What I don't enjoy are "serious" works of literary fiction.
I'm not sure what you mean by this exactly (i.e. I think a lot Oprah's book club choices can hardly be considered "high" literature), but in very broad and general terms I must say I do. Not only because that' my day job: I remember enjoying reading complex and "deep" novels ever since I was teenager. The same with arthouse movies, experimental music, avant-garde art. It's not affectation or pretentiousness: it's sincere appreciation for complexity and innovation, and for language/music/images that force me to rethink and reassess my ideas. That push me out of my comfort zone.
Having said that, I also enjoy all kinds of popular culture, including truly trashy products, such as some television shows. Only, I enjoy them differently.
But of course there is a lot I don't like, whether it's "high" or popular. I apply a critical perspective to everything, that is truly something I cannot help. Sitting down and letting the story "take me"? Whether it's a modernist interior monologue or fanfiction fluff, that's not me :)
One more thing, then I'll shut up: I believe all fiction operates some degree of manipulation, whether it's a story that tries to pull your strong emotional/intellectual chains, or one that tries to re-create the calm flow of the real world as the author perceives it. Avoiding cliff-hangers, death scenes or big angsty moments is meant to elicit an emotional response from readers as much as putting those moments there. Only, they are emotions of a different kind. What really matters to my reading experience is whether the writers' attempts to make me believe in their world and its emotions works or not, but that's a different issue altogether.
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I'm not sure what you mean by this exactly (i.e. I think a lot Oprah's book club choices can hardly be considered "high" literature), but in very broad and general terms I must say I do. Not only because that' my day job: I remember enjoying reading complex and "deep" novels ever since I was teenager. The same with arthouse movies, experimental music, avant-garde art. It's not affectation or pretentiousness: it's sincere appreciation for complexity and innovation, and for language/music/images that force me to rethink and reassess my ideas. That push me out of my comfort zone.
Having said that, I also enjoy all kinds of popular culture, including truly trashy products, such as some television shows. Only, I enjoy them differently.
But of course there is a lot I don't like, whether it's "high" or popular. I apply a critical perspective to everything, that is truly something I cannot help. Sitting down and letting the story "take me"? Whether it's a modernist interior monologue or fanfiction fluff, that's not me :)
One more thing, then I'll shut up: I believe all fiction operates some degree of manipulation, whether it's a story that tries to pull your strong emotional/intellectual chains, or one that tries to re-create the calm flow of the real world as the author perceives it. Avoiding cliff-hangers, death scenes or big angsty moments is meant to elicit an emotional response from readers as much as putting those moments there. Only, they are emotions of a different kind. What really matters to my reading experience is whether the writers' attempts to make me believe in their world and its emotions works or not, but that's a different issue altogether.