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How Book Reviewing Has Affected My Reading

November 02, 2006

I've always been a prolific reader, the kind of person who can lose herself in a good story, or while away entire afternoons reading on the couch. I've noticed, however, that since I've been writing book reviews over the past year, I've become a better reader. What do I mean by "better", you ask? Well...

I read everything with an eye out for clever turns of phrase, or passages that illuminate or encapsulate a setting or story. I mark these passages with sticky notes, or stop to write them down. I like to include them in my reviews when I can, because I think that this is the best way for a reader to get a sense of what the book is really like.
As a corollary to the above, I'm a bit frustrated by audio books now (though I still think that they are a wonderful invention), because I'm always reading when I'm out walking, and I can't easily write down or mark a particular passage.
I pay more attention to what I'm reading, and am less likely to skim through a book racing only to see what happens next.
I lie in bed before I go to sleep thinking about the implications of what I've just read, trying to understand what's special about this book, so that I can convey that in my reviews. I frequently have to get up to jot things down (though my words are always less profound by the light of day than I thought they were at midnight).
I'm more selective in my reading now, striving to read "better" books. This is partly because I want to read books about which there will be something noteworthy to say, and partly out of vanity. I'm fine with the people who visit my blog thinking that I'm a slightly quirky adult who reads children's books, but I don't want people thinking that I read garbage.
Conversely, I'm also more likely to try something that's outside of my regular comfort zone, if I think it will give me a new and interesting perspective. For example, I've never been much of a picture book reader (well, since I was five), but after a year of reading other people's picture book reviews, I'm giving them more of a chance. And learning a lot.
I am constantly on the lookout for ideas for my reviews, or for my blog, and I've learned that material can be found almost anywhere. I think that this perspective makes me look at the world, at the newspaper, at magazines, more closely.

The sad part of all of this is that as I read more carefully, as I take time to work on my blog and write reviews, I'm actually spending less time reading than I used to. Quality over quantity, sure. But it's still sad...

How about you, fellow bloggers? Has writing book reviews changed the way that you read?

Posted at 05:45 PM in Love of Books | Permalink | Comments (18)

Comments

I read everything with an eye out for clever turns of phrase, or passages that illuminate or encapsulate a setting or story. I mark these passages with sticky notes, or stop to write them down. I like to include them in my reviews when I can, because I think that this is the best way for a reader to get a sense of what the book is really like.
As a corollary to the above, I'm a bit frustrated by audio books now (though I still think that they are a wonderful invention), because I'm always reading when I'm out walking, and I can't easily write down or mark a particular passage.
I pay more attention to what I'm reading, and am less likely to skim through a book racing only to see what happens next.
I lie in bed before I go to sleep thinking about the implications of what I've just read, trying to understand what's special about this book, so that I can convey that in my reviews. I frequently have to get up to jot things down (though my words are always less profound by the light of day than I thought they were at midnight).
I'm more selective in my reading now, striving to read "better" books. This is partly because I want to read books about which there will be something noteworthy to say, and partly out of vanity. I'm fine with the people who visit my blog thinking that I'm a slightly quirky adult who reads children's books, but I don't want people thinking that I read garbage.
Conversely, I'm also more likely to try something that's outside of my regular comfort zone, if I think it will give me a new and interesting perspective. For example, I've never been much of a picture book reader (well, since I was five), but after a year of reading other people's picture book reviews, I'm giving them more of a chance. And learning a lot.
I am constantly on the lookout for ideas for my reviews, or for my blog, and I've learned that material can be found almost anywhere. I think that this perspective makes me look at the world, at the newspaper, at magazines, more closely.

How about you, fellow bloggers? Has writing book reviews changed the way that you read?