What You Seek in Literature

[Duxwing]

Dear INTPf,

What do you seek in literature? What do you avoid in literature?

My answer:

Spoiler

I seek a safe, logical world wherein everything perfectly 'fits' into my emotional 'slots' and no reasoning or 'active reading' is necessary. I seek immersion, beauty, and, for lack of a better word, resonance. I want events to smoothly and logically progress, with every judgment thereof appropriate and justifiable. I also seek deep, theoretical problems and much opportunity for creativity.

I want to feel without hitches or twinges or fear--especially that the author is trying to push some Aesop. I especially loathe immersion-breaking symbolism moments, the bigger and more pretentious the worse. Finally, I avoid stories describing wretchedness, mysticism, and oddities.

-Duxwing

 

[peoplesuck]

Unexpected things and intelligent pacing with the story. Also very creative atmosphere no non fiction. New concepts, magic.

 

[Pizzabeak]

relevance

sometimes it's even unexpected

 

[Absurdity]

Elusive truths of the human condition laid bare in well-crafted prose.

I don't like bad writing, trendy gimmicks, political agendas, closure for its own sake, and unlikable (or at least uninteresting) characters.

 

[Dormouse]

Form and substance, but I prioritize the first. I enjoy interesting narration.
Also, puzzles. [Not necessarily as oblique as a mystery - fatedness or foreshadowed revelation will do.]

I avoid the maudlin.

 

[redbaron]

I couldn't say exactly. Though for fiction, an immersive world and believable characters certainly help. They allow me to suspend disbelief and be imaginative. As a result I tend to actually re-read novels that I like more than I read new ones. If I'm still immersed in the world and intrigued by the characters, my imagination can make the same words have all sorts of different interpretations or meanings and so the book remains enjoyable.

For non-fiction, I generally just stick to science. Politics, economics and other things tend to make me bored fast.

 

[NLANDCESKIM]

An interesting, not obvious, well-described plot related to almost anything of relevance that can make my mind scape from reality and recreate a more challenging and fascinating one. Peace of mind in a personal space where I can discover the characters, secretly talk with the author and my deepest theories about human condition are being challenged or reinforced. In conclusion, a smart dialogue without speech where I am not obliged to explain myself but at the same time my imagination makes a great amount of the work.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Wisdom of ages, elusive truths, mental stimulus, phenomenological broadening. The kind of shit you don't get from anything but literature owing to the way its format forces your brain into a certain state.

 

[NormannTheDoorman]

Absurdity is what I seek.

Cliches I try to avoid

 

[Mantis Toboggan]

Headaches with pictures.

 

[Pyropyro]

Information for research literature and lore-rich worlds for fictional literature (they provide good material for my inner world ).

 

[Polaris]

What I am drawn to:

Dream-like, hypnotic states of mind; the absurd; Zen states of mind
Mystery; problem solving (a few crime novels allow the reader to work out the problem)
Inner landscapes; mind-travel
Tales of animals and their struggles for survival
Historic fiction; particularly interested in Russian history and culture
Fantasy (hard to find good ones though)
Some religious texts, like Sufism, mysticism, etc.

Science journals
Books attempting to understand the intricacies of natural systems and theoretical physics
Some philosophical texts and journals

What I avoid:

Books focused on people drama; relationship drama. There is plenty of that in the real world

 

[Pyropyro]

What I avoid:

Books focused on people drama; relationship drama. There is plenty of that in the real world

Amen!

 

[Puffy]

I did a screenwriting course a year ago and two things in the first class that resonated with me was the formula 'form = content' and the comparison between storytelling and architecture.

I tend to be really impersonal and unemotional with stories, lacking interest in characters (save as allegories or for their role in the whole thematic structure) in favour of form, symbolism, structure, etc. When I wrote I honestly thought over as much as I could, even really little things like the colour of a car at a particular moment, whether a character moved with or against traffic, etc, because I'm attracted to pieces with an internal coherence where I can have confidence that reflecting on details will tell me information about the whole.

Otherwise, I'd say I'm attracted to things that have a personal relevance. There are millions of books in existence and only enough time to master a few things, if I get 20 pages into something and realise it's going to have no relevance to my interests, I just pick something else up.

 

[Happy]

I seek pictures. I'm a visual learner. I am guaranteed to learn 100x more from a picture than anything in writing. I'm trained in reading images (namely architectural/engineering drawings - but also art) so that probably has a large part in that.

I no longer have any interest in fiction. I used to read a novel every day, but now I'm lucky to touch one per year. I'm all about the non-fiction. Knowledge ftw.