Mailbag: Social Reading, Plugging into a New World

In this week’s mailbag, I’m tackling comments on my post wondering whether books should be social, as well as my post discussing how to plug into a new world, whether it’s a fantasy world of your own making or just a different sort of experience. Let’s see what readers had to say!

In response to “Should Books Be Social?”, J said:

Um, I never thought about that. Goodreads on the contrary is where I met my “tribes”. There are lots of groups dedicated to “trashy” books you can join. You won’t be judged. If you are self conscious you can create several accounts and have one for your book snobs friends and one for your guilty pleasures. I read all over the map, respected books and trash but I have no shame so I keep everything in one account.

Thanks, J. I love the prospect of a community that judges a little less and simply enjoys the wonderful pastime that is reading; but this fracturing you suggest into separate accounts is precisely what I’m worried about. Who has the time to separate oneself into all of these different selves? I like the enthusiasm and community behind Goodreads — I just think many online social networking sites end up making us perform our lives rather than live them.

mary said:

Anyway, GR sounds like a goldmine to me. As it is, I turn only to my county library for monthly ‘picks’ of good books in various genres. But they are quite good at giving you several reviews from Booklist, etc. Plus, they always say: “if you like such & such an author, you’ll probably like this.” And those quiet little librarians can have pretty out there tastes, too.

It never occurred to me Book Snobs existed, but of course they must–it’s human nature (though I do not believe any person has finished “Infinite Jest” except maybe its late author. I know that NO one has honestly read “Pale King” all the way through–and I am a CPA who prepared tax returns for decades ’cause I LIKED doing them!

Definitely, the algorithms that sites like Goodreads and Netflix offer are truly useful and downright revolutionary — they allow you to enter the collective brain of millions of people and extract recommendations uniquely tailored to what you’ve liked. I’ve appreciated Goodreads’ recommendation feature greatly.

And I have finished The Pale King, mary, or what exists of it — though of course, it is itself unfinished!

After the jump: more comments, more responses.

On my post about plugging into a new world, Margaret said:

I’m a huge sci fi and fantasy fan, and one of the things that I find interesting as a writer is how writers work back story into their novels. Tied up with this is how confused/not the author “wants” the reader to be at the beginning of the novel. Heinlein, for example, lays everything out. Murakami, by contrast, doesn’t. I find following the second type of author requires a certain leap of faith and the willingness to be confused for what may turn out to be a significant portion of the book.

Thanks, Margaret — interesting observation about how backstory ties into all of this. It’s true that introducing your reader to a new world can be done gradually or by throwing him/her into the deep end — and sometimes it’s far more exhilarating as a reader to jump right in and be discombobulated for a while. Though I’ve discovered not everyone reads like I do — I’m a “go with the flow” reader, content to read for great stretches without fully understanding what’s going on, while many like to stay on top of everything as they go. Either approach can work!

Thanks, commenters — hope to see you here next week!