Yesterday I came across a really nice bookish blog. Very simple and understated and inhabiting its own quiet part of the blogosphere and I thoroughly enjoyed going through reading posts. I want to be able to write in a concise and perceptive way about books, yet still manage to convey what works and maybe what doesn't like that blogger does. I felt happier when I discovered the blogger is also a writer...that explains a lot.
Anyway. On one post a comment was left by the author of the book the post was about. The author (of the book being discussed) wrote "Sometimes a novel gets into the hands of the reader it was meant for." With a thank you for "getting what it was all about."
I've always wondered if authors write with a certain audience in mind, or just write with the hope of being widely read and appreciated. I suppose every author is different. I wouldn't mind getting that sort of response from an author someday on my blog. I also always wonder if I "get it" when it comes to books. I've always had this idea that books were open to the reader's own interpretation based on what experiences they bring to a novel. This is the second time in a month now, that I have seen an author talk about his/her writing in this way--with a "it's in the hands of the reader now--for good or for bad" sort of feeling.
Strangely (or maybe not so strangely?) when reading I am thinking less about the author than about the world s/he has created. I only think about the author peripherally, especially contemporary authors. S/he may be the creator, but for me the fictional world stands on its own.
Just thought that was interesting.