I have a new column up on Romancing the Blog, on the subject of Falling out of Love. I recently came to the sudden realization that a writer I really loved up until, well, a few days ago, is actually pretty sucky. :/ It feels exactly like the sudden awakening out of a romantic infatuation, which is a pretty weird feeling to have about a completely different sort of attachment. Has that ever happened to anyone else? (With writers, not partners. [grin])
Angie
5 comments:
while they still write well, i've dropped them cuz of their 'politics'
they're allowed their viewpoints, but i really don't wanna know, especially the strident ones... i read em for their tales... now those are tainted :(
I actually think that folks sometimes "convince" themselves they like something or that they "should" like it. I try not to let this happen but I'm sure it does to me as well. Good post.
Sounds like some sort of "betrayal" feeling. Interesting, since what was written before has not changed, it is just your perspective on it ...
It's like seeing a movie or a TV show you saw years and years ago.
That was true for me for the original version of The In-Laws (the one with Peter Falk and Alan Arkin); it's the movie where one guy is a dentist the other with the FBI and they cross paths because their offspring decide to marry.
Well...I remember seeing the original movie when I was a teenager or about 20 (eons ago, heh), and I thought it was hysterically funny at the time.
Those are the operative words - at the time. I saw it was on again a few years ago and decided to tune in. Blech. What was I thinking? I was waiting for something (anything) to happen - it was now boring to me.
And I agree with Charles, in that sometimes people try to convince themselves that they should like something, even though they don't.
Take the Douglas Adams books, which every SF or fantasy nerd (like me) is supposed to like.
Me? Meh. I stopped after reading the first one. I found it boring and repetitious, only occasionally funny.
And I think Anne is right on - perspectives change, as my perspectives have changed drastically since I first saw that movie. (So it was no wonder that I found it boring.)
Angie, it might hurt, but to thine own self be true! :-)
LW -- it takes a lot to get me to drop a writer for personal reasons, but I've done it once or twice. [nod] I can usually ignore a writer's personal philosophy or whatever, but occasionally I'll decide I don't want to give someone any money, especially if they're known to donate to a cause or organization I find abhorrent.
Charles -- true, I don't know how many books I've bought because I thought I should like them, classics or whatever. [wry smile] They tend to sit on my TBR pile for quite a while. This was sort of the opposite, though, in that I did enjoy them very much, until recently I didn't, and it was a retroactive "didn't." :/
Anne -- definitely. [nod] The writing hasn't changed at all. (Which is one of the problems, but I have a very high tolerance for same-ole-same-ole so long as it's the same stuff I like so it's not the only problem by a long shot.) It was absolutely my perspective which changed, though.
Nancy -- right, I've definitely had that happen before. [nod] One of my favorite memories of the spousal unit was how he ranted about this wonderful SF movie he saw when he was a kid, how he'd loved it and had been looking for a video tape copy ever since, on and on, talking about how great it was and how much he wanted me to see it because he knew I'd love it too, etc. He finally did find a copy and we sat down to watch it. o_O It was Teenagers from Outer Space, which I don't recommend unless you're in the mood for an evening of MSTing. [cough/laugh] I still tease the husband about that one. :)
This is different, though. I've gone back and watched movies or TV shows I liked as a kid too, and yeah, I've changed a lot since I was in my teens or twenties, and some of my favorites I know think are major stinkers. This was in mid-stream, though; I've been reading this series for however many years, since my mom turned me on to it, and I've been enjoying it all this time and looking forward to each new book. Then I got the recent one and suddenly I hated it -- BAM!
It's exactly like the first insanity of infatuation wearing off, realizing I'd been hanging out with absolutely the wrong guy. That sudden one-eighty in perception once your brain isn't drugging you anymore. Slowly growing away from a writer (or her transforming away from my own interests) I'm familiar with. This sudden jolt from love to Ick! is something I've only ever experienced with boyfriends, though. [wry smile]
But definitely to mine own self be true. [grin] Getting rid of this series will leave almost an entire shelf's worth of free space in my bookcase, and I can certainly use it. :)
Angie
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