Re: Light vs Heavy Non-Fiction - How do we offer both?
This is a good point. Internet discussion of books is hard to sustain without dialogue between participants, and light fiction inherently has less scope for dialogue than serious classics. For those who read to deepen their understanding of the human condition, conversation about the meaning intended by classic authors is a great way to explore big themes.
I wonder how much light fiction will be able to sustain conversation, and if light books might be more suitable for face to face discussion groups than for internet posting. Booktalk has built itself up by being a place for serious discussion. It is unclear what the serious discussion potential is for light fiction, other than writing many short reviews which don't generate many posts.
I wonder if placing short classified ads for Booktalk in book lover magazines such as the New York Review of Books or University magazines might be a good way to attract participants. "booktalk.org - quality books, good people, great conversations" would be an inexpensive advertising line which could draw in more of an academic audience. Booktalk may be hovering just below a critical mass that could enable broader recognition of it.
Our current fiction discussion,
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, is a book which is not necessarily 'heavy', although it does have multiple levels of meaning that give it a serious classic status. I fear that calling books heavy may dissuade people from reading them. For example
Don Quixote and
The Brothers Karamazov are very easy to read, despite their heavy classic reputation. People are often surprised when they bother to read classics that they find them compelling and clear.
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