Friday, February 3, 2012

Please Stop Writing!

The war of the reader and the writer plagues me.  As a writer, I write continually.  As a reader, I am swarmed with wonderful novels that I don't have time to pursue!  The reader would like to impose a fifty year ban on book writing that would enable me to "catch up" on the fabulous books that are already out there.  (The writer is grimacing at this suggestion.)

Besides all the great books that have yet to be read, there are the books that deserve a reread.  At different stages in our lives, a book will touch us in different ways.  A Catcher in the Rye is a wonderful example of how perspective changes.  When I was assigned this book as a high-schooler, I cheered for Holden's rebel character who thumbed his nose at adults and society.  As a "mature" reader, I think Holden was a big whiner who needed to get over himself, enroll in family therapy, and leave his little sister alone.  I never remembered being angry at Holden's parents in my younger reading days - they were merely backdrop.  Now, I see them as the fools who allowed Holden to be warped. 

I don't foresee an agreement by writers to grant me a reprieve so I guess I better start reading more.  Secretly, I love this battle.  It is a true win-win for me. :)

1 comment:

  1. I completely understand the dilemma. The writer in me wants to keep writing. The reader wants everyone else to pause at least for a year or two, so I can get caught up in reading. Yeah, it's not going to happen.

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