The judging process reminded me what a mysterious, personal transaction reading is. At first, that stressed me out. How were we going to get through these books and make decisions if we’re all so different? By the end, I marveled at really what a cool thing it is that each person can connect so differently across such a broad range of material, and that gives me hope for each of the books I’ve written and the ones I’ve yet to write.
Richard Rodriguez says that the reader re-creates the book when he reads it. If that’s true, and I think it probably is, that means 100 readers could have 100 different experiences of the same book. Which can be frustrating, but is also kind of magical and also tells you something about what it is to be a person, an individual.
Sara's comments reminded me of conversations we've had in class this semester. I encourage you to visit her blog and read more of what she has to say. Then tune in for the announcement of the NBA winner next week!
Jennifer Buehler
These comments definitely sound familiar, and it's cool to see how all the different perspectives and interpretations come into play when considering book awards.
ReplyDeleteI remember you booktalking a couple of Sara Zarr's books in class. They sound really good, and I plan to check them out sometime when I have time to read for fun again!
I think her message makes complete sense. Everyone is different, even twins. This is because different people have different experiences. Even if they had similar experiences they perceive experiences differently because of who they are. However, I don’t really understand how this can be frustrating. I think it’s a really wonderful phenomenon, I guess I can’t see the negative effects of it.
ReplyDelete---Amer Rasheed