Sunday, June 14, 2015

Making Up For Monday: Pet Peeves


It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: What is your biggest pet peeve with authors?

This is an easy one for me because it's been on my mind a lot lately.  I love reading books becasue they become so personal to me. The story and characters combine with my thoughts and experiences to give me my own personal view and opinion of the book. What I get out of a book is a unique experience. Books are a form of art and as with most art, it's not about what the artist puts into it; it's what others get out of it.

Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighter once said: 

“That’s one of the great things about music. You can sing a song to 85,000 people and they’ll sing it back for 85,000 different reasons.”

While he was talking about music, I think they same applies to books. The author may write it for one reason, but everyone reads it  for a different reason. 

So what's my pet peeve?  Authors who come out and say what I should have gotten from the book. No! You do not get to tell me how I should interpret your book. I am a unique individual with a unique life experience and I will get something different out of than what you thought you put in.  AND THAT'S OKAY! I absolultely hate being told I interpreted a book wrong. Ugh! 

I leave you with a quote from William Golding:

“There have been so many interpretations of the story that I'm not going to choose between them. Make your own choice. They contradict each other, the various choices. The only choice that really matters, the only interpretation of the story, if you want one, is your own. Not your teacher's, not your professor's, not mine, not a critic's, not some authority's. The only thing that matters is, first, the experience of being in the story, moving through it. Then any interpretation you like. If it's yours, then that's the right one, because what's in a book is not what an author thought he put into it, it's what the reader gets out of it.”


4 comments:

  1. Hi! This is my first time participating in your Monday meme and I was wondering if there is supposed to be a linky to sign up with or if I should leave a link in the comments? Thanks! :)

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    1. Hi Maggie! There is indeed a link up for this blog but for some reason it didn't work this morning. But I fixed it! Thanks for bringing that to my attention and thanks for participating!

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  2. Hello! This is my first time too, although I have been stalking your blog for a while now :-) What a great pet peeve, you're right that there is no wrong/right way to interpret a book (or a song or movie for that matter). I think the ambiguity makes it greater and far more enjoyable; Birdman is a great film for allowing for lots of interpretations. :-)

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  3. This is a fun topic! :) I actually don't have a problem with authors explaining what they meant to portray with their book. Unless they're saying that "this is what is means and you better feel that way!", in which case, leave me alone! I like insight into what the author was thinking and feeling, but I don't want people to force their views on me, even if it's the creator. I get where you're coming from.

    Cayt @ Vicarious Caytastrophe

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