Today is the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I know that not all of you who read are in the U.S., but still, it's vital that none of us who are decent people forget the scope of disaster that a few, evil people can cause–anywhere in the world. It's not about religion, it's not about politics, it's about the acknowledgment that humans should try to work together, not tear each other apart, even when they disagree.
So, feeling my way to a question here … Terrorists aren't just movie villains any more. Do real-world catastrophes such as 9/11 (and the bombs in Madrid, and the ones in London, and the war in Darfur, and … really, all the human-driven, mass loss-of-life events) affect what you choose to read? Personally, I used to enjoy reading Tom Clancy, but haven't been able to stomach his fight-terrorist kinds of books since.
And, does the reality of that kind of heartless, vicious attack–which happen on smaller scales ALL the time–change the way you feel about villains in the books you read? Are they scarier? Or more two-dimensional and cookie-cutter in the face of the things you see on the news?
I happen to read more of the romantic suspense and cozy mysteries, so for the most part, no my reading hasn't change. But I think that's because what I was reading didn't involve terrorists, etc. They are, well, cozies. However, I will say that I am on my 2nd book that I would say is more of a political thriller. The one I'm reading right now actually deals with Al-Qaeda and terrorist attacks in the US. While I like the book, in a way it does bother me because it is too close to home. Especially when I'm reading it on 09/11! (That's probably why I haven't read it today and don't plan to).
So overall, it hasn't really changed my reading habits, but I doubt I'll read a lot of political thrillers in the future.
2 comments:
I used to read a lot of political thrillers, but am finding now that I just can't get through them. I've had the new Daniel Silva stuck at about half finished for a month now, and I used to read them in one sitting. Now I tend to go for more polished and well written works like Tsunami by Gordon Gumpertz when I want a good thriller. Other than that, I'm pretty much back to reading contemporary romance and women's fiction.
Ruth,
You know, I read Daniel Silva's latest and it didn't really bother me. It was also the first I read by him. But this one....it's just too close to home for right now. I didn't read the back of it before I plucked it off of my shelf or I would have let it sit there until October. haha!
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