Okay, so not really confessionS. More like just one. And it's pretty amusing, I think.
Ready?
Confession for today: When I read, I imagine everything as a cartoon. Everything. The ghosts in Harry Potter? They're like Casper. Fluffy and white and shapeless.
The people? Mostly I see Manga-type people.
I don't know why I do this.
But it makes seeing movies made from books I've read a real shocker. I seriously have to have a little session of self-talk when I go to the theater.
Elana: This isn't a cartoon. You know that, right?
Elana: I know, sheesh. Don't talk down to me.
Elana: Just wanted to make sure you know the ghosts are going to look like real people.
Elana: I know! Stop badgering me.
*settling into the movie, previews over, feature film about to begin, opening scene flashes onscreen*
Elana: Wait a second...
Elana: This isn't animated. I told you that.
Elana: *pouts* This isn't at all what I imagined.
Le sigh. Embarrassing, yet true.
Any confessions from you today? Do you imagine in cartoon characters too?
That's a funny confession. I can't think of one to share. Sorry. Hope your school visit went well. Maybe you can do a blog post with advice on what makes a school visit successful.
ReplyDeleteLove it! I'm hoping they never make Wuthering Heights into a movie! Heathcliff --- manga style!
ReplyDeleteI never see faces when I imagine people from books - bodies and settings sure, but no faces. Not sure why :)
Ha! No, I don't imagine books as cartoons. How about your own book? Real or cartoon?
ReplyDeleteBut I do place nearly every home in a book I read as one I know. Does anyone else do that?
Hope your school visit went well.
LOL, that's interesting. Perhaps you watched too many cartoons as a kid and have rewired the brain?
ReplyDeleteHow'd the school visit go? Were the teens nice to you?
Wow, that's interesting that your brain imagines everything as a cartoon. I imagine the characters that I read as real people, but the way I imagine them and the way they are casted in movies never match up. Except for Harry Potter. When I read those books I actually imagine Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, etc...
ReplyDeleteThat is really cool! I don't imagine the characters as cartoons, but a really well written book plays like a movie for me.
ReplyDeleteHow'd your school visit go? I'm sure you did fine and had a lot of fun!
I don't actually create solid images of characters in my imagination when I read. I leave them all sort of fuzzy and half-formed somehow. Definitely not cartoons, though.
ReplyDeleteThat is so funny! I don't think I've ever imagined anything nonanimated as a cartoon!
ReplyDeleteMy confession is I took three naps last week (though I was feeling under the weather ). But still, I did.
I'm curious to know what Manga you read, and whether you watch Anime? Kylie is obsessed with all that stuff and while I used to be into it my obsession has waned a little as I got old and boring.
ReplyDeleteI still think Akira and Princess Mononoke are two of the best films ever though.
LOL! I don't imagine in cartoons, but if I start doing it I know who to blame :)
ReplyDeleteMy confession - until last week, I didn't have a shovel. But now I do - bring it on, snowstorms!
Lol! That is kinda scary to imagine some books as cartoons. Hmmm Sookie Stackhouse manga style, could be a big hit.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about it, but I guess I see what I read in flashes of not fully-formed pictures. I mean, I have a sense that I know exactly what a character looks like, but when I stop to recall the image, they're not really all there. Scenes, on the other hand, come together completely as paintings or photographs. :shrug:
ReplyDeleteIt's always interesting to me how other minds work. Thanks, Elana. =o)
Excellent! LOL.
ReplyDeleteI don't imagine in cartoons, but I do have vivid mental images, and I have to get over them when I watch the movie versions. I usually spend the first half-hour of the movie going, "This isn't how I imagined it..." and being disappointed. Unless the movie is particularly awful, in which case I laugh. A lot.
DUDE!!! How did I NOT know this about you - and yeah, that cracks me up. A confession, hmmm....IDK - I think I'll save mine for some good FNC moment :D
ReplyDeleteThat is actually pretty fascinating. I wonder what a psychologist would say about that! :)
ReplyDeleteConfession? I wish there were more books like Hugo Cabret . (I don't mean graphic novels either. Kinda liked Leviathan)Just because I'm a grown-up doesn't mean I don't like pretty pictures. :)
ReplyDeletelol, nope don't do that.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Theresa though, I place the homes of stories into a house I'm familiar with. Not sure why, but I do.
Cartoons, huh? That was surprising. Great post. Thanks for the smile.
ReplyDeleteConfession...I've never had a pedicure---and I never want one!
No...
ReplyDeleteAlthough I met someone who sounded like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo once. Of course, every time I heard him speak after that, i envisioned Shaggy. He looked like him too...
Cartoons...um...okay.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't do cartoons. When I'm reading, I imagine either someone I already know who I think acts like the character or an actor from the big screen who I think looks like how I picture the character.
Oh Elana I love your confession!!! I have to say I do not read and think cartoon characters. However I'm always let down when I read a book then watch the film because my images are so vivid and I never picture what movie star would play it, I make up my own person.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard watching and then being disappointed "Hey, she doesn't even look like a Bella" and then you're left with having to satisfy a craving that can't be satisfied.
*pouting* now that's all I'm thinking about.
Mine aren't cartoons, but rather headless. I can never actually 'see' the character's from books as I'm reading it. They don't have any distinct look. When I read, it's all about the emotions. When the protag talks about someone's hair or freckles, I see just that. Their hair or their crooked nose, or their four bulging teeth.
ReplyDeleteYes, my own book is a cartoon too. That's why it's hard to imagine someone wanting to publish it. I mean, who wants to publish a cartoon? LOL!
ReplyDeleteHa! I do this too! My confession, I hadn't really thought about it or realized that it might be a little weird. >.<
ReplyDeleteThat's the strangest thing I've ever heard. Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteHere's mine: When I was younger, I pictured all of the authors of a book looking like main character of the story--if gender matched. I'd get to the end and look at the author photo and be like, "Hm. I thought he would have been tall with dark eyes and tanned skin."
That's not too bad. It actually sounds easier than trying to imagine just the right realistic person.
ReplyDeleteOf course I generally substitute characters for people I know in real life, and some celebrities and somewhat famous people.
Strange post, but fun!
ReplyDeleteI see colors first; then I see faces.
You make me smile. I don't imagine in animation but I have dreamed in animation before. :) Have a great day and thanks for the smile!
ReplyDeleteLisa ~ YA Literature Lover
I don't see in Manga, although that would make for some very interesting images. I loved the conversation you had with yourself. That would be my confession. I talk to myself. Yes, sometimes out loud.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the smile (in a good way). I rarely see book to movie compilations. It never fails, I'll be disappointed as the actors/actresses rarely (if ever) appear how I imagined them.
ReplyDeleteI think movie versions try to make everyone seem flawless. My reality - people have flaws.(Hugs)Indigo
Hahaha! Well that's a first. And it's actually pretty cool that you convert everything to cartoon/anime form.
ReplyDeleteThat's so interesting. I never see pictures in my mind of anything. I think I have some kind of deficiency. But that's really interesting that you see cartoons/animated characters.
ReplyDeleteUmm ... NO.
ReplyDeleteAnd in fact, I'm pointing and laughing mercilessly at you. You ARE crazy. There is no longer any doubt.
*take her away boys!*
Nope, don't see stuff as cartoons, but I'd love to reread Jane Austen with this little trait of yours. I wonder what Lizzy would look like?
ReplyDeleteThat's great. Did you watch a lot of cartoons as a kid? I'm curious, is that how you envision your own books? I think I'm going to do a post of my own on this topic!
ReplyDeleteROTFL! That is awesome! I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who does that. You are one special lady!
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone! I totally imagine books in a more cartoon-ish/drawn way than as real people. XP
ReplyDeleteThat's just weird.lol
ReplyDeleteDispicable Me is now my favorite movie. I quote from it frequently...in a heavy russian accent.
Also, any time someone asks me a question I say "Whaaaat?" in a high pitched voice accompanied by a complicated head turn, lip curl, wide eyed combo expression. It's difficult but it can be done.
I cannot believe I actually misspelled 'despicable'.
ReplyDeleteHeehee, I like it!
ReplyDeleteI don't see in cartoons, but I am a HUGE visual thinker so all books are movies in my brain.
My confession is that I don't ever imagine clear faces for people when I read. Until I see the movie, then that's what they look like in my head forever more. :)
My imagination is vaguely cartoonish so I think I adapt okay at the movies. However, when I see an anime that reminds me of my characters or something, I totally geek out. "OMG! He's RIGHT THERE!!!!"
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Lol. I always know if it's a tosser when the picture comes out like a seventies sitcom.
ReplyDeleteI was SO not expecting that! And yeah, it made me smile!
ReplyDeletehahaha. That's cool, not embarrassing. I love it!
ReplyDeleteI can never really see the characters in a story clearly and nothing's sharp; faces don't materialize unless I really focus hard on the description of what the person's like.
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny -I don't think I've heard of anyone who has imagined things in cartoon. You definitely have an interesting brain! As in good. Good interesting.
ReplyDeleteYou crack me up! I have NEVER heard of someone doing that. You are one of a kind.
ReplyDeleteConfession ... I love Nicolas Sparks novels and cry like a baby at the end of every single one of them. Boo hoo!
Wow, that's cool. No, I don't see in cartoons, but I picture the entire Hunger Games trilogy as taking place in my elementary school playground. Weird, huh?
ReplyDeleteAhh.. that's pretty neat though! I don't imagine them as cartoons, but I pretty much watch the whole "movie" play out in my head as I read it. And it's NEVER like what I imagined if I actually do get to see the movie.
ReplyDeleteOMG I do the SAME exact thing! I even picture my own book characters as anime/cartoon people. Nice to know I'm not the only one. xD
ReplyDeleteI don't usually imagine characters as cartoons, though WIP in my head is totally manga people. Don't know why.
ReplyDeleteThe weird one for me is reading a book, imagining all the people, then rereading and rediscovering the descriptions. "She's got black hair. Since when? She's totally a blonde!" Uncomfortable.
You made me snort out my OJ, you are too hilarious.
ReplyDeleteRemember Archie of the Betty and Veronica fame? I turned myself in my dream into a cartoon and gave him a black girlfriend - ME!
oh my cheese. you are never going to believe me, but this is EXACTLY what I do.
ReplyDeleteI will never forget the scariest of them all... the bad guys in Lord of the Rings. They were not like that at ALL in my mind! I remember it being a TOTAL shock when they were all slimy and evil. For me when I read it, they were like big green smurfs... NOT that scary crap!!!
that is too funny! No, I don't imagine cartoons but sometimes I'll imagine the people I want based on the personality. Like, despite the author mentioning their brown hair umpteen times, to me they're still blond. OH well!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to make sure you know the ghosts are going to look like real people.
ReplyDeleteI like that line.
Your confession made me smile. When I read, I see the story play out as a movie--not cartoon or animated, but with regular actors.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, even though it's no longer Tuesday, I had a confession in my blog post today. I confessed that I've been fighting writer's block.
Carmela
TeachingAuthors
Heehee, priceless. No, um, Elana, I don't imagine characters as cartoons. Whatchoo been drinking? *wink* I see characters as real, although admittedly as though viewed w/o my glasses on--a little fuzzy and not always distinct.
ReplyDeleteThat's hilarious. I usually imagine things as real, or as real as they could be if it's a dragon or something equally mythological. My imagination is terribly detailed and I've been known to get really dissapointed with movies made from books.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I view the characters as real life actors. Woe unto that character if it turns out to be a pirate. Doesn't matter of the description in the book. He always turns out looking like Johnny Depp (not that this is a bad thing...)
Oh my gosh this made me laugh and laugh. :)
ReplyDelete