Stop & Chat is a weekly discussion post here at Read. Sleep. Repeat. where we talk about what ever tickles my fancy!
This week’s Stop & Chat is inspired solely on my need to know that I’m not alone. So without further ado!
Growing As A Reader!
I recently was lucky enough to receive an ARC of a sequel I was really (and I mean REALLY) anticipating. I’d read the predecessor in December 11′ and I fell head over heels in love with it! In fact I was so nuts about the book that I re-read it twice within a week of finishing. Needless to say this was before I acquired a life, a blog, or friends. But that’s neither here nor there, the important thing is that I received an ARC to the sequel of this book I loved so much and I just knew with every fiber of my being that I was destined to love the sequel too! Alas, I was totally wrong and wound up questioning myself as a reader and a blogger.
It’s expected that we all grow. Growth is a basic function that MOST people go through, be it intellectual, religious, height (yes I’m short) or something else, we are all meant to grow. So it didn’t exactly surprise me that my taste, likes, dislikes, and limitations of stupidity had changed when it came to the books I read. That’s suppose to happen. But I was a bit shocked by how much my taste have morphed. If I would have read this sequel two years ago, I would have been overcome with rainbow thoughts and giggle fits (you know I don’t giggle!). But the Octavia of today, finished the book with a feeling of “meh” and “gah you two need to get your shit together!”. And that train of thought made me think:
Knowing what I know now, and feeling how I feel now, how does that affect my previous review? Should I change it? Update it? Leave it be?
I urged people (even if no one listened to that urge) to rush out and grab a copy of said book! I told them it would make their insides melt and leave them needing a cold shower afterwards! I silently cursed at people who disliked the book! Does this make me a liar? A fraud? A hypocrite maybe? Or should I embrace that review as a reflection of the person I’m growing into?
I haven’t answered any of these questions for myself, but I’d love to know that I’m not the only person who has looked back on a review and said “what the hell was I smoking that day?!”. So link up your own Growing As A Reader post below, and share with us how you’ve grown!
