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I've started reading more books (again) lately and the depth of character development and ideas in long form fiction is striking compared to even most long-form
by api 2y ago
I've started reading more books (again) lately and the depth of character development and ideas in long form fiction is striking compared to even most long-form TV and films, let alone short attention span social media slop. (... and the best long-form TV and films are often based on books ...)
You can really get deep into characters' heads, their motivations, etc. The more I read the more I feel like it makes me a better person as I absorb empathy and deep insights about consciousness and the human experience.
- watwut 2y agoBack then when people read a lot there was "junk literature". I read it a lot when I was younger. There was no dept of character development nor complex plots. It was formulaic, simple, you got your violence/romance/thrill/whatever fix for the week and moved on. The things people read when they read a lot were not deep masterpieces. They were, basically, shovelware in book form.
- api 2y agoThere is still a boatload of junk literature, but if you dig there is ten lifetimes worth of good stuff. I will never read it all. New good stuff is always being published too, but like music you have to dig. I like to read a mix of new material from good up and coming authors and classics on my backlog.
- rurp 2y agoI strongly second this. When I got back into reading I was also struck by how much deeper the stories and characters are, even compared to excellent TV shows or longform articles.
- mariushn 2y agoCould you please recommend a few such books? Thanks!