{"id":3758,"date":"2017-05-13T14:35:45","date_gmt":"2017-05-13T12:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/?p=3758"},"modified":"2020-05-30T23:09:09","modified_gmt":"2020-05-30T21:09:09","slug":"die-einsamkeit-des-romanlesers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/2017\/05\/the-loneliness-of-the-novel-reader\/","title":{"rendered":"The loneliness of the novel reader"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Some time ago, I read an article<\/a> that somehow stuck with me. It was about how reading a book can make you feel quite lonely \u2014 and I think every avid reader knows that feeling well. When you engage with big commercial media, watch popular TV series, catch the latest show, head to the newest blockbuster movie, or play a current video game, there\u2019s automatically plenty of conversation material. There\u2019s always something to chat about because the overlap among people who\u2019ve seen or played these things is large \u2014 a hit is likely. But it\u2019s different for novel readers. What\u2019s the chance that someone in my circle has, for instance, read Toilers of the Sea<\/a>? Pretty much zero. Maybe I\u2019d have more luck with a current, commercial title. Who knows \u2014 perhaps someone has read the new Martin Suter or the latest book by Elena Ferrante \u2014 but even then, the chances are slim. I suspect if I went from office to office at work or asked my friends over a couple of beers what they\u2019re currently reading, I wouldn\u2019t get far either. When it comes to fantasy novels from the past few years, there might be a hit or two, but most people would already wave it off. \u201cToo long ago,\u201d they\u2019d say, having already forgotten most of it. In short: people who read a lot don\u2019t have many conversation partners.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Now I wonder if that\u2019s really true. For those who blog about books or are active in a community of avid readers, the picture probably looks better. Books like Nerve<\/em> or the latest novel by Benedict Wells seem to have been read and reviewed by every book blogger out there. In such cases, it\u2019s easier to find someone to talk to. But pity the one who reads off the beaten path \u2014 even among book bloggers and voracious readers, things can get lonely again. As I found in my analysis of book bloggers<\/a>, on average a book is read by only three bloggers. You then have to find those three \u2014 and there might be a significant time gap between when each of them read it. Discussing a book that someone read three years ago isn\u2019t exactly easy either, especially since most details fade over time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Looking at the books I\u2019ve read, I\u2019d say I do occasionally find other bloggers who have read something similar. But it\u2019s not the majority. Among my friends and acquaintances, I\u2019m pretty much alone. Some of them do read from time to time, but usually not much (\u201cI have so little time to read, how do you always find the time, blah blah\u2026\u201d \u2014 you know the type). Many have switched to audiobooks, listening to a story over ten weeks while driving. That doesn\u2019t exactly increase the number of books read \u2014 or the chance of overlap. When it comes to my love of classics, I\u2019d say I\u2019m completely on my own in real life. I\u2019m the guy standing in the corner with a beer while everyone else talks about the latest Game of Thrones<\/em> season. If I were to chime in and mention that Tad Williams has finally continued his Osten Ard series and that I can\u2019t wait to read it, I\u2019d just get the usual comments about \u201cnot having time to read\u201d and so on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The next question is whether that\u2019s really a problem. Do I have such a strong need to talk about books? As a nerd, small talk is a tricky thing anyway. I\u2019d say yes and no. On one hand, you do feel the urge to philosophize about a book \u2014 especially when it has truly captivated you. On the other hand, what I love about reading is that it\u2019s something you can do entirely on your own, where you\u2019re just with yourself and can completely switch off. I spend all day around people \u2014 at work, with family, with friends, and in other hobbies. I also enjoy gaming now and then, and of course, I have the book blogging community where I get great recommendations and hear other perspectives. Books are my oasis of calm \u2014 a place I like to retreat to, where I can enjoy the quiet. When I read, it\u2019s without pressure, without any social expectations. Both in choosing what to read and in how deeply I want to engage with a book. That gives me freedom, peace, and a sense of individuality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When I look at book discussions online, I notice they tend to stay on the surface. That\u2019s probably because there\u2019s always a time gap \u2014 or simply no real need for deep exchange. You read a book, you like it or you don\u2019t \u2014 no need to overanalyze. I have to say, though, that the comments on my blog are often quite interesting, and the small circle of readers here usually has something meaningful to say. Still, a truly intense discussion rarely develops. I think you\u2019d need to join a reading group, where everyone reads the same book at the same time, to have a real, balanced discussion. But somehow, I don\u2019t feel I need that \u2014 it would be too much again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So, is the loneliness of the novel reader a problem? For me, definitely not. But how about you?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some time ago, I read an article that somehow stuck with me. It was about how reading a book can make you feel quite lonely \u2014 and I think every avid reader knows that feeling well. When you engage with big commercial media, watch popular TV series, catch the latest show, head to the newest … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The loneliness of the novel reader”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Die Einsamkeit des Romanlesers - lesestunden","description":"Vor l\u00e4ngerer Zeit schon habe ich einen Artikel gelesen , der mir irgendwie nicht mehr aus dem Kopf geht. Es geht darum, dass man sich mit einem Buch sehr e"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/einsamkeit_beitrag_2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}