I've been reading the responses on different blogs to this week's Musing Monday prompt, and it made me think of a couple other things.
--Very little of the peer pressure I feel to read a popular book comes from my real-life friends. Even the ones who do read a fair bit don't recommend books to me and they don't seem to keep up with the latest reading fads. I usually feel compelled to jump onto a reading bandwagon by listening to my online friends or coverage in the media. If I hear a book mentioned on more than one talk show, it makes me wonder what I'm missing.
--It occurred to me that one reason people tend to jump on the new hotness in the reading world is to have a talking point with friends. Nowadays, I don't think that people have as many common experiences as they once did when they were clustered in small towns. I admit that there is something fun about reading a book that I know all my friends have read. That's why I keep trying to talk some of my real-life friends into reading novels that I've enjoyed, even ones that aren't the latest craze. I want to hear if certain scenes made them laugh or cry. I want that shared experience.
2 comments:
I'm so far behind in my Reader that I'm reading backwards, but your second point here resonates with me. I do think we're looking for a way to connect with other people. I have one local friend who reads a lot and I love passing books back and forth, and my best friend from high school and I talk books a lot. It's a nice way to stay connected, until the characters start to feel real.
I also like reading the same books as my close friends, this way we can discuss.
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