Of course, the short answer is, "Yes." But it got me thinking about reader expectations. So often, our life experiences - or our reaction to them - is based on how well it met our expectations. This is true of a restaurant meal, vacation, movie, play, or a book. We spend months planning a vacation, often having an idealized vision of what we will experience. Bad weather, airline delays, illness during the trip, are all factors that can turn "the trip of a lifetime" into a nightmare or at least a very forgettable vacation.
For much of my work career, my duties included organizing conferences, which were held in hotels.We always provided our participants with evaluation sheets, and would ask them to rate, for example, the conference meals. We provided a five point scale, and responses would be all over the place. I NEVER have high expectations for hotel banquet food, so if it arrives warm, looks good, and tastes palatable, I'd be likely to give it a rating of 5. For others it seems, they were expecting fine dining, and would rank low.
I often wonder how much a reader's reaction to my book is related to what they expected going into the read. A first time reader will be affected by the book's title, reading the short description on Amazon.com (for example), or perhaps even reading the first few pages online. Maybe a friend raves about the book, but then they don't quite have the same reaction. Or perhaps it is the other way around, a friend hands them the book and says, "I couldn't get into this, but you might like it."
Often, movies I enjoy the most are those I go into with ZERO expectations.
Similarly, with each new book I issue, I wonder what those loyal readers will think. Many of them have read all of my books, which definitely gives them an expectation level. I always hope I'm able to deliver.
Since "Life is a Mystery" do you have any thoughts you'd like to share on your expectations when it comes to a particular book or an author? Feel free to share your comments below.
No comments:
Post a Comment