How much of yourself do you bring with you when you read a book?
How does who you are, your values and experience, affect the way you experience a book?
How you be "totally objective" when reading a book
These were some of the thoughts that raced through my mind as I read Chimamanda's latest book and the reviews. This post isn't about what a great book (or not) "Americanah" is, but I do want to say I really enjoyed it and even before I read it I knew I would.
Hair, Race, Love via social commentary- it was like an early Christmas present for me but I couldn't help but wonder though how a person who hadn't had the same experiences would view it. A lot of the experiences and blog posts on being Black in America were things I had experienced firsthand and there's nothing quite like seeing "you" in a book. That being said though I did enjoy the book even in parts I couldn't relate with.
I think who you are definitely shapes your understanding of a book and the closer the subject matter is to you the harder it is to remain objective about the ideas presented.
One of the reasons I prefer books to film, is that books allow you to bring much more of yourself to the experience. They allow you to create images, expressions, extension of characters and even projections ( A lot of people say Americanah was rushed at the end or ended badly- whether or not this is the case, I do like being allowed to wonder or decide what happened finally). It's not to say films are bland, I just think they leave only a little to imagine.
Have you ever revisited a book you read before? I had a professor who would say "Just like you can't stand in the same river twice (water is always flowing), you can't read the same book twice)" I love and held on to that quote because it rang so true for me. We are constantly learning and changing and that affects the way we see the world in general and that surely affects our reading. I read "Things fall apart" 3 separate times within 5 years and always found something new or understood something better or differently, it's amazing. I do it for especially hard books or books I didn't enjoy on my first read, you should try it.
So what do you think? answers to the first questions?
Contributions are welcome.
PS- I've missed this space, which includes you reading, glad to be blogging again.
Love Always,
Sab.
How does who you are, your values and experience, affect the way you experience a book?
How you be "totally objective" when reading a book
These were some of the thoughts that raced through my mind as I read Chimamanda's latest book and the reviews. This post isn't about what a great book (or not) "Americanah" is, but I do want to say I really enjoyed it and even before I read it I knew I would.
Hair, Race, Love via social commentary- it was like an early Christmas present for me but I couldn't help but wonder though how a person who hadn't had the same experiences would view it. A lot of the experiences and blog posts on being Black in America were things I had experienced firsthand and there's nothing quite like seeing "you" in a book. That being said though I did enjoy the book even in parts I couldn't relate with.
I think who you are definitely shapes your understanding of a book and the closer the subject matter is to you the harder it is to remain objective about the ideas presented.
One of the reasons I prefer books to film, is that books allow you to bring much more of yourself to the experience. They allow you to create images, expressions, extension of characters and even projections ( A lot of people say Americanah was rushed at the end or ended badly- whether or not this is the case, I do like being allowed to wonder or decide what happened finally). It's not to say films are bland, I just think they leave only a little to imagine.
Have you ever revisited a book you read before? I had a professor who would say "Just like you can't stand in the same river twice (water is always flowing), you can't read the same book twice)" I love and held on to that quote because it rang so true for me. We are constantly learning and changing and that affects the way we see the world in general and that surely affects our reading. I read "Things fall apart" 3 separate times within 5 years and always found something new or understood something better or differently, it's amazing. I do it for especially hard books or books I didn't enjoy on my first read, you should try it.
So what do you think? answers to the first questions?
Contributions are welcome.
PS- I've missed this space, which includes you reading, glad to be blogging again.
Love Always,
Sab.
