Monday, September 21, 2009

What people like to read

To what extent is "literary merit" mutually exclusive with being a good read?

Says Nick Hornby of literary awards: "the books that have actually come to mean something to the culture have all been ignored, so what you are saying to people is the books you like are no good. It is not true and it is not right."

You can see the full interview in The Australian, here.

Nick Hornby's About A Boy is one of my all-time favourite books. If you've seen the film, don't presume you know what the book's about!

Meanwhile, another story in The Australian discusses popular misconceptions about the romance genre, and why women like to read it.

Even so, I read the first few pages of Candace Bushnell's One Fifth Avenue the other day and found myself completely disgusted with the poor grammar and overt plot devices.

1 comment:

  1. I can't believe I didn't mention to you tonight that I am currently reading 'high fidelity' and loving it. Personally, I really like Nick Hornby's writing style. Although this is the first of his books that I am reading so I'm not really allowed to judge yet... ;)

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