Thursday Thoughts...

“I meet a lot of readers who first encountered my work in school. And I can only assume there is another group who would run away very fast if they saw me coming, for exactly the same reason. Reading is individual, and not all tastes are alike.” 

Margaret Atwood

I love how frank Ms Atwood is here -  she understands humans and school students and how we all experience the world and books differently.

I was older than school age when I first read her work; and it was challenging enough for me then!  I imagine if I met it in high school, I would probably have struggled with it a bit more; although at the same time I daresay it may have engaged me more than my bête noir of high school English lessons - Tess of the D'Urbevilles.

She speaks the truth when she says reading is individual and not all tastes are alike. It used to concern me a bit on those occasions when a person who's reading tastes I considered to be aligned to my own would reject a book I had suggested/recommended; give up half way; or simply not enjoy it or see the point.

Now I have much greater understanding of what we each bring to a book; from our expectations, to our experiences, to the mood we are in and what we need to make us feel good at the moment. I have recently read a lot more books that I would consider on the lighter side of the spectrum. They have let me not get bogged down in further darkness beyond the darkness of the real world. They aren't fluffy; but they aren't deep or dark either. They are solid stories where somebody has followed an idea and populated it with some interesting characters and taken me along for the ride. And most of the time, I am grateful.

Passing them along to others I have been met with more 'rejections' than usual, which I think is explained by my need right now for softness, and ease as I read...