(this is not real obviously) artist: Soren Iverson
I’ve found myself repatronizing half priced books lately. I’ve gone through five books since mid May.
I was a voracious reader before mobile devices existed.
I’d forgotten just how much more satisfying it is to let yourself go in a good story rather than bicker about minutiae with countless strangers all day every day.
(Sidenote: I’ve been looking up reviews for the books I’ve read and am surprised to find indignation at sexual scenes in novels. Like, if you’ve ever read a John Irving novel in your life, and you’re surprised and offended that the next one has sex in it, you should maybe reconsider your chosen career path)
surprised to find indignation at sexual scenes in novels
To quote Ryan Letourneau, “Gen Z is Puritanpilled.” Seriously, I’ve found post-millennial generations to be extremely prudish. I think part of it has to do with the fact that as the internet evolved and became mainstream (and more profitable by catering to general audiences), the edgy or adult content became more ghetoized and quarantined over time. Used to be you’d go to reddit and there’d be porn on the front page. There’s like a 0% change of finding something NSFW on the front page there now. As such, younger people who grew up with the modern incarnation of the internet have a very different perspective on sexual content than those of us who grew up with a more “wild west” style internet where porn was just something that lived alongside the more mundane content. The side-effect of this is also that content like the John Irving novels you’re talking about are treated as if they’re grotesque for presenting sex as just another part of people’s lives - something that you’re not supposed to be shy about or ashamed of. Which is, uh…concerning, for a number of reasons. Other theories are that the world in which we live has eroded platonic relationships among young people and that they want to only see platonic friendships among characters, as that’s the vicarious experience they most desire.
