So no offense to those fabulous writers of werewolves, gnomes, and floating phantasms, but I'm getting a bit frustrated by the whole paranormal thing. Don't get me wrong. I love paranormal. I just don't love so much of it that I feel that I have to throw a fairy in my contemporary coming-of-age novel so I can get it published. And I get frustrated when, in order to buy a great contemporary YA romance at the bookstore, I have to wade past six or seven tables and end-caps full of books covered in amazing-looking girls drooling blood in order to find my pick buried at the bottom of a bookshelf. I can blame this lust for the unreal on the desire for escapism, the darkening of society and today's youth, or simply the money-attracting qualities of whatever is new and fresh, but truth? It doesn't seem new and fresh to me anymore. So just like I craved for the end of heavy metal ballads in the eighties, I'm waiting for the paranormal phenomenon to come to a dwindling and much-needed close. The question is - what will the new "next big thing" be?
Next big thing? Books about math. Kids LOVE math.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Burgess once wrote a sequel to 1984, called 1985. He predicted that the teens of the future would be crazy for classic literature, just like Alex in Clockwork Orange was into Beethoven. I wish it were so. My friend Deb summed up the Twilight books for me, since I'm not familiar with them: "Their good vampires, who don't hurt anyone, and when they go into the sunlight, they sparkle!" :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, and sorry for they typo. It was a typo, I swear. :-)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. Why do people need to copy an original? It is never better than the original. I don't want to hear or see anything vampire related other than the twilight series (which I really did enjoy) and True Blood - because it is really fun to watch with Michael. So excited about the Blog - I am marking it as a favorite to read, so keep writing.
ReplyDeleteThe next big thing? Nirvana. That's what wiped out the big hair metal ballads of the late 80's. That's what will wipe out the malaise of now. Just not sure what form Nirvana will take this time around.
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