Time After Reading

Time can turn the memory of a book into a fine wine, or a rotting carcass.

Not too long ago, (literally less than five minutes for me) I finally finished a very problematic review. For a week or so I have suffered with what many call ‘writers block‘, but what I personally call ‘creative constipation’. It’s not a pleasant image and it’s not something that can be solved with a Senacot tablet, but the words wouldn’t get onto the paper for one main reason: my contradicting memories of the book and what I felt about it now in hindsight, three years later. Although, after a long and painful process of writing all these different ideas, I was finally able to come to some conclusions. It made me think about something I’ve never considered before (and no it wasn’t a change of career). It was how our interpretations of a book either strengthen our love/hate and memory of it, or change our view completely.

The main influence on this, I think, is the media. In a society full of critics – whether they’re in the papers, or on TV – even if you completely disagree with what they are saying it does make you question your own views. I admit that I’ve read some reviews on books that I had wanted to buy, and then found that the points which the critic had made stuck in my head and affected my view of said book. As an English student especially, you are constantly dealing with critics who think Shakespeare is the best thing since the invention of TV (no…wait…) and mainstream writings like Stephen King are rubbish (I’m talking about you Harold Bloom!). And whether I like to admit it or not, it influences how I see the book, especially when I’m being judged against what critics say. However, this isn’t always a bad thing. When dealing with major classics and well known texts I use a site called Sparknotes, which is brilliant for analytical details, and helps strengthen my opinions of a book. (i.e. on one of my favourite novels, Great Expectations, I never would have noticed the genius way Dickens physically likens some characters to everyday household objects, and this made me appreciate the novel even more). (Plus, this website saves a lot of English degree students a lot of time…not that I’ve ever used it, I swear! – Ed)

However, my main grievance with critics is that they can turn the greatest authors into idiots and make the worst authors into Gods. That’s something that especially influences my own reviews, by trying to suggest what you might like or what ‘I’ liked so you can make your own minds up.

Your friends and family also affect what you read in the first place. I partly read Great Expectations because my dad said how he enjoyed it, and Philip K Dick’s on my to-read list because of a good friend of mine. However, that can also affect how you enjoy a book. If it raises your expectations and it doesn’t reach them, you might hate the book more than you would of have otherwise.

Finally, you can also influence yourself, perhaps by doing research into the author and the book. You might find some respect for the author, or something that makes you rethink your initial opinion. I find wiki is always a useful tool, just to get an overview of the person behind the book and what the book was suppose to be about, because then you can judge if it failed or not. However, sometimes, it seems to happen naturally. For me with Frankenstein, I could separate the book completely from the films, but I could also reflect on Shelley‘s writing compared to other books of that era I had read thereafter.

In the end it’s something that I’m now conscious of, and if you weren’t before then you are now. The next time you reflect back on a book, who knows, something may have changed.