Since I was seven years old, my very favorite thing to do is read. I read a lot.
(To me reading is listening with your imagination, and writing is sharing your imagination.)
Sometimes I get lucky and read a really good book like The Fever Tree, but more often than not the books I read are just average.
"Ooooo, I just read a good book!" That's what I tell my friends if I read something I love. But, if I don't like a book, I tend to keep my mouth shut for two reasons:
I remember how many bad reviews Harry Potter and Twilight received. It seemed that writers especially, enjoyed bashing those books, yet millions upon millions of readers loved them. I imagine that J.K.Rowling and Stephanie Meyer both had to grow quite thick skins to withstand the onslaught of criticism they received, but before they did, those bad reviews must have stung. They gave up a lot of time to write those stories. They put their hopes and dreams into them, their lifetimes of experience, their imaginations.
I met a very nice author at a writers' conference who told me that a group of twenty-five writers sabotaged her e-book sales by giving her twenty-five bad reviews on Amazon (this was a few years ago before Amazon changed the review rules for authors). They targeted her book because it was higher up on the sales list than theirs.
There was an interesting article in the Boston Globe today, about how our culture is becoming more judgmental and critical about everything. "'Everything we watch on t.v. is about judging others..."The Bachelor", "So You Think You Can Dance","The Voice"...That's what we do for entertainment--judge others. When we turn off the t.v. we continue doing that.'" (quoted: Jodi R.R, Smith in the the article Yo. Waiter. Take This Back, by Beth Teitell). Today's discriminating public uses the internet to blast everything it doesn't like--from people to products. Some would argue that this is good for consumers, but when it comes to highly subjective material like film, music and books I'm not so sure. I wonder how many good things I have missed--that I would have liked--because of bad reviews.
Susan <3
(To me reading is listening with your imagination, and writing is sharing your imagination.)
Sometimes I get lucky and read a really good book like The Fever Tree, but more often than not the books I read are just average.
"Ooooo, I just read a good book!" That's what I tell my friends if I read something I love. But, if I don't like a book, I tend to keep my mouth shut for two reasons:
- Maybe my friends will love it.
- Someone gave up all of her free time (possibly years) to write it.
I remember how many bad reviews Harry Potter and Twilight received. It seemed that writers especially, enjoyed bashing those books, yet millions upon millions of readers loved them. I imagine that J.K.Rowling and Stephanie Meyer both had to grow quite thick skins to withstand the onslaught of criticism they received, but before they did, those bad reviews must have stung. They gave up a lot of time to write those stories. They put their hopes and dreams into them, their lifetimes of experience, their imaginations.
I met a very nice author at a writers' conference who told me that a group of twenty-five writers sabotaged her e-book sales by giving her twenty-five bad reviews on Amazon (this was a few years ago before Amazon changed the review rules for authors). They targeted her book because it was higher up on the sales list than theirs.
There was an interesting article in the Boston Globe today, about how our culture is becoming more judgmental and critical about everything. "'Everything we watch on t.v. is about judging others..."The Bachelor", "So You Think You Can Dance","The Voice"...That's what we do for entertainment--judge others. When we turn off the t.v. we continue doing that.'" (quoted: Jodi R.R, Smith in the the article Yo. Waiter. Take This Back, by Beth Teitell). Today's discriminating public uses the internet to blast everything it doesn't like--from people to products. Some would argue that this is good for consumers, but when it comes to highly subjective material like film, music and books I'm not so sure. I wonder how many good things I have missed--that I would have liked--because of bad reviews.
Susan <3
This attitude is so typical of you - kindness, open-heartedness, fair play. The ebook Amazon review story is a shocking one - and sadly not the first time I've heard of such things :-(
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words--I want these things to be my typical attitude, but so often they're not.
DeleteThe Amazon review story shocked me. I think I must be very naive.
Interesting. I am the same way about book reviews. I try to explain what I did like about it and I know deep down inside that everyone's reading tastes and interests are different. If you check out good reads and look at books you hate and books you love they all tend to have a 3 star average. So somebody who writes will find an audience. As I have aged (ahem) my tastes have changed as well. I read a tree grows in brooklyn a teenager and identified with Francie. As an adult re reading I identified with the mother who I thought was mean, but now think is courageous. So reading becomes whatever you bring to the novel in life experiences.
ReplyDeleteI love what you said about reading becoming whatever you bring to the novel--so true. Because of this, each reader experiences the same book differently, which I think is kind of magical. : )
DeleteI don't think I've ever written a formal book review. I do like to play literary matchmaker when I read a book that I think a particular friend will enjoy. And sometimes I read a book that I think I will like but somehow it doesn't click for me. I'll let people know that -- emphasis on "for me." I like your respectful attitude here. I went through a teen phase of reading historical "bodice rippers." Eventually that turned into an interest in the women who settled the plains and their travel diaries and stories of native Americans and immigrants from other time periods and... well, you get the idea. Hence, in my way of thinking, no read is a waste.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Karen. I have read the Little House series three times and seen it in a different light each time.
My tastes have evolved, too, over the years. Books I like lead me to new books and new authors. Write now I am finding and reading novels set in colonial South Africa. : )
DeleteVery interesting observation about our culture's inability to disengage from judgment, since it has now become a form of entertainment. I never thought of it in that light, but my goodness, that sure seems to be the case. Thank you for sharing that tidbit, Susan.
ReplyDeleteI love how you defined reading as listening and sharing your imagination. That is a great, and very creative, explanation!