An article by A.N. Wilson in today's Telegraph links neatly with our comments on "Speaking of Love" (see below). "Part of the pleasure of reading is being able to discuss it...", Wilson says, making the point that that's not always possible with family or friends so a book group is the ideal place to talk about what we've read. This is of particular relevance to "Speaking of Love" as it was shortlisted for the World Book Day Books to Talk About Award, and quite rightly so as there is just so much in that novel to talk about. We were even more fortunate than most readers in that we had the author here to be quizzed on her book which just added to the experience - and my special thanks to Angela for such full responses to all the points raised.
I began to think about how we read following Elaine's most interesting post over at Random Jottings : do we read analytically or impressionistically, and what, if anything, do we miss by either method? I'd sum up my instinctive approach as, initially, an impressionistic one which then moves into the analytical. For instance, I have an A5 page of notes on "Speaking of Love" which includes a few quotations but is mostly just brief reminders of what has struck me about the book as I've read it. But then comes the thinking part, and knowing that I have to write an introduction to our discussion - or as is often the case - a succinct review, I analyse and 'criticise' and work up to a comprehensive way of presenting a book.
Reading "casually", i.e. for our own pleasure with no prospect of discussing the book subsequently, may (and I stress the "may") result in a less deep appreciation of it - I'd say that can be true for me. Knowing I'm going to be writing or talking about a book really makes me think about it in a much more profound way, and I'm delighted that the Cornflower Book Group is there to facilitate that for whoever cares to take part.
So, do you feel you get more from a book when you talk about it? Are you an "impressionist" or an "analyst" in your reading? Does it not matter? Whatever the answers, come back later today to find out what our next Book Group title is to be!
