Friday, October 27, 2006

I love books

I love to read. I love a good story. I don’t even mind a bad one. Rarely do I put a book aside; I always have hope that a poor book will turn around, that the author might suddenly learn to create an interesting sentence. Even when they don’t, I keep plugging along. Sheesh, they got the thing published and that is a feat in and of itself. Right?

After much reading of blogs, I have found that most people will quit a book if it’s uninteresting, bad or just bugs them. This is very intimidating news for someone like me, who has ‘aspirations’. I think I read too many book blogs. I'm getting a complex. Some readers can deconstruct a book, tell you the theme, recommend it or pan it. Me? I either like it or don’t, chalk it up to personal taste and move on.

Once, I thought I would like to review books as a living, or become an editor. Now, I realize that these professions aren’t just about reading for enjoyment. They are about telling people why to like something, why it’s worthy of acquisition, why not to waste time on it. I’m not sure I’m cut out for that. I would have to change my approach to books, and I don’t know if I’m willing to do that.

So, now that I’m thinking of getting on the writing train, I wonder what kind of book will I write. Will I have a book good enough to be published? Or worse, will I have a bad book that gets published? Will readers put up with my learning curve? I have a feeling I’m asking these questions as a way to procrastinate the actual writing of my book, which makes the questions silly, eh?

I’ll just have to keep writing the thing and ask these questions later.

***
In other news, I just received two books in the mail to review on my blog. I already know I’ll like them both. One is by someone who hasn’t had a book I haven’t liked yet. The other is a newbie, but if her book is anything like her blog, I know it’ll be a winner. I will, however, endeavor to tell you why I like them and maybe even try to find, as Frank McCourt says, ‘the deeper meaning’.

2 comments:

shanna said...

I gotta say raga's blog and her book are two different creatures. One's the whole package, and the other's the publisher's package. You'll love the book, though. It's a big deal on several levels.

lisa said...

Thanks, Amy! You know what, I'm like you. Unless it's a really glaring awfulness, I just like a book or I don't. I don't usually analyze it, unless I'm reading it to learn something about craft.