Flights of Fantasy discussion

I was reading a review I wrote recently and I noticed that some of the language I used was more in keeping with the book I'd read.

Which made me think: We all know that what we read influences us. But how long does that influence last? Do you think the books that first seduced you into a genre continue to influence you - even if you aren't re-reading them?

I've never really thought that deeply about what influences my book choices may have had on me.

I do know that I may purposely mimic certain phrases or parts of speech when reviewing a book. This is especially true if my emotions are running high on either end of the spectrum. As for long-term effects, I really don't know. It's not anything that I have particularly noticed.

I'm more likely to be affected by those with whom a discuss a book, especially a fandom.

I think it depends on how much I liked a book - how much I latched onto the characters and/or the world and want to stay a part of it.

Other books I forget in a day or two, but some last for days, months or even years, in some ways.

I know what you mean about finding oneself aping the voice or style of a book that we found engaging. I say that I'm "immersed" in my favorite books, and I suppose that I sub-consciously picked up that word, at least in part, from immersive language learning programs that some lucky children get to attend.

I know that after reading The Martian I'm actively continuing to look and hope for more SF books that are man vs. nature instead of man vs. man.

Generally, though, I make a thoroughly conscious decision to mix up my reading because if I read more than a couple of similar books together I lose my sense of self and the coherence of my identity. YA melodramas are the worst - I definitely can only read them once in a while or else I too-readily begin to feel like an angsty and self-obsessed teen.