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From September 4, 2008: Peer pressure: I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.

Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.

Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?



I'm such a happy nonconformist, I've never in my life read anything because everyone else was reading it.

On the other hand, when 'everyone' is reading a book, I get curious. I want to know what it's like, and understand the conversations about it. This is why I've read the Harry Potter books, and Dan Brown, and... other stuff. I have not read Twilight, though for a while I thought I wanted to. Then I heard more about the story end decided against it.

The thing is, I often don't like the same things that 'everyone' likes. Though X-Men is still popular in the world of comics, it isn't a mainstream thing. Not even the movies, though they're better known. Dorothy Dunnett will never be to the popular taste - I am, in fact, always suprised when anyone besides myself loves the Lymond books, since I feel as if they're my personal domain. But not in a possessive sense.

This applies to the past, too. The classics that 'everyone' reads, or at least, gets assigned in school. I fell madly in love with Shakespeare - well, with Hamlet - as an adolescent - and then Dickens. But I never loved Jane Austen, or Isaac Asimov, or Andre Norton. I sample these things, all of them. And sometimes I'm glad I did. Tolkien, for example, though when I read Lord of the Rings I had no idea it was popular or famous, and no one called it a classic back then. I quite like the Harry Potter books, though not to the extent of feeling fannish about them. I hated The Da Vinci Code , but I'm not sorry I read it. Sometimes it's fun to hate a book for its absurdities and still half-admire it for its money-making properties. Now, that's alchemy - turning words into gold.

I used to review books (and comics) professionally, and enjoyed it. But it never made me want to read things I wouldn't otherwise have read. Writing style is, for me, the most important thing, and I wouldn't expect others to share my stylistic tastes. It's very individualistic, and very subjective.

I've never wanted to 'keep up' with what other people are reading. Sometimes because it looks boring. Mostly because I've always thought of myself as ahead of that curve anyway - I often read such books before other people do.

The important thing is having read the books and authors I love, not just Dorothy Dunnett but also Elizabeth Knox, Ellen Kushner, Megan Whalen Turner, Karin Lowachee. I don't care what's popular, I want to find what's good.

Yeah, I'm a book snob. Or perhaps an inverse book snob. I'm happy that way.

Date: 2008-09-04 02:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] louiex.livejournal.com
I don't care what's popular, I want to find what's good.

And that's why you've been saved from the brain eatery that is Twilight :D No offense to the people who DO like it, of course, but seriously... I've read reviews and realized I need at least fifty feet between me and these books at most if not all times *laughs*

Re: Twilight...

Date: 2008-09-04 02:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] louiex.livejournal.com
Aw, that sounds so mean tho now that I look back on what I said... I mean, granted I never heard about until I heard Robert Pattinson was going to be in it (though I look forward to his playing a young sexually adventerous Salvadore Dali about a billion times more than some hot vamp with an American accent) and now suddenly it's EVERYWHERE. But I have my own snags about books that make me question my own snobbish levels *laughs* this series tends to just ping more than usual all at once~

Re: Twilight...

Date: 2008-09-04 02:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fajrdrako.livejournal.com
Yes. I have various reasons for feeling a prejudice against it when I haven't even read it. And sometimes I suspect that the average snobbery against it is becuase it's written for the young, and the things that teens love are often sneered at by adults for no reason better than ageism - something I do not approve of. All the more so because these books particularly appeal to girls, and things that appeal to female readers are often considered the literary lowest of the low. (Just mention genre romance in genteel company.)

As [livejournal.com profile] josanpq was saying to me: these books make teenagers read, make them read eagerly, when they wouldn't otherwise be reading anything. In the case of her students, they're even reading them in something other than their native language. This is a very good thing.

But on the face of it, these books look to me like another teen fad.

Re: Twilight...

Date: 2008-09-04 03:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] louiex.livejournal.com
I'm all for getting the youth to read :D From Goosebumps to Harry Potter, reading fads are the better of fads that I've seen come and go, surely~ But I do have qualms about the series specifically though (and this last one? Just wow :D Okay, I can't even really begin to start cause I'll just start laughing and facepalming again) that usually turns me off from reading them.

Hell, there are YA books out there that are often better than most adult-geared stories~

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Date: 2008-09-04 02:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jadesfire2808.livejournal.com
I'm a horribly impatient and easily distracted reader, so I only end up reading books that hook me in the first chapter. Perseverance is not my strong point. Like you, I read things out of interest, but I mostly read things recommended by people I trust, or that have pretty covers or are by people I've heard of. Which limits my scope but means I'm happy with what I'm reading. Like you, I'm not a bit Austen fan, although I love Asimov. The 'if you liked this, try this' lists are so useful to me, since I'm so damn picky!

I actually read Digital Fortress first, and it makes The Da Vinci Code look like great literature...

Date: 2008-09-04 10:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fajrdrako.livejournal.com
I'm a horribly impatient and easily distracted reader, so I only end up reading books that hook me in the first chapter.

I think I generally expect to be hooked before that - if I'm not enjoying it, I'll stop at a few pages. But it depends on the book, too - and things like my general reactions to the author. I read for style, and style is usually obvious in the first page. So I'm there... or I'm not.

I actually read Digital Fortress first, and it makes The Da Vinci Code look like great literature...

Terrifying statement!

Date: 2008-09-04 03:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] puritybrown.livejournal.com
I have not read Twilight and don't plan to (I'm burned out on vampires, and the books sound kinda skeevy into the bargain; like, "this is criminal behaviour being presented as romantic" skeevy) but I adore Cleolinda Jones's recaps and commentaries (http://cleoland.pbwiki.com/Twilight); [livejournal.com profile] cleolinda is also the author of the "Movies in Fifteen Minutes" recaps (at [livejournal.com profile] m15m). What makes her Twilight commentary so hilarious is that she actually loves the books, but she doesn't take them seriously or think they're Great Literature, which an alarming number of people do.

Date: 2008-09-04 04:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fajrdrako.livejournal.com
I'm burned out on vampires

I thought I was, long ago, but I confess that watching Buffy has renewed my interest and raised my tolerance level. I think I might start watching Moonlight in French. If I can find the time.

Thanks for the links to Cleolinda Jones. I've always loved her "Movies in 15 Minutes" recaps.

Date: 2008-09-05 12:52 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] monsieureden.livejournal.com
Twilight reminded me of a young adult version of the Anita Blake series... which I admit to enjoying at first, but it got so bad.

I also admit to liking Interview with a Vampire, but that's it. No really. *g*

Date: 2008-09-05 02:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fajrdrako.livejournal.com
I liked Interview with a Vampire, too. And Marvel's Tomb of Dracula, and some of the St-Germain novels. Some other things too. It all seems so long ago now.

I suspect I would have liked Anita Blake if I'd started with the first book. As it was, I started with one written a year or two ago and it was amazing: it actually managed to make group sex seem boring. Really, really boring. By the time I realized that I wasn't enjoying it, I was just counting and analyzing the reasons it was so boring, I stopped reading.

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Date: 2008-09-06 06:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ceindreadh.livejournal.com
I also admit to liking Interview with a Vampire, but that's it. No really. *g*

Interview with the vampire is one of the few books where I've actually preferred the film adaptation of it. Granted I saw the movie first, but usually I'll still prefer the books. Not in this case.

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Date: 2008-09-04 05:20 pm (UTC)
ext_120533: Deseine's terracotta bust of Max Robespierre (Default)
From: [identity profile] silverwhistle.livejournal.com
I am hard-wired against peer-pressure. It made life hell for me as a child and teenager, but one thing I can say in favour of surviving a decade of bullying for being 'different': I don't shift in order to be 'popular'.

I tried to read the Potter books, because I had quite enjoyed the first couple of films, but I couldn't get past the turgid prose. I will sometimes read/watch populist crap in order to argue against it, but not in all cases. Generally, I prefer reading non-fiction to fiction, anyway.

Date: 2008-09-04 05:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fajrdrako.livejournal.com
I am hard-wired against peer-pressure.

Me too.

Mind you, luckily, it didn't make my life miserable at any point, unles you count being lonely. It just made me very independent.

Date: 2008-09-04 05:47 pm (UTC)
ext_120533: Deseine's terracotta bust of Max Robespierre (Default)
From: [identity profile] silverwhistle.livejournal.com
2 other girls once pulled on the ends of my scarf to strangle me as a 'joke'. I've also had to dodge bricks being thrown at me, and had a black eye and a bloody nose. After all that, sure, I like it when people agree with me/like me, but if they don't, I assume they're just not worth bothering with. I won't run off in pursuit of things they like, just to be accepted.

Date: 2008-09-04 05:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fajrdrako.livejournal.com
No, neither would I. I don't see conformity as any kind of a virtue.

Date: 2008-09-04 07:13 pm (UTC)
ext_5457: (Default)
From: [identity profile] xinef.livejournal.com
I am hard-wired against peer-pressure.

Me too for similar reasons.

I also read the HP books, but started early, just around the time that book #2 was coming out. Found them to be fun reading, so read the rest as they were published. But not fanatically, they often made the rounds of the entire family before I got to them.

Date: 2008-09-04 06:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ceindreadh.livejournal.com
Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

I deliberately avoided 'The DaVinci Code', solely because of all the hype about it. Then of course I heard that the Catholic Church was up in arms over it and calling it blasphemous etc, so I figured it might be worth a shot :-) (enjoyed it more than I'd expected to, although I wouldn't count it as a particular favourite)

I will try pretty much any genre/author at least once. (except for maybe romance novels, they do nothing for me)
I love the second shops or bargain basements of bookstores. It gives me a chance to pick up a new author without blowing a lot of money on a book that I might not enjoy enough to finish. I've managed to find a few gems that way.

Date: 2008-09-04 07:29 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fajrdrako.livejournal.com
The Da Vinci Code quite amused me for various reasons, and I think I would even say I greatly enjoyed the experience of reading it, even though I found the prose execrable, the cliffhangers silly, the the puzzles absurdly easy, and the characters wooden - except for the albino monk assassin. I quite liked him. He was so over the top he was fun.

I love romance novels but only the really good ones. Which means of course "the ones I like", which makes the whole sentence meaningless. I don't get much chance to read romance any more, but there are romance authors I love - Janet Evanovich, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jo Beverley.

But I too have my prejudices and preferences, and there are genres I tend to avoid. (Any book about women buying shoes, perhaps?)

Date: 2008-09-05 12:35 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] monsieureden.livejournal.com
This is all the funnier that I recognize and have read and loved all you mention. haha. So you aren't so odd!

I felt as you did about Lymond w/ Niccolo until I found Marzipan.

I read Twilight for a young adult literature class, to get a feel for what the teens at the library were reading. I was not impressed, but it does seem written for an atypical 13 year old girl. I know many of them like it. I was reading Niccolo at 13, so I guess I just have different tastes.

To be fair, I take a lot of my lit. recs from Dunnett fans, just because I know we have similar interests. These aren't often or always popular fiction. Which is another reason why I don't see myself being a good public librarian: I just don't read much popular fiction.

I am currently finishing up His Dark Materials, which is also very popular with teens, and I think it's decent. No Dunnett though. :)

Date: 2008-09-05 01:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fajrdrako.livejournal.com
This is all the funnier that I recognize and have read and loved all you mention. haha. So you aren't so odd!

Happy to hear it!

Yeah, different tastes.

I always write down titles when Dunnett fans recommend them. Don't seem to get around to reading them as much as I'd like.

I didn't like His Dark Materials at all, for many reasons, mostly distaste for the writing style and dislike of the protagonist. (I only read the first book.) I... approve it in theory, but it's like with C.S. Lewis, I didn't enjoy reading it at all and found it creepy. Couldn't suspend my disbelief, either, and I'm usually good at that.


Date: 2008-09-05 05:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] monsieureden.livejournal.com
I had a terrible time getting into the Golden Compass. There is something about the writing... I tried it three times and finally finished before the movie came out. Then I liked it; didn't love it, but for YA I liked it.

I am almost done with book three and overall like it, but the writing still bothers me, and no, I don't like Lyra either. I feel like I'm supposed to.

I liked Golden Compass more than the next two. It's taken me about five months to read through the third book LOL.

Date: 2008-09-05 06:08 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fajrdrako.livejournal.com
I don't like Lyra either. I feel like I'm supposed to.

Yes, that was my reaction. I found her arrogant and annoying. It was a big problem - I kept feeling sorry for the people she came up against.

I loved the visual sense of the book, and therefore might enjoy the movie, but I don't feel like trying it.

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Date: 2008-09-06 02:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] magika83.livejournal.com
Funny thing, you mentioned the same three books I thought of when I read the question. My MO: I notice all the praise about a new book and think I'm never going to read it because it can't be half as good as it is made out to be. Then when all the hype has died down (often a year or two after the book was published) I decide to read it after all. And more often than not, I end up pleasantly surprised. This happened with Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code. I've thought about reading Twilight, but I'm still on the fence about that one.

I listen more to my friends and family than the general public when it comes to books. I know their reading tastes and they know mine, so when we recommend books to each other, we ususally hit the nail on the head. Actually, after reading about your love for Dorothy Dunnett I decided to check out the Lymond chronicles, so The Game of Kings is now sitting on my shelf waiting for me to find the right time to dive into it. Sometimes the pressure of one is enough. :-)

Date: 2008-09-08 07:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fajrdrako.livejournal.com
I'm still pretty much on the fence about Twilight too. I might just read it one day on impulse. Or not.

Certainly my love of The Game of Kings knows no bounds, though I know many people find it 'difficult'. I thought it was a little strange for the first two pages, then the pig got drunk, and I was hooked forever.

I am (as you have probably noticed) usually unreasonably partisan about the stuff I most like.

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