This was great and worth the wait. Great to get an insiders view of how books are categorized and the differences between the UK and the U.S. I had no idea UK bookstores differed on the kinds of books they were known to carry. I do find the non-wrapped up endings of literary fiction frustrating sometimes. Thank you for the kind words.
“Oh my god - I’m literary fiction!” 😂 Great video, Katie! Truly so helpful and clarifying. Thank you so much for your insights into these different classifications of fiction.
A very helpful video. I’ve moved away from literary fiction because of the prevalence of all forms of trauma especially child abuse and addiction hence I don’t plan to read Shuggy Bain. Also the emphasis on complicated language. I realise I like spare, observant prose - Barbara Pym is my absolute favourite ( and she was nominated for the Booker prize!) the early twentieth century writers don’t seem as obsessed with trauma.
Bravo! Love this. I appreciate your defence of commercial fiction and reading for pleasure, not making value judgments on the types of books we enjoy. I agree 100% that literary fiction is on a spectrum and there are fluid borders that complicate our attempts at categorization. Your distinction between commercial and reading group categories is helpful and I love your graph! I also enjoyed hearing your perspective on cover design. When I facilitated workshops on the topic of readers services for library staff, I often started with an exercise using covers removed from discarded books. It reinforced the idea that library staff knew more than they had realized about what was inside books simply by having handled so many of them.
Well done! I've probably said it before, but I think books and food have a lot in common. I can devour a cosy mystery as easily as a bag of crisps. I enjoy the spice blends and the consistency of the product, but I don't rave about the experience at the end, and there isn't much to keep thinking about. Still, I'd be tempted to pick up another. Reading Joyce is like being invited by a chef to be more involved in the making of the culinary experience by learning about the history and role of the various spices as I grind them myself. The whole experience might be bewildering, but I'll hopefully appreciate the meal more for the effort. I feel like I should probably admit I've been munching peanut butter filled pretzels while I typed this. I ate a lot. They were ok.
Loved this video Katie! Agree with you on so many points. Wish Alice could have seen this as we often shared our frustration at unsatisfactory endings. You are so right about Dickens in everything you said about him. I love him above all others too so am bound to agree. Also Hardy,some great characters and plots but far too many classical allusions and descriptive passages -though parts of those do stay with me. Found it a bit of a struggle re reading him recently. Also agree about George Eliot ,Middlemarch is my nemesis,bete noir ,whatever. I'm glad I've finally read it and will not have to look at it again. It's raining hard here at the moment so your allowing Jon McGregor two pages of rain made me smile,yes we can let him have that ,If nobody speaks is an amazing book. Thank you so much Katie,this is just the best video ever.
Really enjoyed this video! I work in US publishing as a book cover designer and rely on the editor/publisher's positioning for how I design a cover. I used to work at a distincly commercial imprint but now work with a lot of literary and translated fiction. A lot of books these days are being positioned as commercial AND literary which is a fine line to straddle-an example of this, which I did not work on, would be Sally Rooney's books.
This perfectly describes all the reasons why I don’t usually like literary fiction. I love that you took the time to analyze many aspects of how we describe and categorize fiction! So helpful!
This was such an helpful video!! I always struggled to understand the difference and I was confused about the explanation that literary fiction doesn't fit into a genre. This makes much more sense. Thank you! :D
Thank you so much for this wonderful, informative video. I am a big fan of literary fiction, and your video helped me to better understand what I enjoy about the genre. I think what I enjoy the most is, to use your words, how literary fiction is more “writing” driven. I particularly enjoyed the section of your video that spoke about classics and literary fiction. I agree, people often assume that classics are literary fiction. Most classics are far from it, which is one of the reasons there are very few classics that I truly love. While I've read a number of large classics, I've never read any Dickens as I always had the feeling I wouldn't enjoy his style. Your comments on Dickens seem to have confirmed my assumptions, although I will give one of his books a read one of these days. I’ve added a number of the literary fiction books you mentioned to my tbr - The House of Doors sounds particularly interesting! Thanks again for the lovely, detailed video.
Great graph - really helpful. Interesting discussion too. I was intrigued by your comment that George Eliot is literary. I am currently listening to Daniel Deronda (narrated by Juliet Stevenson). I can see your point: it is very slow without much of a plot but, somehow, the quality of the (sarcastic) writing - helped by Ms Stevenson's excellent delivery - is so engaging. Eliot can be as funny as Trollope but even dryer!
This has helped me garner some sense as to what literary fiction means. Admittedly, I had a somewhat similar experience in that I thought it was something else entirely when I said that I liked literary fiction. I am also a person who appreciates a plot, but there have been cases with literary fiction where I've "got" a book and that has been one of the reasons that I've ended up liking it in comparison to other books. I also like when an author plays with form/structure so am more inclined to read that kind of literary fiction rather than something that is being wordy for the sake of being wordy. Your points on Charles Dickens remind me of what helped me actually knuckle down and finish one of his novels. High school had me worried that he had to be examined, that every line was going over my head, but then I realised that he was writing to entertain folk and so I could just have fun with the reading. I still avoid George Eliot though. I'm sure I'll get to her one day. Thank you for putting together this video. It must have taken a lot of planning and work, and I'm grateful for its existence.
Great video, Katie. You were able to articulate some of the things I also struggle with in books. I think that's one of the many reasons I love your channel, that we have similar reading tastes. There's the odd exception to the rule, but literary fiction usually doesn't do it for me. I feel the same way about other media as well. I am much more likely to enjoy a movie with a solid plot and interesting characters or themes than I am experimental or "artsy" films that usually feel pretentious and pointless to me. Movie or book, I am just so much more invested in the characters and story than in anything else.
I have been reading through the comments after watching the video and notice how many people say they have found it helpful. What a lovely thing to achieve as it is also personal and entertaining. I definitely found it helpful myself. I am intrigued by the positioning choices you describe. Reading group fiction is such a useful category which I have only learned from you and it was great to hear you explain it more fully. And the graph was brilliant. I love a book at the reading group or literary end of a genre like historical fiction or crime. I enjoy literary fiction but not books that are wilfully obscure as if that was the point. Jon McGregor or Virginia Woolf satisfy me because they write the way they do because they feel that is the best way they can convey the ideas and feelings that are important to them. Thank you for spending time making this video.
It was very clear and interesting 😊. Thank you for taking the time to make this video 😀. This year I'll try to read my 1st Charles Dickens'. I personally really like George Eliot because her novels move me a lot, the characters never let me indifferent. She's quite funny and witty I think. When I read her books it feels like I'm having a tea chatting about life with an old friend 😅
So so interesting. This has made me realise I am definitely more of a Reading group fiction reader. I do like quite a lot of literary fiction you mentioned enjoying. I really value plot & characters. So much to think about. This all very helpful especially as I am struggling with my reading at the moment and I think this has helped me understand what I am craving. Thank you Katie ❤️
I really enjoyed your book, and it made me think about other ways than genre that books are markeded to us. While I do understand what you mean with LF being word focused, I don't think I agree. Words are the tools of the trade of all book, and different writing styles is a big part of communicating with the intended audience. I do agree that the writing in a lot of LF can be more experimenting, but I'm not sure if it's right to say that writing style isn't important for RG and CF. The writing styles can just have different jobs. But I loved the idea of the graph of theme -plot, experimenting writing style -not experimenting writingstyle. That will help a lot. And as someone who loves Shakespeare. It's true, old does not equal LF 😂
This was such a helpful video! I need to have a character I’m rooting for, and that can eliminate a lot of literary fiction. Also, when life is stressful, I really need a wrapped up ending- life in the U.S. is pretty anxiety-inducing right now.
This is very helpful! Thank you very much. I think you nailed it when you said in the US literary fiction means any fiction that doesn't fit into a genre. When Oprah had her book club on TV I thought those selections were literary fiction. 😂 But reading group fiction would be correct. I'm glad you talked about Kazuo Ishiguro.
"What makes a good book" would be really interesting topic. In some ways it is subjective but I can imagine there are also set criteria which publishers have to be aware of so they know what books will get an audience. I find it a very interesting question too - when I watched the film Dunkirk a few years ago I found it an intensely uncomfortable and upsetting experience, and might even say it was the worst experience I've had with a film, but that actually speaks to the high quality production of the film and how emotive and immersive it was. Equally, when I hate a character in a book, it shows that the author has done a great job to make a fictional world believable and compelling - so the "bad" character is actually a very good character, if you know what I mean!
Also I should probably say this is a very interesting video. I really like your descriptions of how publishers place and market different books into genres, and particularly the graph - love a good graph! I feel like the books I read don't fit into common genre categories so I have just thrown genre terms out the window in general, but this video makes some things clearer.
Generally, I separate fiction I read as Kitsch or Important. To say something is important doesn't necessarily mean that it actually is only that they try to say or do something. Their success in so doing is "a simple twist of fate" (Bob Dylan). Kitsch can be fascinating, thought-provoking and unwilling to let you go for three days but all the author tried to do is tell a story. So, Silence of the Lambs is Kitsch, and Crime and Punishment is Important. I very much enjoyed spending an hour with you this morning. Thx : )
Very interesting video! I had never really thought of this this way! I never heard of reading group books before! It explains in a way why I don't connect with books that are very mainstream tiktokish but also don't really like very literary prize winning books! (Generally, of course there are exceptions on both sides). I'm more of a reading group kinda person! 🤯
That was a good way to spend an hour, and the insights into the publishing world are much appreciated. Thanks Katie, and not to worry about Will Self. The problem's his, not yours.
Thanks so much for your explanation of these terms. I’m definitely in the Reading Group area most often, sometimes into Commercial. I did read Cuddy after seeing you recommend it and I enjoyed a couple of the parts, but not all … now I understand more of why that was. 😎
I really enjoyed this video even if we have slightly different takes on books! I love your passion and it's so refreshing, it's given me a lot to think about. I loved Ulysses but I have no desire to read Finnegan's Wake either 🫣.
Thank you so much for this, it took me a couple of days to watch it all. So many thoughts, but briefly: 1. I understand much better the distinctions you draw between commercial, reading group, and literary. 2. So interesting as well that yr definitions originate from yr UK publishing knowledge. 3. Agreed that some books will have elements of two categories such that it becomes a decision how to position in the market, e.g. yr Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow example or a "literary thriller" written by John Banville (sometimes under his Benjamin Black pen name). 4. Applying your classification system to my own 2024 fiction reading (I believe I read more nonfiction than you do), I read commercial fiction the most, then literary, with reading group last. I was so surprised at that, because I thought I'd moved away from literary fiction. But I read more pre 2000 titles, so maybe it's 21C Lit Fic that I find less satisfying. Thanks again.
Very interesting topic and well presented. I was trying to determine if I was primarily reading group or literary, realizing I also read a lot of commercial until Donna Tartt entered the discussion. She settled it for me, I’m primarily literary😊. Kazuo Ishiguro cemented it. 💕 thank you, Katie, I enjoyed this tremendously.
Thank you for sharing this fascinating labor of love! For me, the best books are those that have a strong page-turning plot, characters with depth and also some original imagery and bits of lovely, memorable lyrical writing here and there but not so much that you can’t follow the story. ❤ One aspect of attempts by authors to be “literary” verses commercial is the author’s desire to be lasting: for their books to be a long-lasting legacy, not simply an entertaining, engaging read but rather classics which are prize winners to be appreciated by many generations to come.
That was a really interesting video - thank you. I have found that books that force you to slow down and read carefully can often end up as richer or deeper experiences for me and I often prefer that. I read a lot of translated fiction too and I get the feeling that it is mostly the literary end of the spectrum that gets translated. As my clear favourite Ishiguro is the Unconsoled I guess my taste is at the literary end but I have no intention of ever trying Finnegan’s Wake!
“Too fun to be literary fiction”. 😂 I completely understand what you mean. I had the same feeling after reading The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaître, that won the Goncourt prize in 2013. My reaction was exactly that: it’s so much fun, how did it win the mist literary of French literary prizes?!
Yes, I was also agreeably surprised that the Lemaître won the Goncourt back then, and at the same time so glad that the quality of the book was acknowledged. In fact it's one of the rare Goncourt prizes that I've read, I don't usually feel interested in them because they feel precisely too literary/experimental for me. This year I'm hoping that Le barman du Ritz by Philippe Collin is going to win (although it might not even by long-listed!) because it's a bit like the Lemaître, a great work of historical fiction.
This is such an educational video. Thank you for putting it out. I'll definitely have to watch it again to consolidate and will start thinking about what books I'm reading in these terms. I'm curious if you've ever read the Gormenghast trilogy and, if so, where you would place that. It's a series I know well and, based on the writing style, I have always thought of it as literary. Somehow, though, it seems to go beyond that into a place of its own. After watching your video, I'd probably say it's genre fiction: maybe gothic fantasy? It's so confusing! And that's before we get into the whole USA / UK thing!
That was really interesting and helpful. I hadn't heard the term "reading group fiction" before, but I do get it! I'm with you in terms of the classics (which is no doubt why I subscribe to you!) I love classics for plot. But I feel like when I tell people I read a lot of classics, or when I bring classics to my silent book club, I'm afraid to come across as pretentious. No, I just love 19th century pulp novels more than 21st century ones! Don't know if you're familiar with this, but Louisa May Alcott wrote a lot of pot-boiler, pulp novels and short stories. But of course she's most known for "Little Women" - although that is not literary fiction by any stretch of the imagination.
Great job! Thanks. I definitely need a plot. I suspect there’s a lot of reading group fiction that's "too literary" for me. If I notice the writing style, good or bad, it takes me out of the story. I'm really glad you listed examples at the end. I’m doing a reading challenge that requires reading literary fiction so I might try The Remains of the Day since I've seen the movie. Though I’ve had some interest in Hamnet. Would you classify it as literary fiction?
Thank you, Katie, for your hard work in explaining the different book genres. I will definitely rewatch this video. My preference is for literary fiction as I get a lot of pleasure from language used beautifully. I find that an ambiguous ending forces me to think more about the characters, plot, and themes of the book. Such a book often stays with me long after I have finished it.
Thanks for this promised video on Fiction of the Literary Kind. I, too, sat through the entire hour and even popped open your related discussion of Reading Group fiction. I must admit that I was (at times) overwhelmed with all the verbiage, but you were thorough in your definitions. The use of the quadrant graph was effective, but I especially enjoyed your emphasis on the INTENT/EMPHASIS of the author. Plot, Character, Message, Purpose, the actual Writing….to be or not to be, to tell sequentially or not at all, to strive, to never yield, to heave the tome against the wall and shut off the light. To, perhaps, understand why the book was written, or not, or to be very puzzled, indeed. To channel The Inner Kamala, a book is a written (or spoken) tale that tells a story in the context of the passage of time, as, you know, time goes by. Ha-ha-ha-ha-Ha!! What the author tried to do, as far as we can figure out the intent and the way the intention was……… intended, helps us to place a book in its intended box. What could be simpler? But seriously (for real), your distinction between quality and literary and insisting commercial does not necessarily mean bad are quite useful. Potato consumption is good for the farmer, but we all know too many crisps or chips will translate to a crise cardiaque, even in Gay Paris. One need only consider a brief sampling like Fifty Shades of Gray, Lolita, Twilight, Debbie Does Dallas, or anything by Ottessa Moshfegh or George Elliot, to see that filth, trash, and sophisticated (literary) literature are all-too-hastily-labelled peas rattling around in the very large tin-can-landscape of "letters". Just WTH were all these worthy artists trying to say or do, and can we mere readers truly cast the first questioning stone at any of them? There is a world-spanning ocean between RL Stevenson and Samuel Beckett, and it is a too, too easy thing to get lost or drown in all that vastness, and often times with nary a drop of the Water of Life to drink.
I never heard of this categorization. I'm brazilian, so i don't know how it's done here. Anyway, more than once i pondered if call as novel/poetic/short story... would be enough to define a book (besides horror, romantic, sci-fi...) and this video answers my question =D Made me think a lot. Still thinking 😅 Congrats for the video. It was amazing to me Btw i think i'm more reading group. Love a good plot but like a good writing too
This is fantastic Katie. Thanks for doing this. It actually articulated why I struggle with literary fiction too - I can read it and appreciate it but in experience, I don't "enjoy it" as much and it's more of an exercise for my brain than my heart - I think the trick is to appeal to both the brain and the heart. Thanks - awesome video!
What an insightful, fantastic video Katie! I'm so glad you opened up your patreon so we can support you in making this kind of amazing content for us to enjoy! I definitely lean very literary; I love my themes and no plot, lol. But I also learned the category of reading group, which I also really enjoy a lot. It's funny, I am very literary but don't always love nature descriptions and I don't enjoy Ali Smith or Donna Tart. I do love Kazuo Ishiguro though!
Really good. Longest booktube video I've ever watched. I read a lot of victorian fiction and could never understand the love for Middlemarch/ George Elliot, such a struggle to read. My favourite is Trollope, great plots and amazing dialogue. You put into words what I instinctively feel. Super.
Just nodding along to all of this. Characters, plot, wrapped up endings and fun are key! But even within that, we both have a lot of crossover genres but have different opinions on books within those genres, which I think goes to show it’s so personal what makes a book work for someone!
I ❤ this video! I also tend to not love literary fiction in general but do find some I love. It’s so important to express the merits of non-literary fiction and I feel your descriptions and thoughts did that!
Thanks so much Katie, I really enjoyed the video! It has explained to me why if a book has been short listed for the Booker Prize... I won't read it! 😩 I was not aware of the term "Reading Group", but that's obviously where I live for my reading life! 😄 Every now and then, I feel the need to read some hyped or "worthy" piece of Literary Fiction, but I'm usually I am left feeling deflated as I just don't get it! So, I'm now quite content to know that I don't have to! I'll stick with my Reading Group gems!
Thank you Katie for this insightful video! It helped me understand where my literary tastes fall…someplace between reading group and literary. I’m always searching for that writer whose prose I love combined with wonderful characters and a compelling plot.
thanks for the clarification. I used to think Literary fiction meant old and "sophisticated". Yet, well regarded books like Animal farm and Anna Karanina are much more simple then contemporary-fiction.
This was such an informative and interesting discussion! The divide between "popular" fiction and "high culture" fiction in the Victorian era is a big part of my dissertation since women were more likely to be labeled popular. Kind of funny how it's basically the same divide we have now just with different terms. I think I need a mug with "Dickens isn't literary. He's just old" on it!
Thank you so very much! This video helps me understand why I didn't love some of the books I haven't gotten on with (like The Goldfinch, which I really struggled with when I read it with a book club) and why I always think if I just read them again with the right frame of mind I could like them, but I never do. Time to move on from those and focus on the books I do love.
I loved this video. I do love literary fiction for all the reasons you don't 😅. I run a book club in my 55+ community. I would love to choose some literary books, but I'd probably be the only one to finish them. This year I've been attending a book club at the local library. The Librarian chooses a wide variety of genres and does an excellent job of choosing well- written books. Now there's a REALLY subjective term. I've liked every book and have read genres I've ignored for years. I'm sharing this video with some friends who are close in reading tastes too you than to me.
That's interesting about covers helping to determine if the book is considered commercial, literary, or reading group book. I'll have to look for that now. I read a mix of commercial and literary, but not all literary is for me. I'm a read who likes to experiment and try things and I'm stubborn about it, refusing to giving up on reading book such as Ulysses. This does help me to understand what is literary. I'm currently reading Unconsoled and I'm liking it.
I think the strangest use of the term literary in the UK now is the so called literary festivals - most of the authors appearing are celebrity chefs and TV personalities with just the occasional poet and novelist thrown in!
Thank you for all the hard work, Katie. I feel I learned a lot here. Since I am a fan of Donna Tartt, I guess that maybe I do go for more literary fiction at times. Have you ever read Ann Patchett? I finally broke down and read Commonwealth and absolutely fell in love with it. I'm not sure if it is considered literary, but I found it engaging and had a hard time putting it down.
I was thinking that Austen today would be positioned as genre and commercial, romcom, yet at the time they were literary on account of their development of the novel. Now a novel using Austen’s techniques would be familiar though the layered meanings may not be grasped on first read.
'I am literary fiction' 😂🤣 This was fascinating. I particularly enjoyed the graph, that made me very excited 🙈 So interesting about positioning. I sometimes wonder to what extent gender (unknowingly or otherwise) plays a part in how books are positioned and/or received. A particular example would be Us by David Nicholls which was Booker listed but in my personal opinion if that had been written by a woman with a female main character I don't think there is a chance it would have got a Booker nod as it would have been considered women's contemporary fiction.
I'm in the U.S. and have never before heard the term "reading group fiction." I think a lot of the books you've categorized that way are ones I'd describe as being "contemporary" or even "chick lit" and leave it at that, lol.
Residing in Canada, a great many books and authors you mention are unknown to me. That said, I recognied a few. My preference: I do like "Reading Group" most of all. That said, one wonders where one tye of fiction leaves off and embraces another. That said, my tastes have evolved over time. Once upon a time, decades far removed, I tended more towards "commercial" works; but as the years progressed I "grew out of" it, preferring far more "literary" prose. I want inner dialogue, the occasional unreliable narrator, and long lyrical sentences that border on poetry. Lift is too short for "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy brown dog." My tastes are varied, but I do prefer to have healthy dose of character development and plot.
Great exploration into literary fiction. I've always seen literary as being more "high brow" and the kinds of books that are awarded important prizes. Then there's "fun or enjoyable" fiction. I agree about James Joyce in general and Finnegan's Wake in particular, hated reading it in college. As far as Thomas Hardy goes, he's so depressing that I don't want to revisit his books after reading them. With respect to Dickens, I prefer Anthony Trollope's writing. Of course, Jane Austen is a master or mistress of writing. She is the rarity in writers where one wants more description or explanation. There are conversations that characters have that the readers aren't aware of that we would like to witness. For example, when Lady Catherine confronts Darcy re her impertinent conversation with Elizabeth Bennet, as a reader I would love to read how that went down. Clearly it gave Darcy the courage to proceed again with EB. Another case is Mrs. Gardiner who seems to have prior knowledge of Pemberley and Darcy's father, what is her back story?
Hi, I really enjoyed this and felt like I learned a lot. I wonder if you’ve ever read Elizabeth Goudge, and if you would consider her literary fiction? I love her writing and beautiful descriptions, but do feel her books have a great plot as well. I just read The White Witch and loved it so much. It is historical fiction and covers the English civil war in a way I like which is not too much about the war, but the way it affects the characters in the story. Thank you so much.😊
I do find literary fiction ponderous and depressing for the most part. I like beautiful writing - the only reason I did not dnf The Starless Ocean was because of the writing - but two pages about rain would be too much for me! This was very informative and helpful.
I noticed that you didn't mention the Bronte sisters (unless I missed something). Would you consider their works literary fiction? I know that many of them have strong plots, but they also feel very descriptive to me, especially Villette, which is my favorite, sometimes because of how beautifully written I find the prose. I've always considered them literary fiction, but now that I see your definitions, I'm not sure.
This video came very synchronistically in my queue this morning. I was just looking at the definition of literary fiction yesterday. For me what makes it very clear is the fact that LF brings with it strong philosophical observations about the human condition, ideas. It may involve social concerns and expand our view about a particular or several topics beyond the intricacies that a plot may bring. I agree with you about Ali Smith, but I have a very raw commentary about her books that might surprise some maybe ignorant from my part and that is they don’t have enough substance. It’s as if she tries to be philosophical but at least for me they stay shallow and light. I also have a very harsh view of some considered LF writers who don’t make it for me, and as an example I have Richard Powers. At least his debut novel The Overstory. I couldn’t believe the praise and awards he has received. For me his overly written extreme elaborate verbosity are simply bad writing. And I think the reason why some literary fictions are more readable than others is because they have a unique natural ability with words, uncomplicated sentences and yet elegant and clear at the same time. Very few writers accomplish this to my view. The best have a sparkling quality to them and many times layers of meaning by the way they put together words and sentences. I really enjoyed your video, and found it extremely helpful. Soon I found myself at the end of the video and didn’t notice the time. Thank you so very much.
You know I’m not interested in literary fiction, I really struggle with it as I want to enjoy my books. Definitely agree that Sarah waters books become more literary which is probably why i enjoyed The little stranger far less than Fingersmith.
The fact that you said you dont like describe writing confuses me a bit. I know you're a fan of Thomas Hardy (as am I). Wouldn't you consider his writing descriptive?
Spoiler: a good book is one that you enjoy reading, as opposed to one that you do not enjoy reading. It's massively subjective and anyone, in my opinion, that tells you one book is gooder than another, unless you read it yourself, is either fibbing, or setting up the book/genre on a pedestal.
This is really interesting because I am in the US and I didn’t pick up Lessons in Chemistry for a long time and didn’t think it was for me, partly because I’m just not that interested in heterosexual romance novels which is what thought it largely was. Now I think it is also because the US publishing industry positioned it as “not for me” whereas in fact it is very much for me, I love book club books and I love historical novels and I love women in science and I love books about food. But none of that is how this book was positioned so I wound up not reading it until it was announced Brie Larson would be in the adaptation, when I picked it up because I love her acting and so I knew I was going to watch the series and thought maybe I should read the book first.
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I'm 100% literary. All my favourite books have basically no plot 🤣
This was great and worth the wait. Great to get an insiders view of how books are categorized and the differences between the UK and the U.S. I had no idea UK bookstores differed on the kinds of books they were known to carry.
I do find the non-wrapped up endings of literary fiction frustrating sometimes.
Thank you for the kind words.
“Oh my god - I’m literary fiction!” 😂
Great video, Katie! Truly so helpful and clarifying. Thank you so much for your insights into these different classifications of fiction.
A very helpful video. I’ve moved away from literary fiction because of the prevalence of all forms of trauma especially child abuse and addiction hence I don’t plan to read Shuggy Bain. Also the emphasis on complicated language. I realise I like spare, observant prose - Barbara Pym is my absolute favourite ( and she was nominated for the Booker prize!) the early twentieth century writers don’t seem as obsessed with trauma.
Bravo! Love this. I appreciate your defence of commercial fiction and reading for pleasure, not making value judgments on the types of books we enjoy. I agree 100% that literary fiction is on a spectrum and there are fluid borders that complicate our attempts at categorization. Your distinction between commercial and reading group categories is helpful and I love your graph! I also enjoyed hearing your perspective on cover design. When I facilitated workshops on the topic of readers services for library staff, I often started with an exercise using covers removed from discarded books. It reinforced the idea that library staff knew more than they had realized about what was inside books simply by having handled so many of them.
Fascinating. I never heard of Reading Group fiction. Thank you for taking the time to make this video!
Well done! I've probably said it before, but I think books and food have a lot in common. I can devour a cosy mystery as easily as a bag of crisps. I enjoy the spice blends and the consistency of the product, but I don't rave about the experience at the end, and there isn't much to keep thinking about. Still, I'd be tempted to pick up another. Reading Joyce is like being invited by a chef to be more involved in the making of the culinary experience by learning about the history and role of the various spices as I grind them myself. The whole experience might be bewildering, but I'll hopefully appreciate the meal more for the effort. I feel like I should probably admit I've been munching peanut butter filled pretzels while I typed this. I ate a lot. They were ok.
Loved this video Katie! Agree with you on so many points. Wish Alice could have seen this as we often shared our frustration at unsatisfactory endings. You are so right about Dickens in everything you said about him. I love him above all others too so am bound to agree. Also Hardy,some great characters and plots but far too many classical allusions and descriptive passages -though parts of those do stay with me. Found it a bit of a struggle re reading him recently. Also agree about George Eliot ,Middlemarch is my nemesis,bete noir ,whatever. I'm glad I've finally read it and will not have to look at it again. It's raining hard here at the moment so your allowing Jon McGregor two pages of rain made me smile,yes we can let him have that ,If nobody speaks is an amazing book. Thank you so much Katie,this is just the best video ever.
Really enjoyed this video! I work in US publishing as a book cover designer and rely on the editor/publisher's positioning for how I design a cover. I used to work at a distincly commercial imprint but now work with a lot of literary and translated fiction. A lot of books these days are being positioned as commercial AND literary which is a fine line to straddle-an example of this, which I did not work on, would be Sally Rooney's books.
This perfectly describes all the reasons why I don’t usually like literary fiction. I love that you took the time to analyze many aspects of how we describe and categorize fiction! So helpful!
This was such an helpful video!! I always struggled to understand the difference and I was confused about the explanation that literary fiction doesn't fit into a genre. This makes much more sense.
Thank you! :D
Thank you so much for making it all clearer now!
I can enjoy literary fiction but will not go out of my way to find it or enjoy it. ❤📚
Thank you so much for this wonderful, informative video. I am a big fan of literary fiction, and your video helped me to better understand what I enjoy about the genre. I think what I enjoy the most is, to use your words, how literary fiction is more “writing” driven.
I particularly enjoyed the section of your video that spoke about classics and literary fiction. I agree, people often assume that classics are literary fiction. Most classics are far from it, which is one of the reasons there are very few classics that I truly love. While I've read a number of large classics, I've never read any Dickens as I always had the feeling I wouldn't enjoy his style. Your comments on Dickens seem to have confirmed my assumptions, although I will give one of his books a read one of these days.
I’ve added a number of the literary fiction books you mentioned to my tbr - The House of Doors sounds particularly interesting!
Thanks again for the lovely, detailed video.
Great graph - really helpful. Interesting discussion too. I was intrigued by your comment that George Eliot is literary. I am currently listening to Daniel Deronda (narrated by Juliet Stevenson). I can see your point: it is very slow without much of a plot but, somehow, the quality of the (sarcastic) writing - helped by Ms Stevenson's excellent delivery - is so engaging. Eliot can be as funny as Trollope but even dryer!
I absolutely loved "Daniel Deronda " It's flawed, tes, but fascinating.
@@marcevan1141 I agree. I am now 2 hours from the end and still loving it. Flawed I agree and, perhaps, overlong, but amazing.
This has helped me garner some sense as to what literary fiction means. Admittedly, I had a somewhat similar experience in that I thought it was something else entirely when I said that I liked literary fiction. I am also a person who appreciates a plot, but there have been cases with literary fiction where I've "got" a book and that has been one of the reasons that I've ended up liking it in comparison to other books. I also like when an author plays with form/structure so am more inclined to read that kind of literary fiction rather than something that is being wordy for the sake of being wordy.
Your points on Charles Dickens remind me of what helped me actually knuckle down and finish one of his novels. High school had me worried that he had to be examined, that every line was going over my head, but then I realised that he was writing to entertain folk and so I could just have fun with the reading. I still avoid George Eliot though. I'm sure I'll get to her one day.
Thank you for putting together this video. It must have taken a lot of planning and work, and I'm grateful for its existence.
This is such a helpful video! Thank you. I love the writing in literary fiction but tend to find the themes overwhelmingly depressing.
Great video, Katie. You were able to articulate some of the things I also struggle with in books. I think that's one of the many reasons I love your channel, that we have similar reading tastes. There's the odd exception to the rule, but literary fiction usually doesn't do it for me. I feel the same way about other media as well. I am much more likely to enjoy a movie with a solid plot and interesting characters or themes than I am experimental or "artsy" films that usually feel pretentious and pointless to me. Movie or book, I am just so much more invested in the characters and story than in anything else.
I have been reading through the comments after watching the video and notice how many people say they have found it helpful. What a lovely thing to achieve as it is also personal and entertaining. I definitely found it helpful myself. I am intrigued by the positioning choices you describe. Reading group fiction is such a useful category which I have only learned from you and it was great to hear you explain it more fully. And the graph was brilliant. I love a book at the reading group or literary end of a genre like historical fiction or crime.
I enjoy literary fiction but not books that are wilfully obscure as if that was the point. Jon McGregor or Virginia Woolf satisfy me because they write the way they do because they feel that is the best way they can convey the ideas and feelings that are important to them.
Thank you for spending time making this video.
I really needed this video and am looking forward to watching this now! ❤
It was very clear and interesting 😊. Thank you for taking the time to make this video 😀. This year I'll try to read my 1st Charles Dickens'. I personally really like George Eliot because her novels move me a lot, the characters never let me indifferent. She's quite funny and witty I think. When I read her books it feels like I'm having a tea chatting about life with an old friend 😅
So so interesting. This has made me realise I am definitely more of a Reading group fiction reader. I do like quite a lot of literary fiction you mentioned enjoying. I really value plot & characters. So much to think about. This all very helpful especially as I am struggling with my reading at the moment and I think this has helped me understand what I am craving. Thank you Katie ❤️
I really enjoyed your book, and it made me think about other ways than genre that books are markeded to us. While I do understand what you mean with LF being word focused, I don't think I agree. Words are the tools of the trade of all book, and different writing styles is a big part of communicating with the intended audience. I do agree that the writing in a lot of LF can be more experimenting, but I'm not sure if it's right to say that writing style isn't important for RG and CF. The writing styles can just have different jobs. But I loved the idea of the graph of theme -plot, experimenting writing style -not experimenting writingstyle. That will help a lot. And as someone who loves Shakespeare. It's true, old does not equal LF 😂
This was such a helpful video! I need to have a character I’m rooting for, and that can eliminate a lot of literary fiction. Also, when life is stressful, I really need a wrapped up ending- life in the U.S. is pretty anxiety-inducing right now.
This is very helpful! Thank you very much. I think you nailed it when you said in the US literary fiction means any fiction that doesn't fit into a genre. When Oprah had her book club on TV I thought those selections were literary fiction. 😂 But reading group fiction would be correct. I'm glad you talked about Kazuo Ishiguro.
"What makes a good book" would be really interesting topic. In some ways it is subjective but I can imagine there are also set criteria which publishers have to be aware of so they know what books will get an audience.
I find it a very interesting question too - when I watched the film Dunkirk a few years ago I found it an intensely uncomfortable and upsetting experience, and might even say it was the worst experience I've had with a film, but that actually speaks to the high quality production of the film and how emotive and immersive it was. Equally, when I hate a character in a book, it shows that the author has done a great job to make a fictional world believable and compelling - so the "bad" character is actually a very good character, if you know what I mean!
Also I should probably say this is a very interesting video. I really like your descriptions of how publishers place and market different books into genres, and particularly the graph - love a good graph! I feel like the books I read don't fit into common genre categories so I have just thrown genre terms out the window in general, but this video makes some things clearer.
Generally, I separate fiction I read as Kitsch or Important. To say something is important doesn't necessarily mean that it actually is only that they try to say or do something. Their success in so doing is "a simple twist of fate" (Bob Dylan). Kitsch can be fascinating, thought-provoking and unwilling to let you go for three days but all the author tried to do is tell a story. So, Silence of the Lambs is Kitsch, and Crime and Punishment is Important. I very much enjoyed spending an hour with you this morning. Thx : )
Very interesting video! I had never really thought of this this way! I never heard of reading group books before!
It explains in a way why I don't connect with books that are very mainstream tiktokish but also don't really like very literary prize winning books! (Generally, of course there are exceptions on both sides). I'm more of a reading group kinda person! 🤯
Loved this indepth look at literary fiction, I always enjoying exploring how covers covey a genre or sub genre and how it varys
'liking' the video two seconds in, because I know this will be fantastic
That was a good way to spend an hour, and the insights into the publishing world are much appreciated. Thanks Katie, and not to worry about Will Self. The problem's his, not yours.
Thanks so much for your explanation of these terms. I’m definitely in the Reading Group area most often, sometimes into Commercial. I did read Cuddy after seeing you recommend it and I enjoyed a couple of the parts, but not all … now I understand more of why that was. 😎
I really enjoyed this video even if we have slightly different takes on books! I love your passion and it's so refreshing, it's given me a lot to think about. I loved Ulysses but I have no desire to read Finnegan's Wake either 🫣.
Thank you so much for this, it took me a couple of days to watch it all. So many thoughts, but briefly: 1. I understand much better the distinctions you draw between commercial, reading group, and literary. 2. So interesting as well that yr definitions originate from yr UK publishing knowledge. 3. Agreed that some books will have elements of two categories such that it becomes a decision how to position in the market, e.g. yr Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow example or a "literary thriller" written by John Banville (sometimes under his Benjamin Black pen name). 4. Applying your classification system to my own 2024 fiction reading (I believe I read more nonfiction than you do), I read commercial fiction the most, then literary, with reading group last. I was so surprised at that, because I thought I'd moved away from literary fiction. But I read more pre 2000 titles, so maybe it's 21C Lit Fic that I find less satisfying. Thanks again.
Thank you Katie That was great I have wondered how the categories are defined So useful
Very interesting topic and well presented. I was trying to determine if I was primarily reading group or literary, realizing I also read a lot of commercial until Donna Tartt entered the discussion. She settled it for me, I’m primarily literary😊. Kazuo Ishiguro cemented it. 💕 thank you, Katie, I enjoyed this tremendously.
Thank you for sharing this fascinating labor of love! For me, the best books are those that have a strong page-turning plot, characters with depth and also some original imagery and bits of lovely, memorable lyrical writing here and there but not so much that you can’t follow the story. ❤ One aspect of attempts by authors to be “literary” verses commercial is the author’s desire to be lasting: for their books to be a long-lasting legacy, not simply an entertaining, engaging read but rather classics which are prize winners to be appreciated by many generations to come.
That was a really interesting video - thank you. I have found that books that force you to slow down and read carefully can often end up as richer or deeper experiences for me and I often prefer that. I read a lot of translated fiction too and I get the feeling that it is mostly the literary end of the spectrum that gets translated. As my clear favourite Ishiguro is the Unconsoled I guess my taste is at the literary end but I have no intention of ever trying Finnegan’s Wake!
“Too fun to be literary fiction”. 😂 I completely understand what you mean. I had the same feeling after reading The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaître, that won the Goncourt prize in 2013. My reaction was exactly that: it’s so much fun, how did it win the mist literary of French literary prizes?!
Yes, I was also agreeably surprised that the Lemaître won the Goncourt back then, and at the same time so glad that the quality of the book was acknowledged. In fact it's one of the rare Goncourt prizes that I've read, I don't usually feel interested in them because they feel precisely too literary/experimental for me. This year I'm hoping that Le barman du Ritz by Philippe Collin is going to win (although it might not even by long-listed!) because it's a bit like the Lemaître, a great work of historical fiction.
This is such an educational video. Thank you for putting it out. I'll definitely have to watch it again to consolidate and will start thinking about what books I'm reading in these terms. I'm curious if you've ever read the Gormenghast trilogy and, if so, where you would place that. It's a series I know well and, based on the writing style, I have always thought of it as literary. Somehow, though, it seems to go beyond that into a place of its own. After watching your video, I'd probably say it's genre fiction: maybe gothic fantasy? It's so confusing! And that's before we get into the whole USA / UK thing!
That was really interesting and helpful. I hadn't heard the term "reading group fiction" before, but I do get it! I'm with you in terms of the classics (which is no doubt why I subscribe to you!) I love classics for plot. But I feel like when I tell people I read a lot of classics, or when I bring classics to my silent book club, I'm afraid to come across as pretentious. No, I just love 19th century pulp novels more than 21st century ones! Don't know if you're familiar with this, but Louisa May Alcott wrote a lot of pot-boiler, pulp novels and short stories. But of course she's most known for "Little Women" - although that is not literary fiction by any stretch of the imagination.
Great job! Thanks. I definitely need a plot. I suspect there’s a lot of reading group fiction that's "too literary" for me. If I notice the writing style, good or bad, it takes me out of the story. I'm really glad you listed examples at the end. I’m doing a reading challenge that requires reading literary fiction so I might try The Remains of the Day since I've seen the movie. Though I’ve had some interest in Hamnet. Would you classify it as literary fiction?
Thank you, Katie, for your hard work in explaining the different book genres. I will definitely rewatch this video. My preference is for literary fiction as I get a lot of pleasure from language used beautifully. I find that an ambiguous ending forces me to think more about the characters, plot, and themes of the book. Such a book often stays with me long after I have finished it.
Thanks for this promised video on Fiction of the Literary Kind.
I, too, sat through the entire hour and even popped open your related discussion of Reading Group fiction. I must admit that I was (at times) overwhelmed with all the verbiage, but you were thorough in your definitions. The use of the quadrant graph was effective, but I especially enjoyed your emphasis on the INTENT/EMPHASIS of the author.
Plot, Character, Message, Purpose, the actual Writing….to be or not to be, to tell sequentially or not at all, to strive, to never yield, to heave the tome against the wall and shut off the light. To, perhaps, understand why the book was written, or not, or to be very puzzled, indeed.
To channel The Inner Kamala, a book is a written (or spoken) tale that tells a story in the context of the passage of time, as, you know, time goes by. Ha-ha-ha-ha-Ha!! What the author tried to do, as far as we can figure out the intent and the way the intention was……… intended, helps us to place a book in its intended box. What could be simpler?
But seriously (for real), your distinction between quality and literary and insisting commercial does not necessarily mean bad are quite useful. Potato consumption is good for the farmer, but we all know too many crisps or chips will translate to a crise cardiaque, even in Gay Paris.
One need only consider a brief sampling like Fifty Shades of Gray, Lolita, Twilight, Debbie Does Dallas, or anything by Ottessa Moshfegh or George Elliot, to see that filth, trash, and sophisticated (literary) literature are all-too-hastily-labelled peas rattling around in the very large tin-can-landscape of "letters". Just WTH were all these worthy artists trying to say or do, and can we mere readers truly cast the first questioning stone at any of them?
There is a world-spanning ocean between RL Stevenson and Samuel Beckett, and it is a too, too easy thing to get lost or drown in all that vastness, and often times with nary a drop of the Water of Life to drink.
I never heard of this categorization. I'm brazilian, so i don't know how it's done here. Anyway, more than once i pondered if call as novel/poetic/short story... would be enough to define a book (besides horror, romantic, sci-fi...) and this video answers my question =D
Made me think a lot. Still thinking 😅
Congrats for the video. It was amazing to me
Btw i think i'm more reading group. Love a good plot but like a good writing too
This is fantastic Katie. Thanks for doing this. It actually articulated why I struggle with literary fiction too - I can read it and appreciate it but in experience, I don't "enjoy it" as much and it's more of an exercise for my brain than my heart - I think the trick is to appeal to both the brain and the heart. Thanks - awesome video!
What an insightful, fantastic video Katie! I'm so glad you opened up your patreon so we can support you in making this kind of amazing content for us to enjoy! I definitely lean very literary; I love my themes and no plot, lol. But I also learned the category of reading group, which I also really enjoy a lot. It's funny, I am very literary but don't always love nature descriptions and I don't enjoy Ali Smith or Donna Tart. I do love Kazuo Ishiguro though!
Really good. Longest booktube video I've ever watched. I read a lot of victorian fiction and could never understand the love for Middlemarch/ George Elliot, such a struggle to read. My favourite is Trollope, great plots and amazing dialogue. You put into words what I instinctively feel. Super.
Just nodding along to all of this. Characters, plot, wrapped up endings and fun are key! But even within that, we both have a lot of crossover genres but have different opinions on books within those genres, which I think goes to show it’s so personal what makes a book work for someone!
I ❤ this video! I also tend to not love literary fiction in general but do find some I love. It’s so important to express the merits of non-literary fiction and I feel your descriptions and thoughts did that!
Thanks so much Katie, I really enjoyed the video! It has explained to me why if a book has been short listed for the Booker Prize... I won't read it! 😩 I was not aware of the term "Reading Group", but that's obviously where I live for my reading life! 😄 Every now and then, I feel the need to read some hyped or "worthy" piece of Literary Fiction, but I'm usually I am left feeling deflated as I just don't get it! So, I'm now quite content to know that I don't have to! I'll stick with my Reading Group gems!
excellent video, thanks for making it.
Thank you Katie for this insightful video! It helped me understand where my literary tastes fall…someplace between reading group and literary. I’m always searching for that writer whose prose I love combined with wonderful characters and a compelling plot.
thanks for the clarification.
I used to think Literary fiction meant old and "sophisticated".
Yet, well regarded books like Animal farm and Anna Karanina are much more simple then contemporary-fiction.
This was such an informative and interesting discussion! The divide between "popular" fiction and "high culture" fiction in the Victorian era is a big part of my dissertation since women were more likely to be labeled popular. Kind of funny how it's basically the same divide we have now just with different terms. I think I need a mug with "Dickens isn't literary. He's just old" on it!
This video is an absolute revelation! Thanks so much for this.
Thank you so very much! This video helps me understand why I didn't love some of the books I haven't gotten on with (like The Goldfinch, which I really struggled with when I read it with a book club) and why I always think if I just read them again with the right frame of mind I could like them, but I never do. Time to move on from those and focus on the books I do love.
I loved this video. I do love literary fiction for all the reasons you don't 😅. I run a book club in my 55+ community. I would love to choose some literary books, but I'd probably be the only one to finish them. This year I've been attending a book club at the local library. The Librarian chooses a wide variety of genres and does an excellent job of choosing well- written books. Now there's a REALLY subjective term. I've liked every book and have read genres I've ignored for years. I'm sharing this video with some friends who are close in reading tastes too you than to me.
That's interesting about covers helping to determine if the book is considered commercial, literary, or reading group book. I'll have to look for that now. I read a mix of commercial and literary, but not all literary is for me. I'm a read who likes to experiment and try things and I'm stubborn about it, refusing to giving up on reading book such as Ulysses. This does help me to understand what is literary. I'm currently reading Unconsoled and I'm liking it.
I think the strangest use of the term literary in the UK now is the so called literary festivals - most of the authors appearing are celebrity chefs and TV personalities with just the occasional poet and novelist thrown in!
Thank you for all the hard work, Katie. I feel I learned a lot here. Since I am a fan of Donna Tartt, I guess that maybe I do go for more literary fiction at times. Have you ever read Ann Patchett? I finally broke down and read Commonwealth and absolutely fell in love with it. I'm not sure if it is considered literary, but I found it engaging and had a hard time putting it down.
I was thinking that Austen today would be positioned as genre and commercial, romcom, yet at the time they were literary on account of their development of the novel.
Now a novel using Austen’s techniques would be familiar though the layered meanings may not be grasped on first read.
'I am literary fiction' 😂🤣
This was fascinating. I particularly enjoyed the graph, that made me very excited 🙈
So interesting about positioning. I sometimes wonder to what extent gender (unknowingly or otherwise) plays a part in how books are positioned and/or received. A particular example would be Us by David Nicholls which was Booker listed but in my personal opinion if that had been written by a woman with a female main character I don't think there is a chance it would have got a Booker nod as it would have been considered women's contemporary fiction.
I'm in the U.S. and have never before heard the term "reading group fiction." I think a lot of the books you've categorized that way are ones I'd describe as being "contemporary" or even "chick lit" and leave it at that, lol.
Thank you for putting words to my thoughts.
Residing in Canada, a great many books and authors you mention are unknown to me. That said, I recognied a few.
My preference:
I do like "Reading Group" most of all. That said, one wonders where one tye of fiction leaves off and embraces another. That said, my tastes have evolved over time. Once upon a time, decades far removed, I tended more towards "commercial" works; but as the years progressed I "grew out of" it, preferring far more "literary" prose. I want inner dialogue, the occasional unreliable narrator, and long lyrical sentences that border on poetry. Lift is too short for "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy brown dog."
My tastes are varied, but I do prefer to have healthy dose of character development and plot.
Great exploration into literary fiction. I've always seen literary as being more "high brow" and the kinds of books that are awarded important prizes. Then there's "fun or enjoyable" fiction. I agree about James Joyce in general and Finnegan's Wake in particular, hated reading it in college. As far as Thomas Hardy goes, he's so depressing that I don't want to revisit his books after reading them. With respect to Dickens, I prefer Anthony Trollope's writing.
Of course, Jane Austen is a master or mistress of writing. She is the rarity in writers where one wants more description or explanation. There are conversations that characters have that the readers aren't aware of that we would like to witness. For example, when Lady Catherine confronts Darcy re her impertinent conversation with Elizabeth Bennet, as a reader I would love to read how that went down. Clearly it gave Darcy the courage to proceed again with EB. Another case is Mrs. Gardiner who seems to have prior knowledge of Pemberley and Darcy's father, what is her back story?
Hi, I really enjoyed this and felt like I learned a lot. I wonder if you’ve ever read Elizabeth Goudge, and if you would consider her literary fiction? I love her writing and beautiful descriptions, but do feel her books have a great plot as well. I just read The White Witch and loved it so much. It is historical fiction and covers the English civil war in a way I like which is not too much about the war, but the way it affects the characters in the story. Thank you so much.😊
I do find literary fiction ponderous and depressing for the most part. I like beautiful writing - the only reason I did not dnf The Starless Ocean was because of the writing - but two pages about rain would be too much for me! This was very informative and helpful.
I would love this to be series
I noticed that you didn't mention the Bronte sisters (unless I missed something). Would you consider their works literary fiction? I know that many of them have strong plots, but they also feel very descriptive to me, especially Villette, which is my favorite, sometimes because of how beautifully written I find the prose. I've always considered them literary fiction, but now that I see your definitions, I'm not sure.
This was a wonderful vlog. Very interesting. Thank you. Do you ever read any Russian classics, And if so what is your opinion? ❤
This video came very synchronistically in my queue this morning. I was just looking at the definition of literary fiction yesterday. For me what makes it very clear is the fact that LF brings with it strong philosophical observations about the human condition, ideas. It may involve social concerns and expand our view about a particular or several topics beyond the intricacies that a plot may bring.
I agree with you about Ali Smith, but I have a very raw commentary about her books that might surprise some maybe ignorant from my part and that is they don’t have enough substance. It’s as if she tries to be philosophical but at least for me they stay shallow and light.
I also have a very harsh view of some considered LF writers who don’t make it for me, and as an example I have Richard Powers. At least his debut novel The Overstory. I couldn’t believe the praise and awards he has received. For me his overly written extreme elaborate verbosity are simply bad writing. And I think the reason why some literary fictions are more readable than others is because they have a unique natural ability with words, uncomplicated sentences and yet elegant and clear at the same time. Very few writers accomplish this to my view. The best have a sparkling quality to them and many times layers of meaning by the way they put together words and sentences.
I really enjoyed your video, and found it extremely helpful. Soon I found myself at the end of the video and didn’t notice the time. Thank you so very much.
Thanks
You know I’m not interested in literary fiction, I really struggle with it as I want to enjoy my books. Definitely agree that Sarah waters books become more literary which is probably why i enjoyed The little stranger far less than Fingersmith.
The Trouble With Mrs Montgomery Hurst is only superficially related to Jane Austen but more spiritually connected to George Eliot.
The fact that you said you dont like describe writing confuses me a bit. I know you're a fan of Thomas Hardy (as am I). Wouldn't you consider his writing descriptive?
Spoiler: a good book is one that you enjoy reading, as opposed to one that you do not enjoy reading. It's massively subjective and anyone, in my opinion, that tells you one book is gooder than another, unless you read it yourself, is either fibbing, or setting up the book/genre on a pedestal.
💜
This is really interesting because I am in the US and I didn’t pick up Lessons in Chemistry for a long time and didn’t think it was for me, partly because I’m just not that interested in heterosexual romance novels which is what thought it largely was.
Now I think it is also because the US publishing industry positioned it as “not for me” whereas in fact it is very much for me, I love book club books and I love historical novels and I love women in science and I love books about food. But none of that is how this book was positioned so I wound up not reading it until it was announced Brie Larson would be in the adaptation, when I picked it up because I love her acting and so I knew I was going to watch the series and thought maybe I should read the book first.