I love to read. Always have. And, no matter how much I’ve read, I wish I had read more. There is just SO much out there to enjoy!
But, lately, I’ve come to an uncomfortable realization. I believe that having written a book has impacted my ability to read and fully enjoy what I read.
Damn!
I am a chronic over thinker. I will even over think over thinking. Reading helped me with that by letting my mind focus on something for a few hours and escape the over thinking tendency.
Now, I find myself dwelling on something in a book I’m reading. Questions pop up like, “Why did the author have the character do that? What was the purpose of introducing that plot point now? How is it that the character didn’t anticipate the creature behind the dumpster?”
Instead of just enjoying the flow of the book, I catch myself analyzing these things to death. And I don’t think that I did that before I wrote a book. It is really starting to impact my enjoyment of reading.
I’d be interested in hearing from others who’ve experienced something similar. What did you do to get back into the flow of reading without the critical analysis?