Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Good Book, Bad Book

I've discovered something in the last few years, the years that I've been purposely pursuing writing and publishing. I've discovered that I enjoy books much less than I used to.

That probably isn't exactly right. I still enjoy reading. I get obsessive about it, really. You can ask my husband and kids, who often deal with burned dinners and missed buses and late appointments because I'm unable to get my nose out of a book until I finish it.

No, I still enjoy reading. I just "enjoy" it in a different way.

I complain.

I complain about the overuse of similes. I complain about stilted dialog. I complain about flat characters and pointless plots. I complain about predictability and repetitive words. Even if I am the only one in a room, I complain. Even if I am so drawn in by something in the story and cannot put the book down, I complain.



Studying writing, working at developing my own, has made me so much more critical. Critical to the point that I don't find many books anymore that I love and can rave about. I've nearly stopped doing reviews, because I find so many more things I think are wrong with a book than things I love about them.


In the past year I've read maybe three or four published books I would qualify as really great books: the total package of great writing and great plotting. The rest have somewhat disappointed me.


But I've found myself lately thinking about stories I've read that I complained about the writing, but somehow, for some reason, have stuck with me. And I've discovered that some of the beautifully written books are ones I enjoy while reading, and then put on a shelf and never feel anything about again except for a warm glow.

Others, though... ones that I complained bitterly about...ones that I literally threw the book in frustration... something in them has crept into me and burrowed in my heart. At random times I think about them. I remember a character that suddenly I connect with. I think about an issue - social, political, romantic - that was highlighted in the book that suddenly seems relate-able to my own life. Over time, with distance from the actual words on the page, some of these books I hated have become some of the stories I've loved.


I'm not sure what that means, except that perhaps the value of a book isn't immediately understood. And that a great story is more than just the way words are strung together, and yes, even sometimes great despite the way the words are strung together.


Have you read books like that?

11 comments:

  1. I am glad you wrote about this as I find I have become the same way. Very critical about the writing. Some books I can't finish because they bother me so much and never did before. I haven't gotten to that point where I think of them later, maybe that will happen.

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  2. Perhaps the value of a book isn't immediately understood.

    Well said. It is harder now to read without the writer brain engaged. Still, things I might not have once called "good" still can speak to me.

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  3. I agree with you 100%!!!!
    I notice so much more since I started writing, and it can be distracting while I read.

    Great post!

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  4. This is a great post, Heidi! I agree and have even kept myself from buying books out of fear of my critical self. Silly, right?! Now, I will say that many books I hated in High School-including The Great Gatsby-I now love. One I remember that took me FOREVER to get into and understand was The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. I read it again a few years ago and wondered how I hated it!!

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  5. I so agree with you! I find it very hard to turn off my internal editor when I read a book.

    I used to get the majority of books I read from the library and wouldn't leave without 5-10 books in my bag. That way I had backups when I started one and put it down after only a few chapters.

    I'm reading The Carrie Diaries right now and honestly, it was rough getting into it. But now I am and I can't wait to see how it ends!

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  6. Interesting post, Heidi. I've just begun an award-winning book and it's taken 100 pages to spark my interest!

    Seems like being a writer is a double-edge sword: we're more appreciative when stories are well-done and more critical when they fail to meet our expectations. ;-)

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  7. I am in full sympathies about how learning to write has changed your perception of reading, of what's good, what's bad.

    There are definitely books that I enjoyed reading, but never thought about afterward. If you ask me, a few years on, what they're about, I wouldn't be able to tell you. But yes, those that stay with me are normally ones that get better and better with re-reads. :)

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  8. I guess I still think about the characters of the "bad books" just as much. I know what you mean about being more critical, though. I actually FINISH way fewer books than I used to.

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  9. Oh my goodness, Heidi. I find myself doing the same thing! Although, I tend to analyze books as well as critique them. I have even resorted to putting a sticky note on the book I'm reading so I can record brief notes/comments.

    Even when I'm "annoyed" though, I can always see the value in the cool story idea or the author's voice & style. Great post!

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  10. Oh my goodness, Heidi. I find myself doing the same thing! Although, I tend to analyze books as well as critique them. I have even resorted to putting a sticky note on the book I'm reading so I can record brief notes/comments.

    Even when I'm "annoyed" though, I can always see the value in the cool story idea or the author's voice & style. Great post!

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  11. My friend and I were just talking about this very thing this morning.

    Being a writer makes one a very critical reader!

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