Some books do more than tell a story. They change how you read everything that comes after. Your patience changes. Your standards change. Even what you expect from a sentence changes.
For me, that book was East of Eden.
After reading it, I noticed characters more than plot. I slowed down. I started paying attention to small choices and quiet moments. A lot of books felt thinner after that, not bad, just lighter.
Another was Never Let Me Go.
It made me more aware of mood and silence. I stopped rushing through pages and started sitting with the feeling a book leaves behind.
These books did not ruin reading for me. They reshaped it.
What book changed how you read other books after it?
Thank you.
by gamersecret2
5 Comments
This answer might be too on the nose, but How to Read Literature Like a Professor. It helped me better understand and look out for different types of symbolism and meaning in books.
I agree with Never Let Me Go. It’s my 2nd favourite book of the year after Remains of the day but I almost DNFed it and found the start of it very boring. However, I was devastated after I finished the book and really connected with each character. It’s a book that was on my mind for weeks.
Carl Sagan’s Demon Haunted World has reshaped my perspective. Although I agreed with him prior to reading, there were parts that resonated so much with me, stayed up in my brainpan and mixed new ideas.
Not being a normal reader of short stories. The pacing and sort of slice-of-life style from reading “Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?” had me reading English analysis for thr first time in my life outside of a classroom.
I simply love how thoughtfully you came to realize this and put it into words. The way you described how the writing changed your reading is very eloquent and beautiful. I’m thinking if you haven’t, maybe you should make a foray into writing yourself. 🙂 🙂