I’ve been thinking a lot about reader experience lately, and how it can relate to what and how people read. Do we read differently if we read more? I think a lot of people think we do, but maybe there are arguments for either side:
Side One — Greater XP points:
On the one hand, I think readers with greater XP and bonus “I-read-that-in-a-single-afternoon” points can definitely read faster, and maybe even more conscientiously. Readers, who may have turned into the occasional writer, read not only with a passion but with a respect too. I understand how hard it is to keep track of limbs and people in a fight scene, so when you do it well I respect you regardless of what I am actually reading. Sometimes I’ll respect you even if I don’t like the book.
Side Two — Books for all:
On the other hand, isn’t reading supposed to be universal? Don’t we dip into all areas and maintain that they all have their value? I, for one, think YA books are just as complex and important as other categories of books. Does that mean experience doesn’t matter? Does that mean reading more doesn’t make us connoisseurs but just kind of a bit arrogant about how awesome we are?
It’s a hard one. I read a lot. What this means is that I hope my reading experience makes a difference. I don’t mind if it doesn’t — I’ll still do it anyway — but I hope all the same. I hope that when I pick up a cliche or frown at a sentence it is because I am a collector of good, often great, words and I have come to know what fits into that category and what does not. I hope that deep down I understand we all have a different set of collected words too. I hope that I have simply become discerning in my reading, and not hubristic.
Recently I’ve become very aware of my ability to dislike, as well as love, books. Recently I’ve noticed that while experienced readers seem to love harder sometimes, the words that take our breath away, we can also be pretty scathing of things that fall short. Recently I’ve taken to not only being an experienced reader, but trying to be a better one.
Because maybe it’s not about whether you’ve read fifty, or one, book this year. Maybe it’s about being a good reader; about looking at a book from all viewpoints and accepting that with flaws come the occasional moments of perfection. Maybe it’s about understanding that you won’t simply become an amalgamation of the less than perfect books you’ve read. You’re strong. It’s not like we become an amalgamation of all the less than coolios people we meet in life. Maybe it’s more about being able to understand that a book, like a person, is never completely finished and that’s okay.
What’s your reading experience level like? Are you a forgiving reader? I find that I am initially very trusting but if that bond is broken I can be a little hard on books. I also occasionally expect too much of books I know about and expect too little of books I do not.
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Mark Means
I'm not a huge reader these days…which I hear is "no no" for aspiring authors, but I do enjoy reading. I tend to be forgiving…even moreso now as I realize writing isn't as easy as I once thought it was.
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Misha Gericke
Very interesting question. But my answer is different.
The number 1 thing that changed my reading experience the most wasn't reading a lot.
It was writing and editing a lot.
I spent so much time learning the craft that I can see how a story works while I read it, so if the smallest thing jars me. I'll still read when that happens, but my enjoyment will wane, because after that point, I'll find the book predictable because I'll have written it again in my mind.
Yeah, it sounds really arrogant, but it's a reaction I've been trying to turn off for about two years now, but can't.
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Neurotic Workaholic
I do find that I approach certain books with a different sensibility, so to speak. That is, I have to read a stacks of scholarly books and articles for grad school, but I read those because they're part of my research. But when I read fiction and creative nonfiction, it's different; I often feel a sense of relief and pleasure in reading something that I truly enjoy and that doesn't have hundreds of footnotes in it.
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Mary De Bastos
YESSSSS!!! I love this topic. So much.
"…reading more doesn't make us connoisseurs but just kind of a bit arrogant about how awesome we are?"
I'm beginning to think so. I read 100 books last year. To some that is loads. To others {book bloggers/readers} that is nothing. But, when I think about all the mediocre books in that list I can come up with only about 15-20 really great one's each year. Sometimes I wish I could just read those. I'd have much more quality in my reading each year if I did. I must say that it has me thinking.
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Tony Laplume
This is a pretty good topic. I think a lot of writers I know would benefit from reading more, and not simply writing more. I tend to read a lot myself, and am probably pretty close to the snooty writer in your description, but this year I've been trying to work on that. I will never pay to read bad writing, but I'm realizing that there are still merits to material that I would otherwise try to avoid like a plague. Still, good writing is good writing, and the more you read the more you'll want to read good writing rather than simply reading for the sake of reading (and hopefully approach writing for anything but the sake of writing).