So I think I finally "figured out" reading. As a 35-year-old, I've been influenced by myriad things in my life. One in particular is video games - to the point that I often will choose books and films that are video-game-esque. That is: science fiction, action-oriented, etc.
Here's the thing: I don't actually like them. I enjoy playing video games set in space and running around shooting things...and in those cases, the brief narrative interludes are interesting. But absorbing an entire novel's worth of material with a huge cast of characters engaging in lots of "plot" is not something I ultimately care about.
Imagine then, how discouraged I've become as I force myself to read the Three-Body Problem, Dune, The Dark Tower series (which I actually do kind of like, though I'm never motivated to keep reading the books), and even "classics" by Robert Heinlein (you can probably see I have a strong opinion that his work just isn't good, regardless of genre tastes).
Anywho:
What I crave in films and books are intimate, honest stories of the human experience! That, however, is harder to find than something with a genre name like "sci-fi" or "horror" or "romance."
I recently re-read Never Let me Go and fell in love with it all over again. Indeed, I like science-fiction and technology being part of a story, I just don't want it to be the point! Never Let Me Go does an excellent job of telling a story about humanity - through three central characters - with scientific morality as only a sub theme. And now I'm reading Stoner, and I'm similarly taken by the raw earnestness of our protagonist.
So two questions:
1. Have you ever experienced an "awakening" like this? In which you realized you've been "doing it wrong" with reading?
2. Any recommendations for books I might love after hearing my thoughts on Never Let Me Go and Stoner?
The advice I generally give people about reading is to simply read what you like. If a book or a genre doesn't interest you, then don't bother with it. If you like something, read more of it. Pretty simple. I can give good recommendations in fantasy and sci-fi and some historical fiction. That's pretty much all i've read for the past 40+ years.