Reading for people in my condition
I realize that's a strange way to describe it, but I feel grisly calling myself "the bereaved," "the grieving," or that Victorian standby, "the relict." Hadn't actually realized I was a relict until just now. Ew! What a term! They all seem dehumanizing in some way. As for being a "widow," I just can't help but think about the little girl Anne Shirley taught who wanted to be one. :-)
It's quite a fine line in reading and TV/film watching now. Must entertain, characters must have some feeling, author must not go on about bad things happening. Very little new reading or watching; even seemingly innocuous books or programs can have lines that pierce. I have no shell on me right now, you see, or so thin a one as to be almost useless.
Oddly enough, that leads to a lot of murder mysteries, of the cozy English variety. Some Terry Pratchett, some Charlotte MacLeod, Elizabeth Peters, What Not to Wear, Good Eats, To the Manor Born, Good Neighbors, Rough Science. Rough Science is particularly reassuring. Happy, nice people Solving Problems, Making Things, Getting Things Done. Cooperatively. While being British. And, very importantly, with Science. My intellectual background and my sense of humor are on the short list of what's keeping me going just now. If I'm going, but that's another show.
I wonder if adult books describe grief in a realistic way. Not "adult" books, ;-) though Sex and Death were side by side in the bookstore I used to work at. You know, grown-up books. Modern Literature. I generally read young adult literature, English mysteries, old books, and fantasy. I read them mostly because they deal with simpler emotions and situations, that are or seem far removed from day-to-day life. I don't want to read about people with issues and grimy kitchen tables, thanks. Can we just go on a quest or something? Can people act decently toward each other, and possibly even be nice inside? I realize this may seem gauche to some people.
So, readers of grown-up, hip literature, does such literature describe grief realistically, in your opinion? I really do want to know.
It's quite a fine line in reading and TV/film watching now. Must entertain, characters must have some feeling, author must not go on about bad things happening. Very little new reading or watching; even seemingly innocuous books or programs can have lines that pierce. I have no shell on me right now, you see, or so thin a one as to be almost useless.
Oddly enough, that leads to a lot of murder mysteries, of the cozy English variety. Some Terry Pratchett, some Charlotte MacLeod, Elizabeth Peters, What Not to Wear, Good Eats, To the Manor Born, Good Neighbors, Rough Science. Rough Science is particularly reassuring. Happy, nice people Solving Problems, Making Things, Getting Things Done. Cooperatively. While being British. And, very importantly, with Science. My intellectual background and my sense of humor are on the short list of what's keeping me going just now. If I'm going, but that's another show.
I wonder if adult books describe grief in a realistic way. Not "adult" books, ;-) though Sex and Death were side by side in the bookstore I used to work at. You know, grown-up books. Modern Literature. I generally read young adult literature, English mysteries, old books, and fantasy. I read them mostly because they deal with simpler emotions and situations, that are or seem far removed from day-to-day life. I don't want to read about people with issues and grimy kitchen tables, thanks. Can we just go on a quest or something? Can people act decently toward each other, and possibly even be nice inside? I realize this may seem gauche to some people.
So, readers of grown-up, hip literature, does such literature describe grief realistically, in your opinion? I really do want to know.