tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539053953461414497.post7618033882552958906..comments2023-09-28T09:03:33.249-04:00Comments on Still Waiting for Books to Come True: Differing InterpretationsLexiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003410630121759370noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539053953461414497.post-6027248444989295312012-05-04T15:49:55.374-04:002012-05-04T15:49:55.374-04:00Well, I was basically going to say what Michelle a...Well, I was basically going to say what Michelle already did, so now I don't need to. :PLithiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10804103370788243102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539053953461414497.post-16735433847626991152012-05-03T11:57:13.225-04:002012-05-03T11:57:13.225-04:00There are always different ways to interpret books...There are always different ways to interpret books and you can see that in the book blogging sphere where there are hundreds of differing opinions in reviews. For me, it's definitely interesting to find out about different opinions as more often than not, they weren't things I would have even considered but I find myself agreeing with them. Are interpretations ever wrong? I don't think so! It's someone's opinion and there isn't any logic behind thinking one person's opinion is more 'true' than another persons. Though I guess a line has to be drawn eventually. Like you said, if someone has something completely off that it appears they were reading a different book, then <i>that's</i> when an interpretation can be questioned.Sam (Realm of Fiction)https://www.blogger.com/profile/04440380021875536125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539053953461414497.post-78291387482119304712012-05-02T23:13:08.056-04:002012-05-02T23:13:08.056-04:00This is my favorite thing about reading and intera...This is my favorite thing about reading and interacting with other readers. People don't always get the same thing from a book, but I feel like that's okay. I'm sure most writers have a specific interpretation of what their book is supposed to mean, but because people are varied in so many different ways, not everyone is going to focus on the same things. Just like highlighting textbooks for school, a fact I think is worth highlighting may be skipped over by the person sitting next to me. I feel like it's the same thing with movies. My sister in-law and I were talking the other day about a movie and our interpretations of the ending were completely different. <br /><br />I feel like different points of view makes things interesting and it gives us all something to talk about :0)<br /><br />Great post, Lexie! Definitely something worth talking about <3Sarah (The Book Life)https://www.blogger.com/profile/09337232061798651120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539053953461414497.post-80953753293547893622012-05-02T13:50:14.878-04:002012-05-02T13:50:14.878-04:00Great post! I usually find that if I start thinkin...Great post! I usually find that if I start thinking one way about a book before I start reading it, I tend to keep that viewpoint throughout the book. Also, I think it's good that everyone has their own interpretations of things. If we all thought the same way and felt the same about everything, then there would never be a variety of different (and interesting!) opinions.<br /><br />I also agree with Traci; I love finding out different interpretations of books when discussing it with others, and I like to go back and read the book again with that interpretation in mind.<br /><br />I'm also slightly curious about what your teacher's interpretation of The Hunger Games was.<br /><br />Michelle @ <a href="http://thebookishpoodle.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">The Bookish Poodle</a>Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15627947699171891088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539053953461414497.post-90205057828671245552012-05-02T13:46:55.069-04:002012-05-02T13:46:55.069-04:00It's strange, how our life experiences and vie...It's strange, how our life experiences and viewpoints can change the way we look at a book. I remember being in high school and listening to my teacher prattle on about the messages and meanings behind some books, and thinking 'Really? All I got out of it was ____,' and I felt bad, even maybe like I was a bad student, because I didn't see these things "the right way."<br /><br />Thinking about books is like looking at clouds. Everyone's going to see something different.Meaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09740882205419149852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539053953461414497.post-10821913851173690682012-05-02T08:20:53.053-04:002012-05-02T08:20:53.053-04:00I went to a workshop with a writer who was accused...I went to a workshop with a writer who was accused of promoting pedophilia behaviour by a lecturer because the kids explored a creepy house where an old guy is. I'd say that's an example of how an extreme interpretation can be wrong.<br /><br />Other times I've seen reviews where I know the blogger's views don't match up with mine. I can see how the reviewer got to that conclusion, but I disagree with then that was the author's intention. I've also had it in my HC review from Inkpop where the editor has suggested there was some romantic tension between two characters that I definitely didn't mean to be there (in fact I was trying to avoid it). <br /><br />I think that when people try to look at things and dissect it from a theoretically point of view, like with the lecturer or people who look for conspiracies in novel (like that blog that was in the Sommies last month), it is more likely that the interpretation could be wrong because they're trying too hard to make a statement. But when two people who read a book for pleasure, opinions are usually not wrong, but just a point of view.SM Johnstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03546994863993080465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539053953461414497.post-28846256813404198282012-05-02T04:06:08.626-04:002012-05-02T04:06:08.626-04:00I don't think there is a wrong interpretation ...I don't think there is a wrong interpretation of the book. Humans are shaped by their life experiences and completely different people, and it's only natural that we bring in a bias when we start reading a book. Reading is such a subjective thing that it's impossible, in my opinion anyway, for two people to share the same view completely, because we think differently and words are open for our personal interpretation.<br /><br />^ Rambles. I'm not sure how much sense they make :P Anyway, very interesting post!Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01853280888985025343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539053953461414497.post-52434649609338492862012-05-02T00:58:30.627-04:002012-05-02T00:58:30.627-04:00Interesting post Lexie! I think that readers can t...Interesting post Lexie! I think that readers can take away many different interpretations from a book. I believe there is no "right" way to interpret a book and everyone will take away something different from it. My sister and I have this discussion all the time. When we both read the same book and then go to discuss it, I find she will bring up a different topic first then from what I will be thinking about. Her interpretation is maybe something I found in the story but didn't pay much attention to or something I didn't find at all. I kind of like when that happens though because it challenges me to reread a book again and try to find another meaning. That is also why I reread so many of my books over and over again because often times I can find some completely different way to interpret a story. <br />However, the line is definitely drawn when the interpretations are completely out there.Traci @ The Reading Geekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08217617671731893865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4539053953461414497.post-17287671158026681722012-05-02T00:11:00.279-04:002012-05-02T00:11:00.279-04:00One of my professors talked about this a lot in my...One of my professors talked about this a lot in my Practical Criticism class. And at the end of the day, her view on it was, if you can argue your claim well and provide enough textual support for it, it should hold up as an interpretation. And I kind of think of it that way, too.<br /><br />There are people who stretch or take things out of the context of the story to support their view, and I think that's where I draw the line. You have to be able to make your interpretation hold up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com