Published on 12, July, 2020
I decided that I needed a new book to read and managed to find one on my bookshelf that I’d only half read so thought I’d finish it off: Tower, An epic History of the Tower of London by Nigel Jones. I just wondered what everyone else is reading at the moment? What does everyone else like to read?
Ironically at the moment I'm reading a book called 'Normal people'.
I like to read books by the same authors. My favourite is Jodi Piccoult.
A book I read recently and really loved was called 'Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine.
’normal people’. I hope you’re enjoying the book? Many years ago when I started my psychology degree I remember studying all the different definitions of what constitutes normal. The conclusion I think was that while you can consider normal to be that box which the majority of the population fit into, at the end of the day, everyone’s perception of normal is different, therefore there can be no fixed definition of normal
I predominately read historical biographies of Tudor/medieval monarchs and there families or sometimes I like to read about the history of a certain place. If I fancy a bit more of a ‘hardcore’ read then I reach for my neuropsychology books, I do love reading about the brain and it’s workings.
I only really read fiction. I'm not actually sure why this book is called normal people.
When I was in high school I did psychology and we got asked what normal was. I gave a similar answer to what you just said and said you can only be normal for you. There is no generic normal.
If I want to learn about non fiction things I would read online and just about the particular topic I was interested in at that moment. I do like to learn about things like the brain. But my attention span jumps round too much to read a book about stuff like that. I read one interesting thing about something and then 5 questions pop into my head and I have to look the answers up or it drives me mad.
i remember Kitsune , just up a bit, she was really nice and kind and very knowledgeable. No idea why she never came back. so miss her
My guess is it's a play on neurotypical, although the characters are AS.
When I read the authors first book I assumed the author was AS given her characters. There were sections that just came too close to how my brain works and couldn't have been written by an NT. When I read Normal People again I felt Connor in particular was likely AS although the book's not about being AS in particular. He's verbally challenged and shutsdown. So the two characters are AS and she's called them normal, cos they are, just not NT! It's great, a great book with two AS people at the centre and nothing about autism!
I think that may be the point yes. I think it is something like nobody is "normal" or it is completely normal that life isn't just going to go smoothly and to plan.
Maybe the author thinks that normal is as daft a concept as we do?
Good question. It is fiction and it follows the life of 2 people. I never actually figured out why it was called normal people. I feel it was a bit of a play on words that goes straight over my head.
What is the book ‘normal people’ about? I should have asked this earlier and I feel like it has an obvious answer but you never know...
Thanks. I will check out the book you suggested, as I said it's mostly for me but also so my daughters psychologists can't fob me off with a load of babbling nonsense!