I rarely read fiction until I started writing my novel. I could finish one book, but not read another for a long time because it wouldn't hold my interest. I had read a lot of Pratchett, Tolkien, Orwell, Vonnegut, and some other isolated examples of other authors--as well as tons and tons of non-fiction. I think I really honed my writing skills on internet forums and newsgroups, none of which were devoted to writing until now.
But when I started writing, I took more interest in reading, especially the books that I figured I ought to read. Dickens, Dostoevsky, Camus, Dumas, and so forth. Lately I've started reading Last of the Mohicans because I wanted to read some classic American novels from the 19th century, but it's not holding my interest (of course, neither did Dickens or Dostoevsky at first, and now I love them).
I really like these older books, it's hard for me to work up much interest in a more modern book. But I'm wondering if I'm the only one. Who else here has created their own program of classic reading? What sort of books did you read? Were there any books that, in spite of the critical acclaim, you just couldn't bother finishing?
I know it's silly, but every time I want to read something more modern I feel a pang of guilt, that as a writer I should finish getting grounded in the classics before I spend time reading something that might be forgotten fifty years from now. I know, it's stupid.
But when I started writing, I took more interest in reading, especially the books that I figured I ought to read. Dickens, Dostoevsky, Camus, Dumas, and so forth. Lately I've started reading Last of the Mohicans because I wanted to read some classic American novels from the 19th century, but it's not holding my interest (of course, neither did Dickens or Dostoevsky at first, and now I love them).
I really like these older books, it's hard for me to work up much interest in a more modern book. But I'm wondering if I'm the only one. Who else here has created their own program of classic reading? What sort of books did you read? Were there any books that, in spite of the critical acclaim, you just couldn't bother finishing?
I know it's silly, but every time I want to read something more modern I feel a pang of guilt, that as a writer I should finish getting grounded in the classics before I spend time reading something that might be forgotten fifty years from now. I know, it's stupid.