I like this. A while back I heard a factoid: some romance readers, I was told, read seven romance novels a week. My immediate reaction: “That’s not reading; that’s using.” Nothing wrong with romance, like there’s nothing wrong with ice cream, but seven romance novels a week doesn’t leave much room for anything else, or time to digest or discuss what one does read. Talking about a book with someone else who’s read it can be such a high. Like comparing notes with someone who’s been on the same journey, looking at things from different angles.
Seven a week sounds absolutely insane. It must be bubblegum for the eyes, no substance there at all.
I always enjoy discussing books, it’s just a shame most people in my circle don’t read a whole lot. You’d think finding a like-minded community online to talk books with would be simple, but so far all the ones I’ve come across have been more akin to feminist support groups, all too afraid to say anything that might offend.
Some people are also afraid of “not getting it,” of maybe looking stupid. As it it were an English class. That’s a great way to kill a discussion before it starts. Come to think of it, that’s one thing that makes it hard to find good second readers for one’s own work. The best ones are the ones who are willing to talk about how they responded to this or that part and maybe think about why.
I find my best feedback comes from friends in creative industries – they all seem to understand which criticism is useful and which isn’t worth mentioning.
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I like this. A while back I heard a factoid: some romance readers, I was told, read seven romance novels a week. My immediate reaction: “That’s not reading; that’s using.” Nothing wrong with romance, like there’s nothing wrong with ice cream, but seven romance novels a week doesn’t leave much room for anything else, or time to digest or discuss what one does read. Talking about a book with someone else who’s read it can be such a high. Like comparing notes with someone who’s been on the same journey, looking at things from different angles.
Seven a week sounds absolutely insane. It must be bubblegum for the eyes, no substance there at all.
I always enjoy discussing books, it’s just a shame most people in my circle don’t read a whole lot. You’d think finding a like-minded community online to talk books with would be simple, but so far all the ones I’ve come across have been more akin to feminist support groups, all too afraid to say anything that might offend.
Some people are also afraid of “not getting it,” of maybe looking stupid. As it it were an English class. That’s a great way to kill a discussion before it starts. Come to think of it, that’s one thing that makes it hard to find good second readers for one’s own work. The best ones are the ones who are willing to talk about how they responded to this or that part and maybe think about why.
I find my best feedback comes from friends in creative industries – they all seem to understand which criticism is useful and which isn’t worth mentioning.