Reading as Thinking

I love reading urban novels! I have an easier time relating to them because the lower income area that I was raised in Philadelphia, PA. The novels become fun for me. My mind usually sets the scenery in an area of Philadelphia that I am familiar with. The only time that changes is if I have been to the area that the story is based in or the author does that good of a job describing the area. Omar Tyree one of my favorite authors. Ironically, he is a native Philadelphian as well. He wrote a book called Sweet Saint Louis. I have never been to St. Louis, but he did such a great job of describing it that I felt like I had been. Another thing that I like to do when reading my urban novels is give the characters of the story a face of a person that I’ve encounter before. Therefore, that character already has a face, voice, and even their own fashion style. The novel ends up playing out like a movie in mind. So much so that I get annoyed when someone speaks during my reading the same way, someone would in the movie theater. This also makes it easier to have an emotional attachment to the characters of the story. On the other side of this, I get confused easily when reading other genres. I have to read lines multiple times in order for me to gain a true understanding. I feel like I am a visual learner and struggle with learning once that movies image is distorted.