Tuesday. Sunny and cold. I should get the trash and recycling to the curb — and I will! But right now it’s too cold for your friendly neighborhood author to move. Also the driveway is a sheet of ice, so I’ll have to put the ice grippers on my shoes.
Right now, I’m talking to you and drinking chocolate chai tea with half-and-half.
Early question from last night’s post! “Haven’t those guys ever read anything but SF?”
SHORT ANSWER: Dunno, but — it’s possible.
LONG ANSWER: I’ve talked about this before, and I’ll preface the following iteration by saying that I’m not trying to police anyone’s reading habits. Reading fiction is a relaxation. I’m not gonna tell you what beer to drink, either.
That said, and recalling that Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, and Mouse and Dragon file under SF — back when I was an eggling, It. Was. Not. Possible. to only read SF. Even someone who reads slower than I do had to read in a variety of genres, and while that doesn’t mean that people not so inclined had to read romance books (which, BTW, did not exist in today’s form), they did have to stretch their minds somewhat to encompass the protocols demanded by other genres. Maybe not by much, if they stuck to SF, and SF’s first cousin, pornography; action novels, war stories — but still broader than some people read today.
Because today, it is not only possible to only read SF, it’s also possible to only read the teensy, tiny subgenre that you prefer above all others. You never have to read fiction that makes you even the smallest bit uncomfortable, or offers you the opportunity to think a New Thought, or to practice a confusing scenario that that you might well face in RL.
Back in The Day, we were also taught to read. That is, we weren’t just taught the words and cut loose. We read out loud in school and answered questions. Now, I learned to read in a Catholic School, (an inaccuracy of its kind, but bear with me) and our primers chronicled the adventures of … Ann and David, I believe. They were teaching stories and had rather heavy-handed morals. And after we read each little adventure, Sister would ask us — Why did Ann do That Thing? Why was David worried? What did Mother say that you should all remember?
And I very much fear that the kind of reading lesson where children are taught to engage with the text, with the characters, and think about what the words mean, is a thing of the past, as well.
So! My tea’s gone. I think I’ll go rustle up some oatmeal.
Everybody have a good day.
