Word: readerly
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Literary theorists are fond of saying that every text has its own ideal reader, the person for whom the text is most relevant and evocative. Who is the plan file's ideal reader? It's often hard to say--the very concept of a plan file is so steeped in irony, so full of wink-wink suggestion, that its purpose can be easily obscured. In one sense, a plan file is like a calling card, announcing your position and social status to whoever wants to call on you. Since anyone can finger your account, a plan file is theoretically written...
...majority of plan files, however, are written to be read by anyone who is interested enough to finger you in the first place. These kinds of plan files are intended to make their authors look aloof, mysterious and witty. They must tantalize the reader's curiosity but not give too much away. We find the ancient Greeks so fascinating because we only possess fragments of their work. A plan file is like a fragment of a personality, a shard from a giant amphora. It tempts us to put all the pieces together and reconstruct the person from the parts...
...beauty of this last step is that YOU, the reader, must write it for yourself. This step is where you define your very essence in Praline Pecan. There are no limits. Get "freaky" and "totally in your face." Or my face, as it were. Then send it down the conveyor belt for all to enjoy...
...know what you're saying, reader, that all this really has nothing to do with the price of tea in China. The magazine's great, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Or perhaps you're yelling that there may be snow on the roof, but there's fire in the belly. I appreciate your confidence, dear reader, but you don't know what's in the pickle barrel until you take the lid off. Where there's smoke, there's fire, and the staff is walking on thin...
...Taylor begins at the moment before separation, then works backward through the marriage and its turning points, which also include the author's adultery. In Taylor's case, however, the decision to split up is mutual, and his writing, lucid and lovely, creates a sense of intimacy with the reader that Intimacy fails to do. We get a clear view into Taylor's windows, but we are not disgusted by what we see. "At what precise point does the breakdown of a marriage become irretrievable?" the author wonders. "While it requires will to make a marriage work, it also requires...