Discussion: Reading about Readers

Grab your cup of tea and settle down because I want to talk about reading about readers.

*Disclaimer: These are my own opinions, and I am not directing this toward any specific book, or author. *

What does this mean?

Reading about reader simply means that a character, or multiple characters in a book, are readers. For instance, characters who are book bloggers, book reviewers, or just really like to read.

What do I think?

I find it quite irritating to be honest with you. I consider myself to be a reader, an expert at the art of reading, if you will, which means I am really critical when they pop up. Somehow they always seem fake to me, like the author is trying to get me onside. With the growing use of social media, GoodRead, YouTube, Tumbr, e.t.c., alongside reading, author now know exactly who their main market is; people like me and you; readers. I’d much rather read about a girl proficient in martial arts, or a boy who loves ballet, than I would about a girl who loves to read because I am that girl. I love to read, I just don’t like to read about my own life, which is what I see when I read about readers.

What do you think? Do you like to read about readers? Who is your favourite reader-character? Who is your least favourite reader-character?

Thanks for reading!

5 thoughts on “Discussion: Reading about Readers”

  1. I think it could go a couple of different ways on how the author portrays the person. I’ve read some really great main characters who were readers and portrayed correctly, but then I’ve read some main characters who weren’t portrayed very well at all. I think it just depends. I once read a main character who was a super reader and she was just portrayed way too extreme that it instantly made me disinterested in the book and I never finished it. So, as always, I think it depends. Great discussion post! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Mandy!
      I completely agree with your point about making these characters too extreme. As a reader, I get how exited I am for new books, or ships, or old favourites, but sometimes, because they are portrayed as so extreme (no matter how accurate that may be) they just seem to come off as a character rather that a charter.

      Like

  2. I haven’t read very many reader characters (actually I can only think of one off the top of my head). Like Mandy said I think it depends. I think if the author makes it realistic and has the character enjoying reading and maybe even talking about it or reviewing it a little is fine. If the author makes the reader constantly reading and raving over books and that’s basically all they talk about, then it becomes unrealistic.

    Writing this I thought of two reader characters that I enjoyed. Celaena Sardothian from the Throne of Glass series and Katy from the Lux Series. These reader characters seemed very realistic to me and I loved reading about them.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yeah, there not super common, at least not in the books that I’ve read. I find it interesting that you put Celaena and Katy in the same boat, so to speak. I absolutely love Celaena and her romance novels, but tend to roll my eyes at Katy, so I find it really interesting to see that you love them both. At the end of the day, it is definitely just down to who you click with as a character, and that’s going to be different for everyone. Thanks for the comment!

      Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment