Reading, A Writer's Perspective

We’ve already established the fact that I am a writer (even if I do write somewhat sporadically.) We have also established that my mind doesn’t work quite like anyone else’s. I think that being a writer gives me a different perspective than many people, on a lot of things. This morning I was lying in bed thinking and I started to wonder if a writer looked at their reading material the same way as other people.

Like most of the writers I know, I am a book collector. There is no way in the world I will ever catch up on my to-be-read pile. I have over six hundred unread books on my Kindle and at least that many on the shelves littered about my house.

In the past, I would read books and then evaluate them. If I thought I might want to read them again, I saved them if not, I took them to the second hand store and traded them in. Lately, with the advent of e-readers I find myself increasingly reluctant to part with the few paperbacks and hand-covers that cross my desk. As much as I love my Kindle, it just isn’t the same as the printed word, so my print library continues to grow.

I must confess that I have not yet read all of the print books in my house. I intend to, but there are so many things I want to read; stories, biographies, history, self-help, poetry, children’s books, science … anything. I keep finding new things to read. I keep on reading and taking items from the to-be-read list, but I add to the list faster than I take things off of it.

I read a lot. I read every single day. Earlier this week a friend said to me, “Reading again?” He smiled when he said it. I replied by saying “Ya, I’m like that,” and he laughed with me. He teases me a lot about how often he sees me reading. But then, I am usually waiting for my husband when we see each other, and reading is the perfect way to pass time when you are waiting for someone else.

I cannot finish a book that I am not enjoying. I admit it, if I am not moved by a book I will set it aside and approach it again later. Sometimes the story you pick up just isn’t what fits your emotional needs of the moment. That is when a story gets set aside to be re-visited later. On occasion a book is so poorly written that I just cannot read it. Often, I can get beyond poor editing and ignore some grammar and spelling mistakes. (Lord knows editing is a big pain in the ass.) But plot holes incense me. I’m sorry but if the heroine’s house burns down in the second chapter, she sure as hell better not be wearing last year’s Halloween costume in the middle of the book. Grrrr. By the same token, if she puts on a blue dress to go to the party, it better not be red when she gets home (sexy plot-line notwithstanding.) Those kinds of mistakes are unforgivable. As is changing the hero’s name half way through the story or leaving loose ends untied. Those are things that will get your book pitched across the room and earn you a bad review. Sometimes, it is all I can do not to launch my Kindle into the wall and only the cost of replacing it stops me from hurling it against the brick hearth.

Story length doesn’t matter much to me either. Sometimes it only takes a short space to tell a story, other times it takes longer. I can enjoy a short story or novella just as easily as I can a lengthier tome. In fact, sometimes I am looking for a quick read and choose accordingly.

I read for pleasure, to educate, to entertain, to research and for pure escapism. Give me a good book over television or a movie any day. My mind can take another author’s words and twist them and paint a picture that suits my impression of the story and I am not left with dissatisfaction that the movie makers failed to see the story, setting and characters the right way, the way I see them.

I have friends who don’t read at all, they find reading boring. I can’t even fathom that. Reading can take you to so many places and into so many different realities. You can watch from the sidelines or let yourself become totally immersed in a new world and become someone else entirely for a while. I like that. Other friends read, and are drawn into the story for the few hours it takes them to finish a book. Then, they are onto something else. Unlike them, I often find myself wondering about what comes next, or what the secondary characters in a story went on to do. Occasionally, I make up my own stories about the world I have just left.

So yeah, I guess I would have to say that as a writer, I view my reading material differently from other people. And you know what? That isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

How about you? Do you revisit fictional worlds?

Are you a print reader or do you prefer digital books?

Hugs

Katie