Oct 30 2012
Reading Vaz
In all honesty, I got there earlier just because of the food. Hey, we are broke college students after all. As everyone, got situated into the room, I was still munching on some delicious cookies. I have never been to a reading where the actual author read an excerpt of her brand new book.When the reading began, I had never expected Katherine Vaz’s voice to sound to be so raspy. Her voice was very distinct and I can actually remember it as I think back to the day I heard her reading. I wish she were more animated with the voices to differentiate who said what. To be honest I did daze out of her reading. She should have added more enthusiasm and feeling into what she read. I am sure she is very passionate about what she wrote but I wish she showed it a little better. It was weird to have a median, in this case, Katherine Vaz, from the book to the listener, mainly because I wasn’t used to being read to. But it was interesting when Vaz did tell us how she came about the ideas in the novel.
Some stories were meant to be read to, such as bedtime stories for little children. But this story shouldn’t be read aloud by Katherine Vaz. Reading by yourself gives a new perspective. It makes you feel as if
you are surrounded by the environment you read. Everyone has their own way of thinking. Each word or phrase can mean something completely different for each person and that’s the beauty of reading. When reading on our own, you feel the same emotions as the characters. I try to picture as if I were actually there. In my head, I do read with different voices that I think would suit the characters very well.
While reading “Lisbon Story,” Vaz was very descriptive. She mentioned even the smallest details. Sometimes I did feel like those details were quite extraneous. I did like how she incorporated a little Portuguese in almost every page. It showed a little bit of the cultural and helped the experience of being in Portugal. For example, the use of pá and CREDO, which could mean two opposite things depending on how it is said. She also used many metaphors such as ” You serve me the food of jails.” Overall, I think Katherine Vaz is a very talented writer. But she should just practice reading it aloud more to get emotion and help entice the audience. It was definitely easier reading her work than listening to it. I give Katherine Vaz respect and appreciation towards doing the reading and sharing it with Baruch students.
Yeah, I totally agree that the reading would’ve been better had she incorporated different voices and tones. I kept getting confused between the characters because she kept speaking in the same flat tone of voice.
I hated her voice, it ruined her story for me. And there really was no emotion in the way she read. She is absolutely a talented writer, I have never read anything so descriptive before, but her interpretation of her own work is just bad. She needs to practice more, and stop smoking.