A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about a question an author raised, through her characters, in a novel I recently read. Here’s another question one of the characters asked in the book that made me stop reading and think:

Does your perception of a book change when and where we read them?

I would have to answer that question yes.   One of my favorite books is “The Handmaid’s Tale.” I first read that book when it was published in 1985. At that time, I was a recent college graduate and in law school. I remember loving the book as a  wonderfully written dystopian novel.

I  reread the book about a year ago, almost forty years after I first read it. I now bring forty years of life experience to it. In reading the book through my current lens, I see it differently. To me, my life experience has changed my perception of the book.

So my answer to the author’s question would be yes, our perception of a book can shift depending on when and where we read it. A story you breeze through on a beach vacation might feel entirely different if you revisit it years later in the quiet of winter. The setting, your mood, and even your stage of life all shape the way words on a page come alive.

Your thoughts?