Ever since I finished my first book, this has been my experience. Whenever I read, half of my consciousness really does examine the book or article for everything it does right or wrong, for the motives, the metaphors, and the meanings. My entire experience as a reader has changed, both for the worse and for the better.

I don’t know how to explain it any better, except that it’s like falling in love or becoming a parent: you really can’t understand until you’ve done it.