"Barbara Baj" <tmer at eudoramail.com> writes: > I don't want to start up a war of male versus female, but I *am* > curious on a matter after re-reading my earlier rambling post about > fantasy/sci-fi. > > I'm wondering how many people are lost to a book (or genre) because > they either don't identify with the hero(s), or can't? Or perhaps > lost interest in a book, series or author because of such things? Well, the 10 most deadly words are "I don't care what happens to any of these people". Most people will not enjoy a book if they don't care what happens to any of the characters in it. > On a similar note, how many have been discouraged from a topic in > school they thought they'd enjoy, or had enjoyed until a certain > point? Well, I suspect gym class had a lot to do with my tendency to dislike sports. > I remember a couple of memorable events in HS photography class > where I was given a bad grade because I could not complete the work, > due to my negatives having been stolen. (several students had this > problem) I lost interest in the topic altogether from sheer > frustration at the unfairness of it. Ick. No opportunity to make it up somehow? -- David Dyer-Bennet, dd-b at dd-b.net / http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/ John Dyer-Bennet 1915-2002 Memorial Site http://john.dyer-bennet.net Dragaera mailing lists, see http://dragaera.info