One of the books I read last week was called The Introvert Advantage. It discussed some of the differences between introverts and extroverts; some of them where physiological, not just psychological. (Some of the surprising things I learned were that introverts and extroverts rely on different neurological pathways and that introverts tend to have lower-than-normal body temps. Mine does tend to be low, but I'm also hypothyroid and take daily medication for it.) Anyway, I thought perhaps that introverts would find fast-paced books too fast and would prefer slower books.
Six of the eight people who commented identified primarily as introverts; two people considered themselves both. I did expect to see more introverts, so that wasn't surprising. However, reading preferences weren't so one-sided. Only one person preferred slow-paced books; for most people, they could enjoy either a slow or fast book, depending on what mood they were in.
So, what's my reading preference? Well, I don't like very slow books; some of the classics feel too bogged down with description for my taste. However, I can think of a few books that felt too fast for me, as if the author felt that sending characters dashing all over the place was exciting. Instead, I just felt confused or not engaged with the characters. So I guess I'm in the middle. Although this wasn't a random poll, my hypothesis is not borne out by the results.
The good thing for us as writers is that pacing shouldn't deter most people from reading a particular book. And the good thing for us as readers is that there are books out there to fit our every mood.
P.S. K Howard, how did you like Zombies vs. Unicorns? I'm not interested in zombies, but I've heard good things about this book. I have a sample on my Kindle; maybe I'll have to try it when I finish the trilogy I just started.
5 comments:
Whoa, a shout out to me!
I loved Zombies vs. Unicorns! I walked in knowing I'll be Team Zombie, but I also loved a bunch of unicorn stories too. All the stories were creative and quite a few poked fun at their topic ("Prom Night" by Libba Bray and "Purity Test" by Naomi Novik for example). I recommend it.
Thanks! I think I will have to read it, then. And yes, I've been Team Unicorn since I was a teenager.
I'm basically an introvert but I don't like slow books.
I enjoy Vince Flynn's character Mitch Rapp.
I'm basically an introvert but I don't like slow books.
I enjoy Vince Flynn's character Mitch Rapp.
I'm a bit of an introvert, but I prefer faster paced books. Very interesting, though. I used to prefer slower paced books, so maybe I should be analyzing if I'm more or less introverted these days.
Tina @ Life is Good
and I are joining forces in another challenge. We're going to visit and comment at each of the participants, starting with the reflections post. We hope you'll join us!
Shannon @ The Warrior Muse
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