I envy people who are always so clear on how they feel about a book. “Oh I loved it,” “My top 5,” “Not my cup of tea,” or “I couldn’t get past the first page.”
I often have more complicated reactions to books. I don’t know why. Maybe because like a lot of others, I was forced to read and “appreciate” classics (Shakespeare’s plays, The Great Gatsby, The Lord of the Flies, Catcher in the Rye, etc.). These were books that I did not necessarily enjoy, especially when you have to read them in a short time and for exam purposes. Or books that I would have chosen to read myself, given my interests at that age.
Alternatively, my reactions may be due to my own self-confidence issues or other personal factors such as expecting too much from a book or not being sure what final criteria to use to judge a book.
Whatever the cause, so often I don’t trust my own initial reactions. I wonder if anybody else identifies with this.
by fink_barton
5 Comments
Some books I know I love half way through reading them. Some books I appreciate more after having reflected on them for a few days. Some books I read and I think “it was readable but let’s never think about this book ever again”
i feel the same way! after finishing a book, i go through a multitude of reviews from other people / analysis on the book’s contents before i’m able to fully form my own opinion on a book. if i like the ending, i tend to forget all the parts in the beginning/middlei hated, and vice versa. it’s silly but i suppose im not much of an opinionated person in general.
I can relate to this to a certain extent. My opinion of a book tends to fluctuate back and forth. I can finish a book in complete excitement about it, and then sit on it for a few weeks and start to doubt my initial reaction the more I think about it. Or vice versa. Or I can give a book three stars (in my classification it is “I don’t know how I feel about it” rating) and come back to it having read more books in the genre and having a better understanding of what I liked or didn’t like about that book.
Last dozen books I read, maybe 5 of them have left me feeling like …”was that bad or just weird?” “Should I give this some grace or is it as trite as I thought?”
1. You can’t be wrong about the way a book makes you feel.
2. You don’t have to rate/review/judge books anyways. Most people are not mentally constructing a thoughtful review of every tv episode or song they listen to. You can just consume content for enjoyment and leave it at that.