Palate Cleansers
Hello Dear Readers!
Today I wanted to talk about palate cleansers. But first, some context.
This is something I’ve been thinking about quite a lot lately. I’ve been reading quite a lot of fairly heavy, gritty, somewhat dark fantasy this year. This also seems to be the year of short stories for me as well.
On the one hand, I want to say that I’m not that picky of a reader. As long as I find the story engaging/interesting I’m willing to forgive a lot of things. I also need to feel like the characters are making choices true to their nature and I need to have some level of suspension of disbelief. The level of content needed for suspension of disbelief varies, depending on how well the story has explained and set things up, but by and large I feel like I’m fairly forgiving when it comes to reading novels. (Much more so now that I’ve become an author myself.) As long as the write gives me something to be curious about, I will stay engaged and usually finish out the book. But really, I don’t know how true that is…
So, I’ve been discussing some books with friends, and trying to puzzle out why I absolutely love some books, especially some of the heavier reads when I tend to be a pretty cheerful, sunshine and rainbows kind of human, and why I can get frustrated with books (and movies) that I fee like “lack substance”. Someone described a very popular author as being a little bit of a palate cleanser to read in between other content.
(Palate? Palette? I swear I feel like it should be palette, but the internet assures me that it is palate. Anyway.)
Since that conversation the topic has come up a few times about how people enjoy certain tropes or types of movies, such as Hallmark movies, because those stories are predictable and you know what you’re going to get. (Please note, I have absolutely nothing against anyone who watches Hallmark movies nor is there anything wrong with that. Hallmark fans, watch away.)
The more I’ve been thinking about it, the more I think, “why not?” I’m sure I have my own comfort genres and tropes that I could read or watch over and over and not get tired of. And you know, there’s nothing wrong with taking a break between types of content. There is nothing wrong with a palate cleanser. If anything else, it’ll help you enjoy the next thing all the more.
I tend to like books and movies that keep me guessing, that really make me think, that try to tackle or at least offer a pondering on big, philosophical, human questions. I like to engage my brain with hard questions and ideas. But you can’t spend all your time there. You’ve got to come up for air every once in a while and give your brain a break.
And besides. Having fun and play time is good for you! We need more play. Play time fosters creativity. It’s crucial.
Till next time, dear reader, get out there and have some fun, read something new or enjoy an old time favorite. Do something that brings you joy. <3 Tiff
