[SJ] SJs and Literature

[Will2911]

Hello my fellow SJs,

I am quite a big reader myself, reading all manner of things. I tend to go mainly for Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Classics, and I have a weird thing for Childrens Lit.


The point of my post, I suppose, is to find out what sort of books or literature my fellow SJs are into, that is if there into it at all.

I suppose i'll ask some questions:

What is your favourite Book/Publication/Piece of literature?

Why does that paticular piece of work appeal to you?

Is there a piece of Literature that you despise/dislike, what was it and why?

What sort of lit do you usually read, and why does that Genre appeal to you?


I'm sure there are other questions, which are probably far more insightful, but I can't think of them.

 

[Habba]

wtf... I wrote a post and pressed "Reply to Thread". I wouldn't have expected that it would clear my reply. :|

Well, just shortly...

I've read books about:
-Social/Emotional Intelligence
-Software Engineering
-Interactive Media
-Fantasy novels (R. A. Salvatore, Tolkien, Robin Hobb, Eddings, GRR Martin)

I don't read books that are considered popular (such as Da Vinci code).

 

[Saslou]

I am not a huge fan of fiction but enjoyed Michael Crichton's 'State of Fear' .. Need to read 'Sphere'. Read all Dan Brown's book but will not watch the films.

I enjoy Spiritual, philosophical and Self-help books .. Currently reading about Buddhism and Taoism. I also own books on Cromwell and Elizabeth 1.

I usually allow books to jump out at me (then i purchase them online), they seem to possess something of relevance which can help me progress in my understanding.

I was working outreach today and on the book shelf found 'Veda - Secrets from the East' .. I enjoyed briefly reading about Freud so may purchase that book soon.

 

[tkae.]

I was in an SJ couple's house helping my mom take care of their dog, and I, being an English major, checked out their book collection.

Beyond the "show" books they had in the living room (including magazines and a state history book), they had self-help/spiritual (like someone else mentioned), particularly A Purpose Driven Life, general fiction novels, such as books by John Grisham and Dan Brown, history books (state and national), and then just books like about dogs and about economics and stuff.

So... yeah.

A very SJ collection

EDIT: I also have a theory that might be type-based in the way it presents itself between SJs and SPs about book collections. Typically people who are concerned about social conventions (of which Sensors tend to be more than iNtuitors) will have "literature" in the collection, much in the same way that they'll have "art" displayed. The classics, like Shakespeare, Homer, etc.

Obviously these people have no true love of literature and their collections, although being made up of rare, leather-bound antique books, are thin, lacking other literature that a true lover of literature would have that the layman wouldn't know, such as Dante, Milton, Voltaire, Bacon, and various poets.

Poetry is the really obvious thing. If they have a book collection of classics, they'll have classic poets from the time period that they're interested in. If they have scattered poets, it's a more basic collection, but usually they have no poetry at all and that's a dead giveaway.

What I liked about the SJs whose house I was in was that they didn't have that type of charade. They proudly displayed the books that they loved and enjoyed, and that's really cool. It's fine if you don't read high-class literature. You're reading, and you're reading what you love, and that's the important thing.

But yeah. Possibly ESTJs and career-driven SPs will do this more.

I just like SJs and SPs who don't do it and are comfortable enough to put out the books they read without worrying what people think. It's cool that you guys can do that

 

[EJCC]

What I liked about the SJs whose house I was in was that they didn't have that type of charade. They proudly displayed the books that they loved and enjoyed, and that's really cool. It's fine if you don't read high-class literature. You're reading, and you're reading what you love, and that's the important thing.

But yeah. Possibly ESTJs and career-driven SPs will do this more.

I just like SJs and SPs who don't do it and are comfortable enough to put out the books they read without worrying what people think. It's cool that you guys can do that

Thanks! I actually don't think that behavior you described earlier is type-related. I think pretentious d-bags who put on airs to make people impressed by them can be of any type. Also, some books that seem like they're "for show" might not be. For example, I have a huge 1-volume collection of the complete works of Shakespeare, which I have because 1. my aunt gave it to me, and 2. I actually want to read it at some point.

But then again, I'm one of those people you mentioned above that displays books that they like because they like them. I don't judge other people based on how "high" their taste is, so I don't expect other people to do that to me - and if they do, I don't want to be their friend! (I also choose coffee table books and bathroom books based purely on what I find more entertaining. 2 of my favorite coffee table books are:
"Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents" by Nicholas Ganz, and
"Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box" by Madeleine Albright.
The Madeleine Albright one is not to show off. I just think it's amazing

But anyways, to the OP:

What is your favourite Book/Publication/Piece of literature?
--> Favorite books: "Iron and Silk" by Mark Salzman, "Good Omens" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, various graphic novels (including the Scott Pilgrim series, the Usagi Yojimbo series, Hopeless Savages, and anything with Wolverine in it )
Favorite "literature": Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Count of Monte Cristo
I guess I can narrow that down to: Travelogues/Culture/History, Humor, Adventure, and stories about people's dark sides

Why does that paticular piece of work appeal to you?
---> I like travelogues/culture/history because they're amazing and interesting, I like humor because I like laughing (... pretty self-explanatory), I like adventure because I like that feeling of being totally excitedly immersed in a story, and I like stories about people's dark sides because they're cathartic for me. I guess I relate to the idea of having a dark side of yourself that you hold back.

Is there a piece of Literature that you despise/dislike, what was it and why?
---> WUTHERING HEIGHTS. I want to KILL IT! It has this "ideal" for how love should be that's codependent and unhealthy and just SICK. AND... it's this book's fault that the Twilight saga exists, and why those books have the same codependent romantic ideal.

What sort of lit do you usually read, and why does that Genre appeal to you?
---> See above

 

[Sil]

Hello my fellow SJs,

I am quite a big reader myself, reading all manner of things. I tend to go mainly for Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Classics, and I have a weird thing for Childrens Lit.


The point of my post, I suppose, is to find out what sort of books or literature my fellow SJs are into, that is if there into it at all.

I suppose i'll ask some questions:

What is your favourite Book/Publication/Piece of literature?

Why does that paticular piece of work appeal to you?

Is there a piece of Literature that you despise/dislike, what was it and why?

What sort of lit do you usually read, and why does that Genre appeal to you?


I'm sure there are other questions, which are probably far more insightful, but I can't think of them.

Favorite book is Shogun by James Clavell.

It appeals to me because it has an incredible amount of political intrigue and mental chess matches between characters. It also does an excellent job highlighting cultural differences and the impact they have on how people live and how they play the power game. It's an all around fantastic novel that is both mentally engaging and exciting. It's also very well written.

I don't read as many non technical books as I used to. Most of my reading now is for skills purposes. But when I read casually, I prefer fiction, fantasy, historical (I read obscure histories about things like lighthouses and maritime ship building), and personal narratives.

I do not read post modern works like The Corrections. I find them trite and largely self aggrandizing.

I open a lot more books than I finish.

 

[/DG/]

I am not a big reader tbh. I guess to most that makes me sound kind of stupid, but I'm just being honest here. It has just never really been an activity that appealed to me. I've often Sparknoted literature books instead of finishing the whole thing. I can't really explain why I don't really like it because there isn't really a reason. It's just that I don't like it.

I will say that I enjoyed reading a book that teaches you how to speak Esperanto and I enjoyed my high school psych textbook. Beyond that, there's not much lol.

Oh and I have an almost complete collection of Animorphs books. >_>

 

[EJCC]

Favorite book is Shogun by James Clavell.

It appeals to me because it has an incredible amount of political intrigue and mental chess matches between characters. It also does an excellent job highlighting cultural differences and the impact they have on how people live and how they play the power game. It's an all around fantastic novel that is both mentally engaging and exciting. It's also very well written.

I don't read as many non technical books as I used to. Most of my reading now is for skills purposes. But when I read casually, I prefer fiction, fantasy, historical (I read obscure histories about things like lighthouses and maritime ship building), and personal narratives.

I do not read post modern works like The Corrections. I find them trite and largely self aggrandizing.

I open a lot more books than I finish.

I LOVE James Clavell. I keep meaning to read more of his stuff. I've only read "Noble House" so far.

 

[Sil]

I LOVE James Clavell. I keep meaning to read more of his stuff. I've only read "Noble House" so far.

He's great.

Haven't read Noble House yet. I own all his books except one (which is a rare-ish print I've yet to buy).

King Rat is great. Got Gai-jin on my reading list, too.

Nice to see his name is known; he tends not to be a familiar name with people I meet.

 

[Smilephantomhive]

I mainly read manga and YA fiction. I don't follow authors. I just randomly pick books off halves and see if they sound interesting. My favorite book would have to be The Night Circus which is about people who use real magic, but they pretend their tricks are just illusions. I read it twice.

I like reading reading things,so I can understand it on a deeper level.