The Psychology Of Literature

[nailit]

Sort of following on from Georesmum's post below.
Does the type of literature that you read reveal what type of personality you are?
E.G, does reading Mills and Boon mean that you are a romantic looking for a knight in shining armour to whisk you away to love heaven?
Does reading true crime reveal that you are a 'Gangsta' wannabe?
Does reading autobiography reveal that you wish you were someone else?

My own personal book collection consists of...

History
Autobiography (and biography)
psychology
self help/ new age
True crime
several sets of encyclopedias
A few science books
Religious/spiritual/paranormal books
Atheist/sceptical books
Literature...
classics and modern.
(everything from Dickens to Martina Cole)

C.D collection is pretty much the same...classical (I love Mozart) to punk (love the sex pistols)

What does YOUR book collection say about you?
Because I'm dammed if I know what mine says about me)

[ummmm]

I'd read anything. When I get really bored I read menus.

I like crime/real life/thrillers....I can read about crime and violence but I find it very hard to watch on TV.

[Georgiesmum]

I have several types of books the same as you have nailit. I love reading biographies/autobiographies because other peoples lives can be so interesting, not because I want to be like them at all though. Did you read my book recommendations i wrote to you about on my other thread?

[naomi24]

Mine says that I don't read Mills & Boon.

[Prudie]

Mine says I don't read. I much prefer puzzles and games. I presume that says something.

[naomi24]

I have a friend who reads newspapers and magazines, but says she has never read a book in her life. I find that quite extraordinary.

[Arksided]

I'm a Science Fiction nerd with an interest in Conspiracy theories and the unexplained.

[Prudie]

When we spend 2 weeks on a beach on holiday my OH gets through about 14 books. I get through about 80 sudokus!

[tonyav]

Usually Haynes manuals that I read.

[DaisyNonna]

I read an awful lot of books
I read newspapers, not magazines
Prefer fiction to biographies and autobiographies, not all are non-fiction
Enjoy crime fiction (not True Crime), historical novels (not the Tudors), read books written by English and non-English authors as I am interested other cultures
Re-read Classics from time to time
Read plays and poetry
Love discussing any literature with my granddaughter
Particularly like series of books
Not averse to reading teenage aimed fiction and have been known to dabble in Chick Lit occasionally
Belong to the excellent local library, haunt charity shops for books
Have run out of bookcases and wall space for any more
Admit to an addiction

[naomi24]

I read mainly religion, psychology, philosophy, science – with the odd re-reading of the classics, and a novel or autobiography thrown in occasionally. I'm a great fan of Harry Potter and I’ve just finished the third instalment of Stephen Fry’s autobiography. I think Nailit is a crazy mixed up kid - just like me. :o)

[Caran]

Very seldom read a book at home as I do lots of crosswords and sudoku's each night, but on holiday I can read a couple of books in a few days.

[Ken4155]

I think it just goes to show that our tastes (in both literature and music) are quite eclectic. I have over 300 novels, hardback and paperback, in carrier bags and boxes in the back room. They range from Harold Robins' novels, through various crime thriller writers such as Childs, Paterson, Rankin, etc, the ubiquitous Grisham novels and almost everything Stephen King has written. There are also many autobigraphies (maybe one or two biographies) and the hilarious 'The Queen And I' by Sue Townsend, the only 'comedy'novel i possess, though, on Kindle, i have read the entire Barney Thompson series by Douglas Lindsay - ridiculously funny. I also have a medium sized bookcase housing many reference books, books of famous quotations, books on specialist subjects, etc.



As for my music; Sabbath, Floyd, Zep, Lizzy, Queen, Purple, Yes, Early Genesis, Grateful Dead, Supertramp, Yazoo, Erasure, Eurythmics, Kate Bush, Florence And The Machine, Dire Straits, Mumford & Sons, Kings of Leon, Cohen. Dylan, Clannad, Black Star Riders. As i said, quite eclectic:-)

I suppose what it really tells us is that, as our moods change, so do our tastes at that particular moment in time.