I can't read books in which a character shares my name

[BubblegumBrigade]

It's weird and I lose my concentration all the time and I find suspension of disbelief really hard. Plus the actual name itself starts to look really strange written down, and lose its form, like it's written in a foreign language.

This is ok as I have a relatively rarely used name, but I was wondering how you cope if your name is Kate or Emma or a name that crops up frequently in fiction. It must be horrible. (Or maybe I just have massively inflated sense of self-importance.)

How odd. Do you feel that the book is talking about you?

No, not at all. I just can't believe that the book is real, I can't immerse myself into the fictional world because every time I see my name it snaps me out of it.

I've got a very, very common first name, I think given that I'm used to lots of people having it, it doesn't seem odd for a fictional character either, IYKWIM.

I really struggled once with a book about a family where the mother had my name, the father had my DS's name and the son had my DH's name. I could have coped easily with the use of my name but having DH's name and DS's swapped around in a book entirely about the dynamics of family relationships made it an awkward read. I had to really focus on who was who! None of us have top 100 names so I suppose I don't have much practice.

I don't have a problem with books - it's not really any different from not having been he only one at school. Emma Woodhouse is annoying for many reasons other than sharing my first name.

Coke cans/bottles however, they need to be the name of someone I know and like, or totally unknown. Fortunately this year, there have been a lot of generic ones like "love" and "gorgeous". It doesn't matter that rationally , I know it is meaningless and the label is irrelevant, as the stuff inside is all the same. I can't drink a bottle which says Steven (horrid boy at school) - Stephen is okay though.