Another part that is very important to me, is privacy. When I read a book, listen to song, or go somewhere, I want to feel that I am the only one reading that book, listening to that song, or discovering that place. How can a song be personal for me if it's personal for other people too? It would be like finding out your lover is not yours alone.
Still, there are some exceptions. When I read White Teeth by Zadie Smith, I knew it was very popular. Perhaps it helped that I had picked up another book of hers in the library before, a book called On Beauty. It was not as popular, but I felt her writing as very personal. It has made me admire her immensely.
I recently finished reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. It is a wildly popular book, with even the American President sending a letter to mr. Martel, complimenting his work. If the recommendations didn't build expectations, the Author's Note(which I later found to be deceiving) certainly does the trick. It is made to sound like a true story, told to him by chance while trying to write a book in India. He supposedly meets a man who has a story that "will make you believe in God"(is that a challenge?). The book is that story. How very strange. I still do not understand why his book is set up this way. I had some problems with the ending, too, but that is another story. Now that I have finished this book, I can say that it did not change my religious views in any way, and it probably won't be one of my favorite books.
