I finally realized why I’m disappointed by so many books that are popular with others, long after realized “people read with different goals” (and the more obvious “people like different genres). The split, I think, is between people who read to experience, and the people who read to remember.
I think I’m an extreme “remember” reader, which is why I’m so focused on the logic of the plot and emotional truths of the characters’ actions and reactions. Experience readers are the ones who praise beautiful language, mood, setting, etc. (Obviously a spectrum, as many things are; don’t treat this as a binary.) I notice those things, but if the plot isn’t tied up neatly or if the characters act like idiots to advance the story, none of those things matter and the experience is ruined for me. Perhaps the best TV example is Lost: so many people loved it and continued to love it after it ended, whereas the unsatisfying ending to the major storylines absolutely ruined everything for me. It wouldn’t occur to me to rewatch it, like some people do.
One of my old professors once [identified the difference](https://lindagraham-mft.net/the-experiencing-self-vs-the-remembering-self/) between our “experiencing self,” that is, the “me” that is doing the reading, and the “remembering self,” the “me” that takes the memory of that book into the future. These two selves are virtual strangers to each other. I think it applies here.
Which type of reader are you?
by kingharis