It's Citali now! Over the summer, I've been reading and rereading more books than I usually have an opportunity to do during the rest of the year (because life is busy and crazy for me and for everyone). So much reading makes me think about what makes a reader happy. It's not just
a good book, but also how you read: do you read for meaning, or for a good story? Do you prefer ingenious world-building and ideas or dynamic characters? Do you hate cliffhangers, or love them? What's better, a series or just one book with a good ending? Philosophical books or humorous novels?
Here's what I love, dislike, and learn from in the books that I read.
I love ideas like having fairies on your rooftops or dragons who collect window glass or wizards who live hidden among us and go to magic schools or children who can climb through a closet to find whole new worlds or robots who can be fairy godmothers: ideas that build a world and are just made for you to imagine that world beyond just one story. I love characters who make you shake your head and laugh and disapprove and love them all the same. I love nonfiction that makes you want to act on it. I love when a book ends with a hint of wonder and joy and the satisfied feeling that everyone ended up in the best possible perfect way. But at the same time, I love when an ending is sad but sad in a way that brings the story full circle, and it gives you a feeling that while the world isn't fair, it isn't so bad if you think about it. I love that feeling at any ending, when it's perfect and I smile and slowly close the book and just gaze out and think and absorb the feeling.
I don't like books with a plateau-ing plot. I groan at books that show my world unrealistically. I hate lukewarm endings where a character's fate is left up in the air and you know it will be there forever because it's an ending.
How I learn from books: that's complicated. I've read books for clubs and courses where I had to think about themes, symbols, and applications of the book's message to real life. While that seems onerous, it does help me think and enjoy the books. Most books, though, I don't read for meaning and rather for a good story.
How do you read? Do you introspect after every book, seeking meaning? Do you prefer different ways of ending books?
Happy reading!
~Citali
a good book, but also how you read: do you read for meaning, or for a good story? Do you prefer ingenious world-building and ideas or dynamic characters? Do you hate cliffhangers, or love them? What's better, a series or just one book with a good ending? Philosophical books or humorous novels?
Here's what I love, dislike, and learn from in the books that I read.
I love ideas like having fairies on your rooftops or dragons who collect window glass or wizards who live hidden among us and go to magic schools or children who can climb through a closet to find whole new worlds or robots who can be fairy godmothers: ideas that build a world and are just made for you to imagine that world beyond just one story. I love characters who make you shake your head and laugh and disapprove and love them all the same. I love nonfiction that makes you want to act on it. I love when a book ends with a hint of wonder and joy and the satisfied feeling that everyone ended up in the best possible perfect way. But at the same time, I love when an ending is sad but sad in a way that brings the story full circle, and it gives you a feeling that while the world isn't fair, it isn't so bad if you think about it. I love that feeling at any ending, when it's perfect and I smile and slowly close the book and just gaze out and think and absorb the feeling.
I don't like books with a plateau-ing plot. I groan at books that show my world unrealistically. I hate lukewarm endings where a character's fate is left up in the air and you know it will be there forever because it's an ending.
How I learn from books: that's complicated. I've read books for clubs and courses where I had to think about themes, symbols, and applications of the book's message to real life. While that seems onerous, it does help me think and enjoy the books. Most books, though, I don't read for meaning and rather for a good story.
How do you read? Do you introspect after every book, seeking meaning? Do you prefer different ways of ending books?
Happy reading!
~Citali
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