Still reading fiction?

I love Laura Miller. Still reading fiction? She's always just being smart and letting us hear about it. In this essay, she comments on Philip Roth's recent comment that he's given up reading fiction. ..."Fiction, however, doesn't offer instruction or information; it offers an experience. And for that experience to occur, the reader has to deliver him- or herself up to the book.

This takes faith -- belief that it can be done and trust that the author can do it. As Weinman suggests, you have to clear space in your head, like a party host pushing back the furniture, stocking up on drinks and hoping that everyone invited will come. If the gamble pays off, if the guests show up in a festive mood and hit it off with one another, you have a fabulous time. If the party never gels, all you have to show for your efforts are disappointment and embarrassment..."

And that's just the metaphor. There are even more interesting ideas about. Oh, and she doesn't link within the articles; links are like footnotes, at the bottom of the page, so that your reading rhythm is uninterrupted. Thanks again.  Jul 20, 2011