Posts filed under 'Reviews'
I was going to do a scene by scene of my arrival, fun times, and departure of San Fran, but really, you don’t want that many details. But I’ll break it down to the highlights. I arrived Wed after the plane, the airBART, the regular BART, walking uphill with a suitcase (ew) and plenty of nice conversations with strangers (the book I brought sucked). First thing I did in SF was meet Kay T (aka RWA roomie). Next thing I did was walk into a lobby with at least a hundred women talking romance, their voices like “chattering birds” (stole that from someone), their energy level sparking the mind. But that was nothing compared to the “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing that night. Over 500 authors, a lot of the RWA members, and a huge smattering of the public filled up the enormous ballroom. I made a beeline to Suz Brockmann’s table- squeal squeal squeal- and then made my rounds around the place, picking up among others Kathleen O’Rielly’s Sex, Straight Up, which I’ve read since I’ve been back and found extremely well-written. As I’m making the end of my rounds I notice the raffle board and omibob I won two gift baskets. (Let me* say right now, Kay T actually dropped off my raffle tickets while I was in line for Suz- squeal- so I did share some of the goodies, though she wouldn’t take the seagull sculpture no matter how much I insisted. *grin*)
Thurs. was the beginning of the workshops (and the Goody Room, where I saw what made good promotional items and filled up a bag with the stuff). I got to see RSS again (yay! I was very lucky and got to spend a lot of time with RSS, all of it fabulous) and then Dee (first and last time I saw her at the conference; you need to get an elephant to sit on her to keep that CB in one place). The workshop to point out for that day is Watching the Detectives: Peek Inside a Real Detective Agency with Eileen Rendahl, who basically explained all the ins and outs of PI work and life. If anybody has a PI in their story, I’ll be happy to type up my notes from this one for you, cause wow was she informative. The luncheon during the afternoon had a very funny, funny speech by Victoria Alexander, who I must now read in the hopes she is just as funny in her books. I also went to the Moonlight Madness Bazaar (aka time to sell you stuff) and met the DH of a writer/blogger who did magic tricks. Spent more time talking to him than anyone else there (until he started to look like a young Tom Cruise which was a little freaky, cause ew) but he and his wife were very wonderful. Had the best time at dinner with RSS that night too, where I found out some more cool things about her and the family.
Fri. was the first all-day workshop day. There were three especially amazing wokshops. First, The 21st C Heroine: How Far She’s Come and Where She’s Heading (which included on its panel Kesington editor Kate Duffy who is completely hilarious; if you go to RWA next year make sure you go to one of her workshops). We had a very fascinating discussion that I learned a lot from (you burst with romance pride after this one). The second was World Building: Creating Your Own Universe. A lot of it was stuff I knew, and they were referring to contemporaries, but I had a lot of little light bulbs go off, which is the best response to have in a classroom (as opposed to yawning). And third was Sociopaths vs Psychopaths and the Serial Killer with Dr. Cynthia Lea Clark, and I must buy her books cause oh boy, the stuff she knows. I talked about her workshop often afterwards, which garners more strange looks than I was really expecting considering where I was. I also should mention the workshop with SEP and Jayne Anne Krentz, which was more entertaining than informative (not saying it’s a bad thing, I just found it to be so). I’d love to see Jenny with those two doing a ‘workshop’. This was also the night of the CB Get-Togther in Chinatown. I don’t really have words to describe just how it feels to be sitting and talking with CBs face to face. Most of you have experienced it, but it strikes me* every time by how wonderful it all is. Even if they think checking up to make sure they got home safely is something only a mother would do. Like if I wasn’t walking back with Kay T they wouldn’t have made me* do the same thing. CBs. Sheesh.
[BTW: I’m mentioning the names of the omibob workshops I went to because you can download the workshops from the website and you may want to look at a few to get a feel for them if you’ve never been to RWA. I’m not really suggesting any of the above three- first was more about being there, second was good but basically common sense, and the third will probably have a lot of blank spots as after her first five minutes of speaking we just peppered her with questions and I’m not sure how many she repeated for the mike. I did take good notes in the last one though, so again, will type them up if you so wish.]
Sat. had one very mentionable workshop (though there was another I liked, but mostly just because the people were so wonderful on the panel, all from Dorchester Publishing House)- From Cover Concept to Finished Cover, and this gave me a great view inside the marketing/sales/art dept. Don’t bother getting this one, you needed the images too, but I would love to go to another one like this. After that it was mostly zooming through book signings (cause at this point I really needed more books) instead of workshops. Then it was the awards ceremony, which I dragged Kay T to so I could see Suz emcee. As I said to Kay T, until RSS or another CB is up for an award, or someone like Jenny is doing host spot, I’m probably not going to another one. It was fun, and we got to sit in the finalist section (didn’t see the red rope, I swear officer), but once is plenty until a CB is nominated.
Sun. was not as fun, mostly cause I was leaving and partly because I had a monster headache. RSS, Kay T and I meet up and ate breakfast as lori’s diner (judging by the car in the middle of the place, let’s not have lori doing any driving any time soon). And then it was a plane ride and home, brimming with ideas, a headache, and the desire to go to RWA next year.
I really didn’t mean to do a play by play of the whole conference, but overall I have a few tidbits I picked up during the conference. One, get the vegeterian meal at lunch. Two, find a workshop with Kate Duffy in it. Three, learn as much as possible, but go to to at least one book signing during the weekend. Four, have Kay T drop your raffle tickets in the box if possible. Five, romance writers want to meet you and want to share as much knowledge as they can. Six, it truly is their refrain that the best book to write is the one you want to. Seven, stay in the hotel where the conference is at if possible; it truly is worth the money to be able to drop off stuff you pick up during the day instead of breaking your back (RSS lent me* her room for this reason).
And eight- it’s a magical experience, and I recommend it to anyone who loves romance- whether it’s reading, writing, or doing both with it. The energy you get can bring you into a new place in your writing and life. I’m so glad I finally went to one.
And don’t forget about Dr. T’s Scotland post below.
August 6th, 2008
How do you say goodbye to an old friend? Someone who was there for you through thick and thin, sickness and health, good and bad? The one who helped you through the long week of you grandfather’s funeral, the flu, writer’s block, the Great Blackout of 2003, boredom, and surgery?
You remember when you first met. He made you laugh. He enthralled you. He made your heart race. You couldn’t get enough of him. But now, something is missing.
Like page 163.
That’s right, my friend is a book.
It’s been my favorite book for about 6 years or so. I read it at least twice a year; last year more. But there is only so much a paperback can take. The spine is cracked, the binding’s shot, and the pages are falling out.
But I can’t bring myself to get rid of it. It’s always been there for me, so how can I just abandon it? How can I (gasp) throw it away?
Throwing it out is the reasonable option; I would relegate it to the Island of Misfit Books if I donated it to the Salvation Army or the local library—who wants a book with missing pages? But I can’t just leave it to a life of slow decomposition among used coffee grounds, brown banana peels, and dirty diapers.
I finally broke down and bought a new copy. The same exact book, the same friend, only without the dog ears and faded cover. So why do I feel disloyal? It’s almost like an illicit love affair and I am cheating on my beloved with someone younger.
I once read – and correct me if I am wrong because I am sure I am – that Jewish people consider books friends and treat them accordingly with a proper burial when they reach “the end.” This is a lovely sentiment, but not one that would be looked upon kindly by my condo association, let alone the people living below me. So that, too, is out as an option.
So what am I left with?
Free to good home: Friendly, loving book. Likes sitting on lap, snuggling in bed, laughter, and pina coladas, but please don’t let it get caught in the rain. Needs TLC.
February 25th, 2008
I checked the schedule and *gasp* we don’t have a 3rd weekend author! How can that be? Any of you random posters want to step up and take permanent duty?
Anyway … I mentioned in a comment that I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to Christmas songs. I want Nat King Cole singing “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)” and Brenda Lee “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.” I’m not a huge fan of “new” holiday songs either. Few of them ever get it right, the whole spirit of the season thing. And a few I just plain don’t like. Which ones? Well, “The Christmas Shoes” for one. Although I blame it on radio bombarding me with that song relentlessly every year. First time I liked the song, second time I really listened to it, third time was “what, again?”
Another one, and I’m dying to know how many others feel this way, is Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas.” No, no, I’ve got nothing against The King. It’s those back up singers woo hoo hoo-ing their way through the song. I hear that first “woo” and it’s like someone dragging fingernails down a blackboard for me. My radio gets switched off before they make it to the last “hoo.”
I’m also not a big fan of song interpretations. Interpretation is supposed to be part of art, I guess, but to my mind the original artist - in this case the songwriter - has already done that. He (or she) is giving us their interpretation of a Christmas song. The first artist to sing it will usually give it a twist, a little something to brand it to their particular style. But after that? After that, my friends, it has had all the interpretation it needs. If you want to do something different, come up with your own song and leave the beloved standards alone.
There are acceptable exceptions, however. Reba McIntire’s version of “The Christmas Song” is lovely, a sort of bluesy, piano thing that almost makes me think I can smell those chestnuts roasting. And Vince Gill did a wonderful instrumental version of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” that is just plain fun. I’ve mentioned Mannheim Steamroller’s version of “Carol of the Bells” before. In their hands it is not the delicate chiming I’m used to; but if the purpose of music is to move you and make you feel something, they’ve clearly accomplished that.
And for non-traditional, the ‘not really Christmas songs but played at lot at this time of year’ my vote goes to Emerson, Brown & O’Donoghue and “It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way.”
Which songs to you love to hear ths time of year? Which ones make you cringe? Which ones make you sit up and pay attention?
December 15th, 2007
lou, good thoughts to you and DH. ((HUGS)) anything we can do, we’ll be there.
***
i have certain expectations when i go in to see a movie, or read a book, or hang with a friend, or go to class. these expectations may be good or bad, but they’re mine, and they’re from past experience/trailers/things i’ve heard. sometimes things fall far below my expectations (i have a list of movies/books, somewhere), and some so far exceed them i think something that was probably only “good” was amazing, and most times i met my expectations.
right now there’s a huge debate going on among the romance reader community, and it centers on Ward’s new book, Lover Unbound. (no spoilers for LU, i promise). people are having very mixed reactions to the book, and while most center on the end, there’s enough other stuff thrown in that makes you think. and the way people are reacting- i’ve seen people in the romance community go at it before. but i’m still surprised by how many conversations start off reasonable, listing things the person liked/disliked, and quickly move into a destructive fight between the rabid fan base who don’t believe anyone can hate her stuff (or utter a mean word) and people who think the book was a cheap-cop out with a host of other problems, normally ending with “you suck” and “no, you suck”. (i may be paraphrasing- it may be more “no, YOU suck, #%#^$%^%$, and your mom sucks too”). now, i see things all over the internet with conversations ending this way, from anime talks to the best water heater to choose (”you like X Brand? moron, someone should do the public a service and cut off your internet…and your mom sucks too”).
and though i’m oversimplifying things, it comes to expectations. from Ward, i expect a) Brothers and their relationships with other Brothers; b) a certain way of talking (”true”, “feel that?”, “(rapper and song title) pounded out of the speaker”, etc); c) a romance between a Brother and someone else; d) secondary stories; e) an extra “h” in words; and so on and so on. but basically, i expect a good book with a surprise twist ending. and the thing is, her books kept getting better. i mean, i liked the first two, and then Z’s book blew me out of the water. (Z…*sigh* have i mentioned how much i love Z?). for Butch’s, i really didn’t have very high expectations; i wasn’t that big on Butch, or Marissa, and while i liked V i was still on a reader high from Z. so that book was more about loving Ward’s writing style and calming my jones till the next book. and LR, while still not as good as Z’s, so totally passed my expectations that i still think of it as better than i probably would have if i read it the first time expecting magic again. and that’s the thing. how do you keep surpassing reader’s expectations? because from what i’ve been reading, for a lot of these posters, Ward fell way below, and readers are PISSED.
i truly believe no author can do it right 100% of the time, just like no actor is good in everything, and no friend stays the same, and no class will keep me entertained the whole two hours, no matter how much i like the teacher or subject. no one can do something a 100%- there will always be that one off day, or book, or movie, or whatever. but every time i go in, i expect it to be good, and for authors, maybe even a little better than the last time, or at least at the same level.
so i’m turning it over to you all, now. what have expectations done for you? and would you- with what seems like a lot of ex-Ward fans- drop someone just because your expectations weren’t meant? would you completely give them up if they missed the mark that one time?
it’s coming down to- do you believe in second chances?
October 6th, 2007
Terry Pratchett took one look at me and decided he needed a drink right away.
I’m assuming that this was a mere coincidence and that the phrase “send the ice water NOW” wasn’t code for “I need tequila immediately or I’m never going to get through this.”
On the other hand, I do tend to have that effect on men, so it could have been me. (Well, maybe her too.)
Confession time: I did not spend the whole evening in the company of Mr. Pratchett, neither were we alone very long. There were a couple hundred people packed into the book signing area at Powell’s that night. Mostly harmless. The woman next to me regaled me with talk of her very strange cat, who apparently has to spend most of his time on anti-depressants. (Yeah, I know, like you want to hear about that. Stop dithering, Mary.)
Pratchett came to Beaverton to promote his latest Discworld book, Making Money, but he also talked a lot about his latest children’s book, Wintersmith. In his opinion, this was the best book he’s ever written. (And considering he’s written over 50 books, that’s saying something.) He said he chose the heroine’s name Tiffany, because it was the “most non-magical name” he could think of. He said it sounded like a woman who was a pole dancer. Then he turned to a little girl in the first row and gravely said, “when you get home, be sure to ask your mummy what a pole dancer is.”
He seemed a lot more tired than from when I’d seen him last (it’s been a few years). He spoke about the death of his father, his mother’s illness, his own angioplasty, and how he’d kept writing throughout. It was as if a part of him were detached from all the things that were going wrong in his life, a part of him that stood back and wrote about what was happening.
From the part of the talk that he called “Questions and Lies,” here are some of the things that I remember:
- He said he read mostly non-fiction. To him, reading fiction was like a car maker looking at a car; you keep thinking about it in terms of how it was assembled. The fiction he read was George McDonald Fraser, Donald Westlake, Carl Hiassen. The non-fiction he was currently reading was A history of pigment, which sounds like the dullest book in the world, but has some fascinating (he said it) information about how we perceive color.
- He has no plans to write a final Discworld book; the stories have developed to the point where it would not be possible to wrap everything up in one book.
- A tall red-headed man in the audience asked if Carrot would ever claim the kingship of Ankh-Morpork. Pratchett said he thought not, but if Carrot did, there would instantly be a civil war, with Vimes on the opposing side.
- He writes by listening to two characters talk; he writes down what they say. Most of these conversations doesn’t necessarily appear in the book, but it tells him about the story.
- Someone asked if he would ever work with Neil Gaiman again on a book. Pratchett thought it would be good and bad to try another collaboration. It would be faster, certainly. In the old days, when they wrote Good Omens, they tried “modem-to-modem” communication, but it was slow and frustrating. In the end, they just ended up trading floppy disks back and forth. On the other hand, both he and Gaiman were a lot more time-crunched these days. “In the old days, he wasn’t ‘Neil Gaiman’ and I was barely ‘Terry Pratchett.’ Now, I’d have to clear six months from my schedule.” My own impression was that he had books he wanted to write, and collaboration wasn’t really high on the list of things he wanted right now.
Powell’s was so packed that they ran out of books (and they’d brought out quite a lot initially). I managed to get one of the last seats, because I was half an hour early, but people were thronged all around the seating area. I think Pratchett was, understandably, a bit intimidated by the thought of signing that many books. He told me to tell OH not to feel too bad about missing him in Kepler’s; apparently they’d run out of books even earlier than Powell’s.
Yes, I did get my picture taken with him, but the guy taking the picture had a lot of trouble with my camera. He kept telling me my batteries were dead, so by the time he actually managed to snap a photo, I had my eyes closed and Pratchett was inscribing a note in the book. Besides, we ain’t all photogenic like Jen-T. So you’ll have to use your imagination. Somehow, I don’t think this will be a problem. 
September 29th, 2007
I’ll get into the whack attack in Dayton in a moment, but I wanted to take a moment to let you know that the annual Banned Books Week is coming up soon, September 29 to be exact. Follow the link to the 100 most frequently challenged books of the previous decade and then go out and unleash the rebel inside you. You don’t even have to wait until then. http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm. Go on, what’s a little anarchy among friends?
So, Dayton …
Dee and DDD were schedule to pick me up at 7 a.m., but they ran into traffic so it was more like 8:30 when they got here. We got on the road after a quick stop at Panera (no, sadley Jenny wasn’t there, we looked). Dayton is a pretty straight shot west from where I live, just a quick cut through WV, PA and then WV before we hit Ohio. It was pretty uneventful except for the pit stops at the Cracker Barrel restaurants. One was for food, but Dee was collecting flamingo shirts and most stores were sold out. We did finally hit one in Zanesville that had a bunch and she pretty much cleaned them out. And if you don’t know why she wanted flamingo shirts, you are clearly new to our blog.
We hit the Dayton ‘burbs around 4:30 I think. I went to check in and was asked by the desk clerk if we were there to join the rest of the party. “Yes,” I replied, “we are.” She had been given instructions to pass along to us as to where to find the rest of our party. As it turned out, their room was just around the corner from ours so we discretely and ever so politely pounded like heck on their door before taking off at a dead run to our room. Well Dee and I did. We left poor DDD standing there when the door opened. She’s a good kid and took it all in stride. Dee and I wandered back and into the room to be grabbed and hugged and introduced to everyone we hadn’t met before. It was all a blur of arms and squeals. After warm greetings we went back to the room to deposit all our stuff and grab what we would need for the evening. Dee said something to me about OH being there and I confess I was a bit confused by new faces and asked which one. She said “the blonde.” So we get back to the other room and I’m looking around and the only blondes I see are Wapak (I remembered her because she had the photo of MAX! and JenB. That left me pretty confused. Turns out that OH is NOT a blonde and I have no idea who Dee was referring to.
We got our acts together and made it over to the Cheesecake Factory. Jenny and Bob had indicated that they wouldn’t be eating before the signing but some of us were pretty hungry so we were ordering food and beverages. I got the tiramisu cheesecake which is really to die for so you should get it the next time you’re at their restaraunt. We talked and laughed and caught up on everyone’s adventures on the way into Dayton all the while look in the direction of the door for J&B to show up. We really hoped they could make but knew that they had a schedule and it might not work out. Then we saw them both walk in and a few of us waved. They started over and around the corner of the partiition and then stopped gaped. There we were, 15 of us stretched out on either side of a long row of tables and Jenny says “Is this all you could get?” Clearly inspite of the long week her snark was still in fine form. I think GP already gave you the run down on that so I’ll move on to the bookstore.
The Books & Co. in Beavercreek, OH is a very cool two level store. It’s really gorgeous with a wide sweeping stair case up to the 2nd level which is bordered by wrought iron railing. I regret we didn’t get there early enough to browse more thoroughly because the store really deserved it. Instead we headed directly to the second story where the signing was to be held. We spotted the rows of chairs lined up right away and they were already filling in. In fact there was some doubt as to whether they had enough chairs available. But before tackling that problem we got distracted by the display of AGNES AND THE HITMAN. Here we are, doing what CherryBombs do best.
As you can see, we were all stocking up. That’s WapakGram facing you and I think Me (not I, but her) facing away. They had some copies of LOST GIRLS out, but not nearly enough and we let them know it. Some kind bookseller went to get more while another one took one look at the loads we were carrying and got us some baskets. What can I say; in spite of Wapak’s warning they clearly were not expecting us. 
In this next photo, from the left, DDD, Scope and Mandy. Look at that grin. She might be only recently down from the attic, but she’s definitely a CherryBomb.
As it turned out we did have to corral some more chairs. Everyone was supposed to be in front of Bob and Jenny but, rebels that we are, we arrayed ourselves off to one side. It made us easier for him and her to ignore us as a group. Okay left to right, I think that’s Bryan hiding behind the book, followed by RSS, Mandy and Christa. Christa is a friend of Lori’s. She was a good sport about our wackiness and we’re hoping she’ll stop by the B&G and say hello. 
Peeking out from behind RSS is OH and on her right is GP. And that person waving to you on the right is Dee wearing one of the flamingo shirts.
Standing left is CMS and on the right is Me. I mean her. 
And sitting in front is JenB.
And then there were these other two people whose names escape me at the moment but who spent the next hour trying to ignore us “touble makers” as Jenny put it. .thumbnail.JPG)
Of course we wore the title proudly. But we actually we’re pretty well behaved and even encouraged others to go ahead of us when it came time for the signing. Never let it be said that Crusie/Mayer fans are rude. Boisterous, yes; but not rude.
Following the signing we hung around for a few minutes and got a group pic taken with Bob and Jenny. GP already showed you that. I have to say that the Bob and Jenny show was very much a class act and although I know they had to be tired they were really great sports. As were were getting ready to leave, some of the Books & Co. folks came out with even more books for them to stock sign. Living the dream they might be, but they definitely have earned the life. After this, and excursions by some of us back to the Cheesecake Factory, we headed back to the hotel. Many things ensued. I’ll leave that for the next poster.
September 3rd, 2007
Okay, I think we need to get a little more organized about this. We’ll keep this on-topic so that we don’t distract from Wapak’s post.
- Are you planning to go to the J&B signing in Dayton on 8/30?
-
Do you need a room or roommate?
- If you are not going, do you want one of us to get a copy of AATHM signed for you?
What I’m thinking is that someone can be in charge of figuring out where we stay and pairing off those who want to save $$ by sharing a room. Also someone can keep track of who wants books and then we can split it up amongst those of us in Dayton.
Also, for those of you not aware, I think the bookstore is actually in the Dayton ‘burbs. Someplace called Beavercreek off of Indian Ripple.
And if anyone has suggestions, please speak up.
July 27th, 2007
No, this is not about characters from New Jersey in books (though Harlan Coben and Janet Evanovich could have us talking for awhile), this is about the play, which i got to see, and which you should see.
I like plays, for the most part. I like watching how they create sets from very little, create a mood with lighting, a little sound, and great acting, create a character with a few words, a costume, and a tone of voice you can hear all the way in the back.
Jersey Boys did excellent with all of this. Their scenes easily put you where they wanted you to go, their actors were AMAZING, and i got hooked into it right away. Plus, their voices. *dreamy sigh* Their voices. Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, told from all 4 perspectives (because as the website says, “you ask four guys, you get four different answers”), on how they got started and what happened along the way. I love the Four Seasons, and these guys carried it well. And the kid who played Frankie Valli- maybe not as good as the man himself, but pretty damn close. More than being able to watch the play again, I want to hear them sing again.
So, to keep this short (because really, watching me just gush on and on and on really doesn’t do anything for anyone, and i don’t want to let any scenes slip), go see it if at all possible. If you have any liking of the Four Seasons, it’s a must. And even if you don’t, you should go see it because ignoring all the music, the play itself was cool.
Also, my brother and I had an interesting talk about how plays cost so much more money than movies, though movies cost so much more to make. I said it’s because
July 5th, 2007
so my brother and some friends made a movie, and then this guy saw it, and now they’re going to The Cannes Film Festival.
my brother, though, had this idea brewing for awhile, and so he created a website in connection to this movie. his idea is a site that, well, this is the beginning of the “About Us” page:
Organic Cinema is a community web site for independent filmmakers.
This community allows anyone to collaborate in the film production process. From actors to screenwriters to camera supervisors, the community encompasses the broadest diversity of talent in the film industry. The spirit of our community makes the transition from independent filmmakers to Organic filmmakers possible.
anyway, so he knows i talk on blogs (i explained these are book people, make a book site, but one or two of you may be secret filmmakers) and asked me (not that one) to give you the site. i haven’t seen the whole movie yet (i know, bad sister), but my brother is a graphic artist, and for the end credits he did some amazing graphics (they turned out more squished together than he wanted, but still- according to people- the best part of the film).
so if you have any interest in philosophical films (which i must admit is not my cup of tea at all, it’s like listening to my brother) , or a secret filmmaker who wants to talk to like-minded people, or knows someone who is into film, this is the site.
http://organiccinema.com/action/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=31
Thank You and, if you go, enjoy.
May 15th, 2007
We’ve talked a lot about books lately. Well no surprise with this bunch as its a subject near and dear to all our hearts. And over in the Workshop they are currently discussing character development and the importance thereof in writing a story. And Jenny and Bob have both talked a lot about characters lately on their respective blogs as well. It got me to thinking about books I love and why. And yes folks, Bob and Jenny are right (big surprise) … its all about the characters. This is a lot of why I love to reread, in fact. Because I get to revisit those characters and for me its like spending time with old friends.
When you read like I do (and maybe like you do as well) you get sucked into that story (if its good) and you are going through everything right along with the character. When I read Linda Howard’s SON OF MORNING I am right there with Grace St. John, on the run from the bad guys who killed my husband and brother. By the time Grace finally gets to rest, I’m exhausted! When Em in Jenny’s TELL ME LIES says “my daddy’s dead” I mourn too. When I read Stephen King’s CELL and I get to the end where Clay is handing the phone to his son, my heart is in my mouth. Time and again I’m pulled into the feelings right along with the characters. *sigh* Now that’s good writing.
Which is why I really hate it when I read a book that is well written with a great plot – in fact, a damn good book – but I have to slog my way through because I just don’t like the character. Its not so much that the character is badly drawn because that’s not always the case; I just get tired of spending so much time with them. A lot of authors seem to invest their characters with a lot of angst. Admittedly the angst is sometimes valid: the character is the victim of rape, or has lost a child or faced some other tragedy. Well geez of course they aren’t going to feel snarky. But you know its just not what I’m looking for in a book. I don’t want realism, I want to be entertained. This is strictly a personal preference, not a judgment call. When I read I want to laugh, I want a vicarious adventure, a puzzle, a wild romance … yeah, that would be vicarious too.
So I’ll stick with books where good triumphs over evil, where the characters find HEA, where little old ladies solve mysteries that baffle Scotland Yard, big-haired Joisey girls become bounty hunters, film directors fall in love with green berets, a planet floats through space on the backs of 4 elephants, a tough ass-kicking NYC cop of the future can end up with a gorgeous Irish gazillionaire, ordinary women can kick some serious bad guy butt, and a conman is taken in by a family of art forgers. That world is so much more fun than this one.
March 10th, 2007
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