I’ve been reading a lot more over the past two years and I’m starting to branch out more from my typical genres.
My usual go-to’s are mystery/thrillers and sometimes romance, because they’re entertaining, easy reads. However, I’m getting bored of the same genre, almost formulaic plots, and “simple” reading. I’d like to dive into some deeper themes.
In branching out I’ve been trying to read more literary fiction and historical fiction (I don’t have much interest in non-fiction).
However, I often have a hard time connecting with the book and the writing if it’s not plot-driven. Which is a shame because there are so many highly recommended books out there. I *want* to love books that focus on more impactful themes and strong character development – but I seem to miss the “point” when it’s not mostly plot-driven.
I think a good example of this is *The Island of Missing Trees* by Elif Shafak, which I just finished a couple days ago. This book has wonderful reviews and sounded great in theory. It was well-written with interesting characters. It had some elements I really liked, but overall, I just couldn’t connect. And I feel this way with a lot of books I read.
I know I am *capable* of enjoying character driven literary fiction – one of my favorite books last year was *Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow* – but I can’t put my finger on what makes me like (or not like) a book. It seems like more often than not I have trouble getting fully immersed the way I could with fast-paced, plot-driven books.
So I guess my question is: do you have any tips on connecting more with a story as you’re reading it? Are there key things you always look for or ask yourself as you’re reading? Or are there ways of knowing better in advance if you will or won’t like a book?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Note: I did try annotating (or some version therof) but because I mostly read on Kindle it’s not very enjoyable.
by olsonmacken