This topic has come up recently in our group buddy reading all the Booker winners written by women - specifically, what our expectations are for a Booker winner, what criteria that the judges might be using to choose a winner, and how to reconcile the two. As you say here, talking it out with smart and thoughtful readers is really enhancing my experience with these books.
I think I need to write an entire post about the expectations I have based on prizes. I often still feel like if I don't like a prize winner, there's something wrong with my reading. I'm glad your Booker group has been so enriching!!
This is why I find rereading so valuable! Often I'll have expectations for whatever reason and the book disappoints me because it's different from what I thought it would be, but rereading always allows me to approach the book as it actually is and it means I nearly always end up enjoying it much more. (Madame Bovary is an exception!)
This is such a helpful post! I know that I often have high expectations of a book for various reasons but haven't taken much time to consider how I can confront them- except giving up looking at Goodreads ratings/reviews- not looking before I read a book has significantly helped me decrease my reading expectations
I love this series Sara! Especially as someone who probably likes talking about books I didn’t like as much as books I did.
This makes me think of the difference between a true book review vs. simply talking about a book and / or writing about WHY a book did or did not work for me.
For ex - where does a “I liked this book but would’ve liked it more if it was xyz” kind of statement belong?
Maybe not in a public review, because like you’re saying here, it’s not the author’s fault that I wanted xyz. BUT, it’s still a valid statement for me so that I personally know and can remember why a book worked for me. Definitely interesting to think about as someone who doesn’t really review books publicly!
If you get into why you thought a book should do something but didn't that's a completely valid level of criticism. It would help to get into the details. If you thought a book should've done something is that because of genre expectations? Is it doing something creative or enjoyable that opens up new ideas new concepts? Or is it a case of breaking the contract with the reader.
This topic has come up recently in our group buddy reading all the Booker winners written by women - specifically, what our expectations are for a Booker winner, what criteria that the judges might be using to choose a winner, and how to reconcile the two. As you say here, talking it out with smart and thoughtful readers is really enhancing my experience with these books.
I think I need to write an entire post about the expectations I have based on prizes. I often still feel like if I don't like a prize winner, there's something wrong with my reading. I'm glad your Booker group has been so enriching!!
This is why I find rereading so valuable! Often I'll have expectations for whatever reason and the book disappoints me because it's different from what I thought it would be, but rereading always allows me to approach the book as it actually is and it means I nearly always end up enjoying it much more. (Madame Bovary is an exception!)
This is such a helpful post! I know that I often have high expectations of a book for various reasons but haven't taken much time to consider how I can confront them- except giving up looking at Goodreads ratings/reviews- not looking before I read a book has significantly helped me decrease my reading expectations
I love this series Sara! Especially as someone who probably likes talking about books I didn’t like as much as books I did.
This makes me think of the difference between a true book review vs. simply talking about a book and / or writing about WHY a book did or did not work for me.
For ex - where does a “I liked this book but would’ve liked it more if it was xyz” kind of statement belong?
Maybe not in a public review, because like you’re saying here, it’s not the author’s fault that I wanted xyz. BUT, it’s still a valid statement for me so that I personally know and can remember why a book worked for me. Definitely interesting to think about as someone who doesn’t really review books publicly!
If you get into why you thought a book should do something but didn't that's a completely valid level of criticism. It would help to get into the details. If you thought a book should've done something is that because of genre expectations? Is it doing something creative or enjoyable that opens up new ideas new concepts? Or is it a case of breaking the contract with the reader.
This was very helpful and has made me stop to think about the way I present my reviews of books.