I have almost nothing to show you or to talk about today. My knitting is boring. No socks (at least I didn’t join the Summer of Socks this year, because I still can’t do anything). I’m knitting i-cord for the handle for my string bag, and you can imagine how exciting that is. And, otherwise? No inspiration about what to do next.

Sigh. At least the weather is lovely. About 75 degrees and no humidity to speak of.

Now, I haven’t done Booking Through Thursday in a while, which is ridiculous since I run the thing, so here we go:

Think about your favorite authors, your favorite books . . . what is it about them that makes you love them above all the other authors you’ve read? The stories? The characters? The way they appear to relish the taste of words on the tongue? The way they’re unafraid to show the nitty-gritty of life? How they sweep you off to a new, distant place? What is it about those books and authors that makes them resonate with you in ways that other, perfectly good books and authors do not?

I like this question, because it speaks to what makes reading so important to me. I read all sorts of things, and for a variety of reasons–to learn new things, to be inspired, to be entertained, to escape. But the books that keep pulling me back tend to have a few things in common. First, they have good stories. I find I don’t have much patience for stream-of-consciousness, meandering kinds of books. I like a nice, solid plot, the more complicated the better. Second, good characters. Which is to say, interesting characters that I can care about, preferably likeable. Third, good writing, a nice touch for the way words and imagery interact to make the feel of the story as multi-dimensional as possible. A book with a gripping story but mediocre writing usually isn’t going to pull me back. Fantastic writing with a yawn-inducing story? Um, no. And characters who are flat or boring or totally unlikeable? Those are the books I’ll end up closing.

Oh, and as an extra plus? I do love a story that takes me someplace else, but that feels real. I don’t care if it’s historical fiction, China, a fantasy universe … I want to feel like I could really be there, and that the world is real. I’ve read books that take place in the real world, in current times that felt completely unrealistic, and I’ve read books in completely imaginary worlds that felt like I could step through the page. Given a choice? I’ll take a book that FEELS real. In fact, one of the reasons I’ve always liked really good sci-fi and fantasy is because they give the author a chance to put “real” people in unreal situations and see what happens. How can you not be intrigued? (grin)

• Tags: Reading • Permalink:BTT: Flavor //