I was an avid reader of fiction when I was a child. Novels about challenging issues or strange fantasy worlds. In many ways reading was an escape to a safe place, but those books were also places where I could learn about how “people” worked. How they thought, felt & behaved. The diversity in those things.
I loved The Little Princess and The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, because they were about children who were different & how they coped. I loved The Chronicles of Narnia because, although quite dated now, the girls had real adventures alongside their brothers. There was a series of books about witches, good & bad, which I loved but can’t remember the titles or author.
I loved Ivan Southall’s books, where tweens & teens faced dangers, often without the support of adults. (Marsden’s Tomorrow when the War Began is reminiscent of Southall.)
And as an adult, I still like youth & YA fiction, probably for the same reason, because I’m still learning how humans work. I also like adult fiction, but the naivety of youth fiction appeals.
And TBO, I read much more non-fiction than fiction nowadays. Obviously there’s the Autism & ADHD stuff that is currently dominating my reading, but also social commentaries of all sorts, by feminists, sociologists, etc.
@Fizzfizzpopop@actuallyautistic
I started reading the Narnia books to my oldest when they were 4. If I was having a bath, they’d drag a chair down to the bathroom & bring the book so I could read to them. They’ve just published the final volume of their portal fantasy trilogy.
@Susan60@actuallyautistic if you have not yet, I expect you would enjoy Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest series. The basic premise is that Princess Cimorene is, well, a Princess. However, her magic lessons, fencing, and other practical arts are continually put a stop to because those things are Not For Princesses. So she runs off, and finds her way to the dragons.
It's YA FIC, but I've (re)read them several times, including to my children.
i don't know what it would be called but i enjoy the stories of strong women who are the main character. unfortunately many are written by men but their stories are still thrilling. the first strong women stories were all heinleinesque heroines. and then anne mccaffrey's crystal singer.
i have not read much lately cos when i open a book i will not (or cannot?) put it down. i drop everything and get absorbed into the book. with physical consequences sometimes...
Depends on whether she’s merely a love interest. Female characters whose presence is defined solely by their relationship to the males in the story, & not by who they are & what they do/think/feel independently of the men, are an enormous source of aggravation.
@Susan60 I can heartily recommend you digging into Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series. A well-written female protagonist, with a largely female supporting cast in a series that was aimed at a YA audience. They’re excellent books. @Uair@actuallyautistic
Bear in mind, I was preteen when I was reading those books. In the 80s. I'm autistic and always thought sex roles were stupid; that's why I liked the Elionwy character so much. I really am curious what a modern woman who is sensitized to that stuff would think about the way he uses her character.
Anyway, here's a modern funny show that plays great games with sex role tropes:
@Susan60@actuallyautistic
I’ll read pretty much anything that sparks my interest, fiction or non fiction. One of my favourite books from my childhood is the Borrowers series by Mary Norton. I also have quite a number of books & ebooks on nutrition & food science.
@Susan60@actuallyautistic
For most of my life I have read avidly. Always fiction and at first pretty much anything that was a thriller, or vaguely historical. Sci-fi was always a biggie and then fantasy. A lot of fantasy is basically people finding their path. Pretty obvious why it drew me now. From my late teens onwards in fact, the majority of my reading has been fantasy. Burnout has meant that now I struggle to read anything, but hopefully that will change.
@pathfinder@actuallyautistic
I was burnt out after I finished high school, & barely read a book or newspaper for a year. This has happened a few times. Some sci-fi is incredibly dark & depressing. I think this is why I’ve liked youth & YA. Serious subjects sometimes, but with more hope.
@pathfinder@actuallyautistic
😁I haven’t actually read any. I know! My oldest loves Pratchett but my partner is ambivalent. I’ve been meaning to read Good Omens for ages because I loved the tv show. (The fact that I love Tennant & Sheen didn’t hurt. Also loved Staged.)
@Susan60@actuallyautistic
Don't be put off by the fact that it is fantasy. It is, and especially his later works, a brilliant and insightful understanding of the human nature and character. Also, the TV show was very good and true to the book, the book however is better, there is depth that cannot always be translated in the adaptation to another medium.
@ginsterbusch@pathfinder@Susan60@actuallyautistic I just started reading Pratchet and I actually really enjoyed The Color of Magic the series (currently[?] available on Prime). I think it may have pulled from a couple of his books because I don't remember it exactly from when I read the novel of that name. Samwise played a very excellent Twoflower 😂
I’ve read quite a bit of fantasy over the years. Wheel of Time, Kate Elliott, Robin Hobbs, David Eddings, Guy Gabriel Kay, Charles de Lint… mostly off my partner’s shelves. It’s on my list!
This is the first in the trilogy self published by my oldest. I read the 2nd when I did a grammar edit, but haven’t seen the 3rd yet. 2 & 3 are available as e-books, but I prefer to drop a hard copy into the bath.
Learn German, have fun with ultra-broken grammar thats having a "neutral male" in all its permanence (and annoyance), and not a chance in hell having an easy option out of this like in english .. with they / them being part of like .. how people spoke / wrote in the 1800s.
The "gendering" discussion here in Germany is a complete utter insane show. Lots of popcorn.
@Susan60@actuallyautistic
Guy Gavriel Kay is a wordsmith beyond compare. Charles de lint builds an image of our world and characters that live in it, that I really wish were true and that I lived in.
Yes… the idea of getting around a corner & seeing something or someone wondrous. I loved the scenes in Narnia tales where the Pevensies transitioned from our world to the other. And Kay’s characters are real people I can imagine & relate to.
@Susan60@actuallyautistic I also read way more non-fiction than fiction these days. Also poetry. I'm reading I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita at the moment; it's daunting at over 600 pages but I'm making progress. Every year, I focus a lot of my time on reading books about the minority experience, as a way to educate myself about other's struggles.
@Susan60@ginsterbusch@actuallyautistic
Then you should definitely read Pratchett, because is work is filled with both. Slightly twisted to fit "his" world, but so much of it is based on actual reality.
@pathfinder@Susan60@actuallyautistic Thanks to PTerry, I got interested in the custom of Morris dance. Not that I'd actively pursue it (probably would insta-death-locate most of my joints), but watching works:
@Susan60@actuallyautistic I've never stopped reading Fantasy, SF, Hard SF; etc. But enhanced it with Science Fantasy, Fantasy-SF Crossover, Urban Fantasy, and lots of manga / anime culture, including Isekai.
@ginsterbusch@actuallyautistic
My oldest is writing fantasy & I do some proof reading for them. My partner is nuts on fantasy & some sci fi. I got lazy & just read from his collection, but I think I overdosed.
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