Does anyone else find it difficult to explain the books they've read?

Question

I read quite alot,mainly non-fiction but find it very difficult when asked to explain what the book was about.
I really do know and follow it clearly in most cases but get jumbled when explaining.

Answer 1

Yeah, the last one I read was in Swahili!

Answer 2

a number of those are from woman perspectives, some would properly be a touch "girly woman" on your liking yet others must be ok. i have left both type on and also you may set up. Meryll of the Stone (Brian Caswell) Picnic at putting Rock (Joan Lindsay) Stranger with my face (Lois Duncan) playing Beattie Bow (Ruth Parks) My Sister Sif (Ruth Parks) Hitch hikers preparation guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) Holes (Louis Sachar) Lord of the earrings / The Hobbit Eragorn trilogy Narnia The Golden Compass Interview with a Vampire (Anne Rice) Requiem for a Princess (Ruth M Arthur) searching for Alibrandi (Melina Marchetta) Angels Gate (Gary crew) Sisterhood of the travelling Pants Pelican's Creek (Maureen Pople) The Diary of Anne Frank To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) The Shiralee (Dárcy Niland) Into the Wild (John Krakauer) Chocolat (Joanne Harris) Harp interior the South; undesirable guy's Orange; Missus (Trilogy through Ruth Parks) the position the midsection is (Billie Letts) My position (Sally Morgan) Little women folk (Louisa would Alcott) Rebecca (Daphne De Maurier) the three Muskateers (Alexandre Dumas) something through the Bronte sisters or Jane Austen even if you do don’t run The December Boys (Robert Noonan)

Answer 3

It is pretty normal. If someone asks you : what the book is about? Then, bearing in mind all possible angles from which a piece of work can be discussed, it can pretty mess you up. A book can be interpreted from many standpoints, you can focus on the plot, follow the events etc, or you can dwell on the main themes, the presentation of charcters, their "function" in the book etc. Don't get crossed if you find it difficult to answer such a question. I studied English Literature and know from my personal experience that sometimes it is even impossible to say in a few sentences what the book is about.
One advice I can give you is to take down some notes while you are reading a difficult book, with a complex story material and lotsa events. They will help you to refer to particular events. Plus if somebody asks you what the book is about, you can always say that it is about many things but you got especially interested in this or that...

Good Luck

Answer 4

I find it difficult to explain many things I'm really interested in. My best advice to people who are really interested in what I like is to try it themselves, whether it be books or anything else, because books and interests are taken differently by everyone. I absolutely love to read, but I always did average in school on book reports. If you ask me to tell you what I read, I can't explain it very well because for me it's something I feel in my heart; I don't read things that don't speak to my heart and soul. I think I know what you're saying :)

Answer 5

YES! bc many books have like intricate plots and when its hard doing a summary of the book when you know what happened in the end because when you read it you slowly find out like bits and pieces. and when giving a summary its kind of hard to follow the same format bc you keep contradicting yourself based on what happens in the end.
especially in mystery books when you think one person is acting really suspicious and then it turns out to be some1 else in the end.

its easier to go by like a couple of chapter and prepare a outline for the book that way but you cant really do that when a person is look for a quick synopsis....

Answer 6

Yes me too. I can usually give a brief synopsis of the plot or whatever, but anymore than that i find difficult. I think its because everyone gets different things from a book and picks up on whats relevant to them.

Answer 7

That happens to me, also, no matter what genre I have read. I think its because intaking the information in a book, non-fiction especially, readers tend to focus unconsciously on what interests them, and usually retain it most. Then, when we try to tell someone about it, ALL the information is recalled at one time, and we simply get lost in the details!
At least, thats how it was explained to me!

Answer 8

I know what you mean. You start explaining something, but then you miss something, so while you're explaining the next thing, you have to add what you missed out. But then everything isn't in the right order!

My advise is to just say. "Its a great book! You'll have to read it..."

Answer 9

Yes, actually. I usually give a brief sentence about the book and then wink and tell them they need to read it, because I'll start mixing up time events (ooh, hold on, I left out the most important part!) or forgetting character's names even though I've just read them (uh, that guy, you know, our hero . . .). It's embarrassing!

Answer 10

I read probably even more than you. I read between 400 and 600 books per year. It sounds like you like to read, but don't fully understand what you read. If you take a little more time to fully understand what you read you will accomplish two things. Your comprehension will rise and your descriptions will become better. Two, you will enjoy reading even more than you do now.

Answer 11

I know what you mean. You start explaining something, but then you miss something out, so while you're explaining the next thing, you have to add what you missed out. But then everything isn't in the right order! So then I just say "Ah, forget it, read it yourself."