Circumstantial Reading ?

Have you ever read a book and thought, wow, this is terrible? I know I have. But, now consider this. Have you ever read a book and thought it was terrible, only to go back and re-read it and wonder why you had thought it was terrible? I have, and it is strange.

I've come up with a theory about this to try to explain it. For lack of a better term, I'll call it circumstantial reading. My thinking is that the circumstances going on in your life, or even your immediate surrounding, while reading a book can influence how you perceive that book. For example, let's assume you have a mischievious two year old that you are watching while trying to read a book on fairies. You could possibly conclude that you do not like books about fairies purely because you were interrupted so many times while reading the book.

Maybe this is a better example of what I'm thinking. If you are reading a romance novel shortly after breaking up with a lover, you quite possibly will not enjoy that book. However, reading the same book after realizing that you are in love with someone and they love you back, might sway your opinion in the other direction.

I think this is probably different for each person. Often, I find myself reading while the TV is on in the backgroud. This usually doesn't bother me. It's background noise that allows me to concentrate on the book. But sometimes, I find it hard to get into a book while the TV is on. I used to arrive at the conclusion that I just couldn't get into the story. So now, in those circumstances, I will read the book in quiet just to make sure that it is the story that doesn't interest me.

This all makes sense to me at least. As a test, try to change your surroundings next time you reach a point where you aren't enjoying a book and see if it makes a difference. You never know until you try.