Category Archives: Trends in books

Who’s the real villain?

Posted on August 11, 2022 by knlistman

As a legend Robin Hood represents the kind of principled nonconformist on which many heroes are based. We love to read about people who confront government wrong-doing even in a criminal manner as he did. But, if a similar character … Continue reading →

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When do the ghosts show up?

Posted on July 28, 2022 by knlistman

According to my friends I read depressing books, such as Cry the Beloved Country and Crime and Punishment, and actually enjoy them. What kind of books do I avoid reading because I find them depressing while others seem to relish … Continue reading →

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Sports Lit

Posted on July 14, 2022 by knlistman

While watching a recent bone crunching pro-football game on TV, I saw a player dive into a fracas and come up with the fumbled football. He took off for his goal, running for the sidelines to avoid being pummeled by … Continue reading →

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Dueling Detectives

Posted on June 30, 2022 by knlistman

When Edgar Allen Poe published Murders in the Rue Morgue in 1841 the murder mystery was a relatively new genre. He wrote a few more of these increasingly popular detective stories. However, In 1849 he was found wandering injured and … Continue reading →

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Getting the Utopian Novel Right

Posted on June 23, 2022 by knlistman

H.G. Wells kept trying to get the utopian novel right. His novel A Modern Utopia has a fictional framework–the protagonist meets a man from a perfect society on a distant island. The book is really a philosophical essay describing the … Continue reading →

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Dystopian Entertainment

Posted on June 16, 2022 by knlistman

The plethora of dystopian novels that involve putting teens into deadly trials has begun to disturb me. Starting with Hunger Games, which was similar to a YA version of the Running Man, the stories read like athletic competitions run amok. … Continue reading →

Posted in Censorship, Creativity, Drama and movies, Literary devices, Literature, Millennials, Trends in books, Writer's resource, Zoomers | Leave a comment

Fairy Tale or Dystopia?

Posted on June 9, 2022 by knlistman

The desire to be considered superior and above the crowd exists in most people. We try to ignore the fact that the majority of us are commoners. From time immemorial stories arise with the promise of reaching status by marrying … Continue reading →

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Emotionally intelligent characters?

Posted on June 2, 2022 by knlistman

Readers may seek out stories with a hero with greater than average athletic ability and high intelligence because they are drawn to the larger than life character who is strong or ingenious. However, when a reader asks for a character … Continue reading →

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Longing for someplace unfamiliar

Posted on May 27, 2022 by knlistman

In grade school I would skim the readers for something intriguing, passing over  everyday stories of American life that were supposed to draw in readers with their familiarity. I yearned for tales of distant lands, places with unique landscapes, animals … Continue reading →

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Critiquing myself

Posted on May 19, 2022 by knlistman

I grew up as a bookworm, constantly reading. My parents sometimes claimed that I spent my entire childhood with my nose in a book. But I didn’t learn how to read until I was five, so books had to have … Continue reading →

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