> From: Barbara Baj [mailto:tmer at eudoramail.com] > But in general, I personally prefer fantasy or easy > science-fiction because I read for pleasure and relaxation. > Having to *work* to read a story and follow the technical > aspects and understand it, while enjoyable, is in the end, > *work*. :) As life grows more stressful, I find I seek out > more fun reading than things that I have to work to > understand. Not that it's beyond my ability, mind you, it's > just a mind-set one has to get into, and that can be > difficult when you're tired. I'll second this idea! As a general rule, I tend to re-read easier to read, "mindless adventure" type books when things are busy and stressful. I guess I have a mental list of books/authors that are "safe", e.g., a nice escape from the stresses and ugliness of the world, while others I'll avoid reading unless I'm in a "good space" already. It sometimes leads me to reading things that others complain "But all the books in the series are pretty much the same thing", in a sense, they are, but that's what I'm looking for, isn't it? Iain. :)