Our imaginations are powerful - yet how often do we use them?
There are a whole heap of different cover trends out there, and each one of those appeals to different people. A pretty cover may not be the make-or-break when it comes to whether we buy a book or not, but for the majority of us it definitely plays a part. When it comes to book cover models as opposed to typography, it can have some impact on how we perceive the characters and visualise them in our own minds.
But just how much does this affect our reading experience?
Personally, I'm not one to let a book cover dictate how I read or see the characters because at the end of the day my mind's going to see them the way it wants to. It's difficult to describe how our imaginations work (that's the magic in reading after all), but the landscape in a novel, and hence the characters - are defined in our brains based on a) the writing itself and b) how we as individuals interpret it.
CELEBS:
Some people may picture a celebrity as a character hottie after reading a book, especially if they were in a book-movie adaptation. Case in point:
COVER MODELS:
Another avenue to take is going with what the book 'cover model' looks like. Now, in some cases...there have been instances where the cover model just DOES NOT fit how you saw the characters in your head at all.
That's okay too!
And hey - while I wouldn't normally take any piece of advice from the people on 'Dance Moms' - this one ain't too bad:
However, even if we do base our character images based on these things, reading will still be an inherently creative experience. The words on a page never stay that way, since as we see them they transform right before our eyes into something alive. It is the power of imagination that facilitates this, and what a special one it is.
BUT WAIT...there's more.
What about graphic novels and picture books?
WELL. That certainly throws a spanner in the works...or does it?
(I seem to have lots of rhetorical questions today for some reason).
As a child, I remember reading picture books and having such a great time using the images in there to inspire how I saw the scenes that the story was conveying. Sure, this may be a form of 'guided visualization', but at the end of the day our little brains are still working to create something in our minds.
Anyway, this post started off as something just about cover models, but as you can see morphed into something else entirely.
My main point is that our minds and imaginations have endless bounds, and reading is a way to exercise those creative muscles by immersing ourselves in the world which authors have created.
What's your take on reading imaginatively?
Me personally, I tend to imagine a person I know. I'll take note of charcater habits, of things they do and say, their attitude and such and I'll either take a vision of the character made of other people, or I'll actually use somebody I know as that person. It's not the best thing, because sometimes I then think that person has done something, when it was the charcater instead, but a lot of the time, I'll just imagine someone clearly, thanks to the author, or they'll just be a silhouette, a person and that's it, it depends on how well the author does their job. Brilliant topic Eugenia! :D
ReplyDeleteHow the author writes will definitely have some impact on how we react individually as readers. It's interesting how you imagine somebody you know as a character, thanks for sharing Amanda :)
DeleteMovies are the only things that actually influence how I visualize a story. For example, now every time I read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings I see the characters of the movie. Another thing that happens is that the plot of the movie and the plot of the book kind of meld together until I can't tell which is which anymore. Other than that, though, I use my imagination to visualize books. It's such an important part of reading, and one of the best parts, too.
ReplyDeleteSame here Ana! Once I've seen a movie I'm very likely to see the protagonists as those actors the next time I read the book because that's how I remember them.
DeleteI don't really pay attention to cover models (and I'm useless with celebs) so the only time this really occurs is with movies - I still do picture those actors in books sometimes!
ReplyDeleteNeither do I typically, if there isn't a movie adaptation then how I invent things in my mind is usually how I end up imagining it.
DeleteHa ha loooove the rhetorical questions! XD I agree! I loved as a child, getting read or reading picture books to help me understand the story and even with older books where they only had 3 or 4 pictures in the whol novel I still liked having them to glimpse at how other people imagined the scenery.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I love creating the whole world in my head, so I know what houses, trees, gardens, corridors, etc. all look like in my head.
But then with comic books and graphic novels (which I don't read very often) I do like having a look at how other people imagined the book and narrative to play out and how other people's imaginations have created the story.
And then when you think about it, it's kind of the same with authors. They use their imaginations and tell the story that they have in their head to readers...but as the good ol' saying goes, there's always more than one side to the story and I think it's pretty cool that while the author tells this amazing story, there are still plently of sides to the story they've told, left, well untold. (And that's where fanfiction comes in XD)
Sorry for the long comment, I seem to be doing this a lot lately!
And I agree that the cover is quite a lot about the marketing. There is so much that potential readers take from covers whether it be themes, genre, the relationships the hero/es or heroine/s have with the world around them or other people, the mood of the book... and it all needs to help be conveyed by a cover. Lovely discussion post! Now I am thinking a lot!
Don't apologise for the long commend Renee - I love reading your thoughts :) I remember there was a jump for me with going from books with pictures to books with just words, but it was then that my imagination really got used.
DeleteI love the point you make about authors - it's definitely true that they would have their own vision for the story and its direction, which we would inevitably have some kind of varied vision for.
Glad I could get you thinking with this post - and you've given me some extra insight too!
Great post!! For me, the cover model never really effects how I imagine the characters because it's someone elses representation of them and more often than not, their imaginations do not match mine...
ReplyDeleteThanks Lara :) That's true for many of us readers it seems - everybody's imagination is different after all!
DeleteI actually find myself ignoring cover models because they never look like what I imagine them to be in my head and now it's just a habit hah. Well, if the book has been in a movie adaptation, then I tend to imagine the celeb in my head! Like right now I'm reading Veronica Mars and I can see Kristen Bell whenever Veronica speaks.
ReplyDeleteI seem to have developed that habit as well Mel - I usually just go with whatever persona comes into my head based on the author descriptions and my own imagination. I'll be reading Veronica Mars soon, and since Kristen Bell is on the cover and plays the part, it's likely that's who I'll envisage!
DeletePersonally, I have never been a fan of those covers which show full bodies / faces because I like to try and imagine the character myself, you know? And when they're right there, on the cover, it kinda ruins that for me, aha. xD But seriously, I CANNOT picture Four without seeing Theo James any more. (Which is not a bad thing. :P)
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to that Kara :) Though I agree, Theo James as Four is definitely no problem at all...
DeleteHonestly, I am absolutely terrible at visualising characters and scenes in my mind. The only way I'll be able to visualise is if I've seen the whole scene in the movie (i.e. recall and not imagination). If I've only seen the movie poster, I won't be able to visualise the characters/scene at all. Ditto if I see the cover model- I still can't quite picture the scenes in my mind. It's weird, but I've never really been a visual reader. I only really get feelings and the overall picture of the scene!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting Nara - thanks for sharing your own experience :) It just shows that reading is different for everyone, and that's not a bad thing!
DeleteI actually have no imagination when I read. It's pathetic. Instead, I hear voices, which may or may not be creepy. I can't "see" the picture in my mind. I think it's also partly because I'm not a visual learner. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI love fancasting but that's from others. Like I'll take one look and go "YEP. THAT'S HIM!"
That's not pathetic at all Nova! I think that if you can still enjoy a book, however you 'read' it, then that's of course okay - everybody is different :)
DeleteI'll imagine the characters in my head the way I see them - until the movie is released, and then, most of the time, no matter how I try, I will only see the actor playing the character while reading. This works okay for me when I've seen the movie before I read the book, but is frustrating when I've started a series, pictured the characters, the movie comes out and then the actor takes over what I pictured when I continue to read the series, or worse, my mind keeps switching between the character I pictured and the actor and THAT is really distracting. Did any of that make sense?
ReplyDeleteIt definitely can be hard when a movie comes out once you're in the middle of a series to envisage your original imagined characters. Thanks for your input to the discussion Rochelle! :)
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