Review of Reviews: Mark Watches

Fair warning: This is essentially a love letter to one of my favourite people.

Over a year ago, I discovered a blog called Mark Reads Twilight. Since I kind of hate the series, but at the time was weirdly obsessed with reading reviews of it, I dove in. And fell in love.

Mark looked at the books from a perspective that was uniquely his, forcing his readers to do the same. He would write beautiful posts about themes and how the book (or the chapter in particular) exemplified what was wrong with the world, or he would talk about his past in connection with the books, or he would swear in capslock and keysmash, or he would write a parody of the chapter. Regardless of his method for that review, he always seemed insightful and witty, but also the kind of person one can’t help but imagine complexly.

When he finished with Twilight, he moved on to Harry Potter. Then the Hunger Games, then Infinite Jest and The Book Thief. Through the course of the books, the readers saw his highs and his lows, and to a certain extent, watched him heal past wounds. (This is normally something I’d feel presumptuous saying, but he’s said it himself, so I think it’s okay.)

I’ve followed him since those dark days, long ago, when he read the Twilight series. He was an inspiration to me – an adult that not only loved books, but took the time to read and analyze them. I loved him then, and love him even more now, though obviously in a wholly platonic way. Age gap and the whole sexuality thing would cause some problems otherwise.

Mark inspired me to start writing my own reviews, to translate my love of literature into my writing, and to force myself to seriously look at what I was reading. Though I still kind of fail at it, the point is for me to try. And I’m doing it with the knowledge that there might be an audience, so I have to at least attempt to make it good.

I’m off topic now. Point is: Mark is awesome, read his reviews here.