Do you think 'Reading like/as a Writer' has affected you ability (either positive or negative) to enjoy fiction?
There is a IMO a great book by Francine Prose with that title:
http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Like-W.../dp/0060777052
which I highly recommend. (along the same lines: The Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante -
http://www.amazon.com/The-Making-Sto...6255036&sr=1-1)
I've heard this question brought up in various contexts from science to engineering to writing. (There is well-known video/essay by Feynman about appreciating a Rose as a physicist/scientist)
I personally kind of go back and forth on it. I believe that at one point a couple of decades back when I was extremely serious about becoming a SF writer that I got to a point where I could not read for pleasure as I would always be analyzing. I think I've overcome it in the mean time, but do kind of waffle -- which I found myself doing a bit in my reading of MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood over the last week. I truly enjoyed the story but found myself on occasion (as I do when reading shorter fiction as well) considering the construction of the novel, the plot, the characters, the words....
All is good I think but I'm just wondering if other writers find themselves in a similar position.
Has your being a writer affected you ability to enjoy being a reader?