teen and pretty much only teen for... more than five years now.

I think - though this is only for me personally - the main reason is time. A movie is done by 2 hours, though lately many pass that in length. But in give or take a couple hours, a movie is over. A tv series has weekly installements, an hour a week max. is nothing. Music is just minutes. There is time to not be picky. Because it's so little time. What's an hour or two of your life? A horrible movie would be something you just laugh at for watching and then forget about. You can waste an hour watching a show and then just not watch it anymore.

But a book takes time to read, plus energy on your part to actually read it. Some books - example: Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers - may go as fast as 2 hours but most don't. Most surpass that time it takes to watch a movie. Novels can be 300 pages to much, much more. Even the best thick reads - HP much? - that go quickly take time. There's no going around that. (Well, speed-reading and skipping parts, but that's never been my way.) And so instead of branching out and trying something new, it's a lot easier to just stick with what you're used to reading, because you pretty much know you'll like it and it won't be a waste of time.

On top of time, there's also that reading is done alone. You can watch a movie or show with friends, and laugh and talk about it at the same time. Have you tried reading with someone else before? I have. It's annoying and strange, especially if the other person isn't at the same reading speed as you. Reading is inheritantly individualistic. And so your own tastes are really the only ones that matter. A friend can coerce you to watch a movie with them; a friend lending you a book and telling you to read it is a lot different than you actually picking up that book and reading it.

Add the fact that you have to concentrate to read - a tv isn't doing the work for you - and you have another reason. Teen is usually easier to read than adult. Not always, but that's what I've found from what I've read of adult and certainly of the classics. Teen novels have a way of writing that's aimed for teens. Many teens are reluctant readers- they're not going to want to wade through complex sentences and imagery and whatnot.

All this to conclude that while all forms have advantages and disadvantages, that really shouldn't stop me, and those of you, from limiting myself to one genre in whatever form. Just because I've always read teen doesn't mean I should constantly only read teen. Diversity is my new goal.

And so I've challenged myself to actually read some of the classics. I'm about a 1/4 of the way through Wuthering Heights now. I'm off to discover why everyone is obsessed with this Heathcliff.

So what do you all think? Diversify? And what books would you recommend that aren't teen?

- Alex

I had a dream...

And it was frightening, to say the least. Actually, it reminded me a lot of Hunger by Michael Grant. (Reviewed here.) I guess it does make sense since I just read Hunger last week.


Since I feel like it, I'll describe my dream to you. Be warned though, my dreams tend to be nonsensical and rambling, cutting from scene to scene. And they're long enough to be their own novel.

We're all stuck in a building. 3 different rooms, every wall made of hard glass. For some reason, we all have special powers. (This is the Hunger influence.) I have the power to change into any element- light as oxygen, hard as iron.

There are two sides. Battling each other for our lives. Don't know why- but we are. We, being all kids. No adults, no supervision. Only teenagers running rampant. (More Hunger) There's a lot of talking, fighting, threatening. The bad, evil leader (who remains faceless even to myself since I don't remember faces ever) speaks of bringing out the dragons to hurt everyone who defies him.

More yelling, screaming, fighting.

Scene changes.

Now, I, on the team of good (of course) are planning to ambush the bad side. They are holding the Golden Fleece (mythology/Percy Jackson reference there) and we need to take it back before the world destructs. (Don't ask me. I have no idea why I dream what I dream.) Picture this: A field. Lots of trees and posts to hide behind. There is one path that splits into two to go around the field. The bad team has lots of huge cocoons cradled in their hands. In one of the cocoons is the Golden Fleece.

They try to flee, but we surround them. They try to fight, but we fight back. Some break away with cocoons, but some of our people chase after them and get them. We prevail. The Golden Fleece in ours.

There's some other jumbled up bits in there. Dialogue I can't remember.

The gist of this random post is pretty much, Books really do affect us. A lot. My dreams are influenced by the books I read, my thoughts, my feelings, my mood.

But maybe that's just me. To what extent do books affect you? And which book affects you the most?

Alex- Rambling #1

I've been thinking...

Point of views in books. What's your favourite? Third person, first person, maybe even second person? Told by a girl or boy? Changing point of views, or no?

Before, I would have said first person, girl. Like Sarah Dessen who I immensely love. But my tastes have also broadened, and now I really do like a variety now that I've experienced more. John Green is amazing, and I feel like I can still connect with his protagonists all the time, even though they're always boys. And recently, I've fallen in love with changing points of view. Like it switches from the guy, to the girl, or whatnot. I'm currently thinking of Susane Colasanti, author of books like When It Happens. I just love how readers get to get to know the characters that way, and follow closely both main characters as they fall in love. That way, it's not completely one sided, only knowing how one character feels.

Also, My Most Excellent Year. This book is written all in assignments, emails, and the like. But it's from 3 different characters, mostly. And they have such different views of each other. For example. The two guys, T.C. and Augie both recall a memory, but with different perspectives. Right after T.C.'s mother dies when he's six, he's suddenly alienated from his peers. So when he wears a shirt inside out and people copy him the next day, T.C. thinks everyone is making fun of him. So he goes and cries, which really tears my heart out. Augie, meanwhile, knows differently. Everyone copied T.C. because he was popular, and everyone wanted to be like him, not because they were being mean. See what I mean? I just, I love that.

Another good example of changing views is Dream Factory, by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler. So cute. With changing point of views, my heart can really go out to both main characters. :)

So, Lauren and viewers who will hopefully come, what do you all think?