I want to apologize again for being less active lately, both on the blog and on twitter. There's a lot of change going on in my life right now and I'm trying to deal and find a balance. Mostly I'm just losing myself in one book after the other, which leads to reviews piling up, which leads to me sticking my head in the proverbial sand... yeah.
Anyhow, this is a discussion post! I'd like to talk about how we imagine characters in the books we're reading. I've noticed that a lot of bloggers (and also authors) 'cast' the people in the books they read or write, i.e. choose pictures of actors or models they think represent or resemble the character.
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| I can never resist an opportunity to show off this cover |
The only thing I admit to is that I sometimes 'lift' a character off the cover if I like it a lot. For Nevermore trilogy is someone I imagine pretty much exactly like the guy on the book cover. Same with Daemon from Obsidian, because that guy is so in-your-face everywhere before you even start reading the book that it's impossible to picture him any other way :P
instance, Varen in Kelly Creagh's
So I'm interested... am I the only one who isn't into casting characters? Those of you who do it... why? Or why not? Or how? I'm curious :)
Also more generally, how does the 'imagining characters process' work in your brains? Do you base them on other people? Do you even 'see' the book in your head like a movie at all when you're reading? The reading process is something I find absolutely fascinating and I'd love to hear how you experience it!
It's interesting that you said this Carmen - this post made me realize that when I read and cast characters, I actually don't really know how they look like. o__o
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't know how that makes sense, but it just does. Like, when the book says the guy has black hair, the guy I'm imagining as that character has black hair...I think? I dunno. :x
Eeek, something must be wrong with my brain. :P
For me it depends. Sometimes my image is clearer than others. I'm not sure I really get what you mean though? :/
DeleteBut I don't think it means there's something wrong with your brain :P It's not like there are rules for how to 'translate' the letters from a book into mental images/story...
I think the same way as you do! The characters just pop into my mind and they are unique and oh so perfect for that character that I can't stand trying to find the photo of a model that will resemble them. Unless of course I ran across one that will be exactly like how I picture them, then yeah, I will definitely share it with the whole wide world. Or maybe not (mine mine mine alone <3).
ReplyDeleteLol I love your last sentence XD I know what you mean!
DeleteBut yeah it's also happened that I saw a guy on a pic and thought: 'That is *insert name here*!' But I don't go looking for 'matches', not on the internet and not in my memories of actors or whatever.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I never cast characters. I do get a certain imagine of them in my head, but I never try to find pictures of them: that doesn't work for me. That is why movies are sometimes so difficult! I have an imagine of someone in my head and they picked someone who doesn't look like it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I agree with the movie people not looking at all like the characters in my brain, but usually it doesn't bother me that much. For me a movie of a book is an adaptation and thus an interpretation, so I expect changes from how I saw things and I'm actually interested to see the movie-makers' take on the story. I think a 1:1 translation into film would bore me.
DeleteGreat post. I totally agree, characters never look like any real actors, models, etc. I create an image in my head based on the description and how their personality comes across in the story. So, whenever a book turns into a movie i'm never truly pleased with their choice of casting lol
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised by how many people apparently don't do the casting thing! I've been seeing it so much that I thought I was among the exceptions o.O I'm glad to hear other people also 'lift' their characters from the page based on how they're described/what type of person they are :)
DeleteYeah, I don't cast characters either. Maybe I'll borrow the likeness from the cover while I'm reading, but usually not. I like to see how others cast characters, but it's not something I'd do myself. I always request NOT to get a dream cast post for blog tours because I'm horrible at it. And too lazy. :P
ReplyDeleteYeah, sometimes I wonder how other people come up with their cast choices, because I usually draw a blank! I also never pick a dream cast post :P
DeleteI tend to really disagree with lots of other people's casting choices, especially when it comes to the guys. Bulky muscle dudes are not my kind of attractive ^^''
But maybe I have a 'head stock' of character types I pick from and then modify slightly? (You know, broody bad boy, all-American boy next door, jock, rocker, geek...) Just a random thought that floated through my brain a minute ago. Hm...
Another fantastic discussion post Carmen!! Like you, I cat the characters in my head as I'm reading...sometimes they look like actors or celebrities they sound similar looking to, but most times they're a creation of my mind. I kind of don't like when the cover has people supposed to be characters (especially actual pictures and not art) cause sometimes it ruins them for me >.<
ReplyDeleteMinds are wonderful :) They come up with the damnest ideas for characters that just work perfectly!
DeleteFor me characters on the cover depend... sometimes they fit really well and sometimes not, but then I usually have no time 'changing' them in my head. One type of cover I really dislike though (and thus never buy/read) is all those 'naked muscled male torso without a head or legs yay' type of covers. I'm not into big muscles so... major turn-off.
Thanks for sharing your opinion! I really enjoy these discussions :D