Somebody recently commented on one of the reviews I posted up a while ago pointing out that I was pretty much an ignoramus. At first the criticism hurt but then it got me thinking and in a way I have to agree.
The more you read hopefully makes you a better reader. By that what I mean is that literary references and style aping that might be included in a work pass you by if you don’t have the wider knowledge needed to pick up on them. For instance when I started to read Ulysses someone pointed out that without a knowledge of the Odyssey it was going to have points that just sailed over my head. Have to admit that even with Homer under the belt the references were still pretty hard to spot.
So that is the first line of defence, but the second is that reading is subjective and also meant to be enjoyable. That last point is crucial. I know that by blogging thoughts on books you sort of put yourself out there but that believe it or not is still part of the enjoyment.
Hopefully the point is made that even in terse criticism there is some food for thought and give it time (a decade or two more) and a lot more reading and my reviews actually might become better…
