How Do You Read?

So you know that voice inside your head that narrates the story as you read the text on the page?

I just realised that most authors that I have read up to this point in my life have been of either American or British descent and also almost all of the books I have read were published in western society.

This got me thinking

The voice the author had while writing say a set of dialogue is different to the voice I hear when I read the exact same dialogue.

For example, if I’m reading a novel where two American teenagers go to a burger joint I’m assuming the author gave them American accents and western mannerisms.

BUT

As reading is a subconscious endeavour, despite the characters being American I give them the Australian accent I grew up learning. This is simply because I haven’t been exposed to real world American accents as much

Doesn’t that strike you as the weirdest thing?

50 people in a room could be reading the exact same page but since they have different backgrounds, life experiences etc ultimately they’re never really reading the exact same page.

I guess this is a really good way of understanding diversity and how when we travel beyond surface level everybody has a completely different worldview from yours.

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The One Thing That Successful Authors Never Do

It has recently come to my attention that there is something crucial that most if not ALL successful authors do.

They don’t read reviews of their books

I know. Bummer.

And here I am three years later thinking how all the reviews written on this blog and on Goodreads were left unread by all my fav authors

But why?

It’s simple. They do it for their peace of mind.

I mean you tell yourself I’m going to read so and so many reviews to see how my book is doing. But one mean word about your book baby and you’re left shattered

Books are hard work. They don’t just take time and commitment, authors are sending out a piece of themselves. Sometimes people talk about things in their books that they have NEVER dealt with before.

To have that tossed around like an English Literature project must be hard to come to terms with.

I mean as a successful authors who knows they’re successful, why would you need to care what people think anyway. Bottom line is people either liked it or they didn’t. The evolving nature of our society means that people will move on to the next best thing anyway

Of course there are authors who do read reviews, but for the most part, I think the successful ones prefer to live in shadows

The Place for YA At University

Something happened today.

You see, up until this point I felt a lack of reading culture at my university. It was an absence that continued to plague me and I couldn’t help asking myself?

How do these people not love books?!

Don’t get me wrong, I have found a few mutual friends who share a love of books but at a larger scale people tend to be more concerned with socialising and surfing facebook than generating thoughtful discussions on books.

Don’t get me wrong, I respect other people’s ideals but sometimes I feel like we as a society tend to be promoting a more extroverted ideal more than the notion of taking time to yourself and immersing yourself in reading or a more though provoking exercise.

Why is that?

On a more happier note, I did find a little nook at my university which is dedicated to leisure reading. The sight of shelves upon shelves of YA books warmed my heart like nothing else ever could and ever will.

Does Anyone Even Read Anymore?

As I look around myself, I see more and more people choosing more convenient and instantly rewarding forms of entertainment.

Now there is nothing wrong with that but I can’t help noticing that the average person (especially my age) does not read books anymore. It is a novelty if I find a friend who enjoys the same books as me let alone enjoys reading at all.

We’d rather go on facebook or watch Netflix or watch the movie adaptation of the book rather than read the book itself. Forget reading thought provoking classics or discussing ideologies. Those are the things of the past and just not cool anymore.

I know there are programs that promote reading all the time and with movie adaptations the YA genre has received this whole new generation of readers. But I’m talking about real books: Dickens and Dante and the Odyssey. Timeless, precious book that people need to read once in their life.

Maybe that’s why the retail price on books increases significantly every year or the number of my readers diminishes every year. No one even reads anymore

FOMO (On Reading)

FOMO- short for Fear of Missing Out is when a person is afraid of not following the crowd or being unaware of a social trend which causes them immense anxiety.

For the past year, I’ve been really out of the loop not just with reading but also with blogging and the blogging community. I was connecting well with other Australian bloggers, my blog post inspirations were at an all-time high and BAM. Year 12 happened.

I stopped checking my Goodreads notification, the book club challenge I’d so enthusiastically started got lost amongst task sheets and due dates. Most importantly, I stopped interacting on Twitter or Facebook or Email with readers, bloggers and publishers.

Not reading many books this year wasn’t even the worst of it since I understandably did not have time for leisure reading and hey I have my entire life ahead of me to just.read.books.

Whenever I feel like I’m out of the loop or giving my fullest to something I always remember what Felicity-a former Penguin Teen employee once told us at a Young Adult event. She told us not to feel in a rush to read the latest book or finish a series. Take your time.

I guess that’s what I have to remember. I have three months’ holiday ahead of me and all the time in the world to read and blog. I have my entire life ahead of me.

Do you ever feel left out?

I Miss Reading

I miss reading.

Not the kind of reading where you skim over your Twitter feed or the kind where you submerge your novel in a plethora of sticky notes because your grade depends on it.

I miss the kind of reading that nullifies your world until there is just you and the book.

The turn of each crisp page, the weight of the book in your lap, your shoulders and eyes begging for a rest- all these things seem irrelevant. Because it’s the stories I miss. It’s the people.

Reading gave me the freedom to explore not just countries but universes. It made me feel eager to pack my suitcase and escape to these worlds yet, just the mere act of reading made me feel like I was co-existing with these characters and that was plenty for me.

I miss the quiet that followed the conclusion of each book. Where I was left alone to ponder. What are these characters doing now? I’d wonder. I’d sit there in awe of all the feelings that a book is able to imprint upon you. How do words have so much power? they’re just lines on paper after all.

What I miss the most is the stillness that came with reading. In a world full of chaos, I had something that let me feel at peace and it made me feel alive.

I miss reading.

July Breakdown

July was a really great month! I read some awesome books and my life was agreeing with me for the most part so that’s always good!

First and foremost it was birthday month so guess who’s a really old seventeen year old (I still act like a seven year old so it’s all good)

NOTE: Links to the reviews of the following books are in the titles, if you wanna check it out!

What I read

A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah.J.Maas 

I had quite an infamous opinion on this one and we’ll leave it at that

Sweet Damage by Rebecca James 

This was a hauntingly enjoyable read and I’m so glad Allen & Unwin encouraged me to pick this up!

Go set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Of course! July was the month this iconic book was released and despite unsure opinions I liked it for the most part.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

To be honest I went into this not expecting to not like it but despite being cliche at times it was a light and fun read.

What I watched

YES I the Paper Towns movie came out and it was funny and entertaining and you can read my review  here.

I haven’t been in the blogosphere this past month mostly because of school and life but this month I’m going to work on being more active on Twitter and keeping up with exciting book news

Have a great August everyone!

 

 

Discussion | Reading In A Different Language

As many of you may or may not know, I learn French in school and English isn’t my first language which means I have the pleasure of reading books in different languages.

We’ve recently been studying The Little Prince in French. Basically what we do is, we read the French version then we switch to the English translated version and I’m really enjoying it.

What is it that makes me enjoy a book in a language I can barely understand? Why does the translated version seem so faithful?

What elements of a story need to stay consistent from language to language to make it so faithful?

Well I’m about to tell you that:

1) The overall message/motto of the story

2) The author’s writing style

3) Accurate representation of the character

This post is going to be split into two parts to avoid mumble-jumble

Part One: I discuss how each of those elements in The Little Prince make it such a good translation

Part Two: I discuss what if my blog were translated into another language?

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Reading The Little Prince in Two Different Languages

What makes it so good? let’s discuss

1) The message remains consistent

The Little Prince is basically an exploration into human morals and character. It’s about what we think is important in life and what is actually important in life.

I believe every story has a meaning and you take the meaning away and what do you get? nothing, it’s just a bunch of words on a page isn’t it? The meaning is like the skeleton, it holds everything together, it brings everything together which is why it NEEDS to be there.

2) The author’s writing style

Of course you can’t exactly replicate someone else’s writing style, translation’s complicated like that. But what you can do is try to get the gist of the writing in as much as possible. I mean if something is supposed to be serious and important in the story then you have to try and get that across.

The Little Prince is highly metaphorical and they’ve done a good job of acknowledging that.

You have to remain faithful

3) Consistent Characterization

Characters for me are one of the three most important elements of a story.  Again, the translation has to meaningfully represent the character. Whether it be Little Prince’s cuteness or Lizzie Bennett’s witty banter it has to remain the same for the story to be a successful, faithful translation.

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I recently discovered Smartling, a translation software company. that basically translates web content into different languages for effective communication.

So hypothetically, if my blog were to be translated into another language what’s to remain consistent?

1) The Theme of my blog

I feel like this is really obvious but , it’s about books and my love for literature so that’s got to be there. Particularly with book reviews, the translation has to be able to accurately represent whether I liked a book or not.

2) My Style

I’m quite a chatty person on this blog so I’d want that to stay consistent but sometimes I write serious stuff too so that’s got to come across. Basically my voice has to stay consistent is what I’m saying

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Translation is really amazing when you think about it. I mean I’d never be able to read The Little Prince properly if it wasn’t translated into English and what if I’m denying people access by having my blog in just one language?

So I now pose the question to you

If you were to read a book in another language what aspects would you want to stay consistent?

Reading is Contagious

Ello Everybody!

Firstly, how do we like the change in colour scheme? with the southern hemisphere well and truly into Autumn I decided things were getting a bit stale on this blog so time to spice it up with some Autumnal colours cuz Autumn

I mean getting all cozy with a book and a spiced latte? heck yea

Speaking of books.  (As if I don’t talk enough about books already)

I’ve always wondered how one gets someone into books. You know those people who just can’t sit still for 30 seconds with their nose in a book? how do you get them to even remotely realize how amazing books are?

One of my best friends recently just finished reading what is quiet possibly her first series ever. Now. I’d like to believe that I played a certain role in that. I mean I was the one who recommended the series to her. Maybe it’s because me and her are like Siamese twins and seeing me read all the time motivated her. Or maybe it was just such an amazing series?

Another one of my other friends recently came up to me and said:

“Your compulsive reading has gotten me reading too..”

So tell me, is it the fact that recommending a good book (a nudge in the right direction) gets people into reading?

Or is it that seeing someone read all the time just triggers something in us, a curiosity as to what could be more compelling than the real world that has people pick up a book?

Do you think reading is contagious?

 

How To Have The Best Reading Experience

Ever wondered how you can reach the maximum level of investment in a book, the point where nothing else but the events and the characters matter. The point where reality seems like a dull sponge? Keep reading then!

Step One: Find a book of interest

Does the blurb capture you? is the book from a genre you highly enjoy? find a book that has your attention and it feels like your life cannot go on until you engulf the details of this thing. In my words, you don’t choose the book, the book chooses you.

Step Two: Avoid Distractiona

Easing into a book might be a pickle at times but don’t worry, often it isn’t because the book isn’t great but rather because of external factors.

Find some peace and quiet perhaps your bedroom or the library, abandon all friends and music and food and just read. Read surrounded by silence, it’s actually the best thing.

Step Three: Take your book EVERYWHERE you go

School, work, the train station, the toilet, have your book with you at all times so you never have a dull moment cuz hey you can read while waiting for the bus or you can read when Maths is too boring.  But seriously instead of finding time to read, make the time to read. Slipping your book into your daily life is like little boosts of energy

 

Step Four: Avoid sleep at all costs

Your book is way too important to be abandoned for eight straight hours while your brain rests. Avoid sleeping so you’ve got plenty of time to read and one of the best feelings I’ve ever had is finishing a good book in the late hours, it is truly magical.

And at the end of it all you end up looking like this so it’s a win win

Step Five: Withdrawal Symptoms

If you’ve followed steps one to three then congratulation my friend, you have come to that point in your life where the characters continue to exist in your head even when the book is finished. When even a slight mention of the title of the book will send you into a fangirl frenzy and you’ll just be left with wanting more

Step Six: Move On

As much as we’d like to have a long term relationship with our book it is important to understand that it was just a short lived love. All good things must come to an end so it’s time to move on. Don’t worry time heals all wounds so it’s only a matter of time until this book gets folded and filed away neatly in your memory.

Step Seven: Repeat

In the meantime find a new book  of interest and repeat steps one to six for another glorious reading experience.

I just wanted to try something different on this blog so isn’t this a nice creative post? I hope you didn’t take everything too seriously because trust me the sarcasm was real in this post. Oh and don’t lose sleep over your books it’s not healthy seriously though you’ll be able to read better if your brain can actually function so sleep!