What are your favorite books? Why are they memorable? Do you read in more than one genre? I’d be hard pressed to name a favorite, but when I think of books that stay on my mind and in my heart long after I’ve turned the last page, two immediately come to mind: Elizabeth Berg’s Talk Before Sleep and Alice Hoffman’s Turtle Moon.
Both are beautifully written, and I’ll confess that I always notice that first. Being a writer forever changed the way I read books. If the story doesn’t transport me, I find myself judging the writing style and figuring out how the writer is going to handle the plot. In Berg’s and Hoffman’s books, the writing is beautiful, lyrical and powerful. Combine that with characters I love and a plot that takes my breath away, and the two books are on my shelves as keepers.
Jodi Picoult is another author who always delivers a complex story that mesmerizes me. Though her subject matter is often dark and depressing (The Storyteller has riveting details about the Holocaust), she is so thorough in her research and so careful in the way she weaves multi story lines together, that she always lands on my must read list.
I don’t have as much time to read the works of other writers as I would like, so I am very careful in my selection. Though I generally gravitate toward the literary fiction section of the bookstore (I do love to browse among books in a bricks and mortar store!), I do read other genes. I had the privilege of reading Obsession, the first book of the Faces of Evil thriller series by my dear friend, Debra Webb. It simply knocked my socks off. And it has one of the most memorable evil characters since Hannibal Lecter. Deb managed to mesmerize me and scare me at the same time. Nobody does evil as well as she. And she’s such a sweet lady!
I’d love to hear about the books you love. I’m always excited to discover a wonderful book by an author I haven’t read.
And thank you for stopping by. In a couple of weeks, I’ll draw the name of one lucky person who has left a comment on this blog, and you will receive a $25.00 bookstore gift card. I’ll announce the winner here, so do check back.
The customs is not very busy at time of the morning, so we
didn’t lose much time while we were there. Naples Beach is famous for being
a favorite nesting site of logger head sea turtles,
so golfers may have luck as they take a sunset stroll after a few rounds.
In terms of golf venues and golf packages, it is difficult to find another place
that provides such a large number of options as Florida.
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I read many genres. I have authors I am faithful to (your Elvis books included) I like mystery with humor(Diana Killian, Shirley Rousseau Murphy, Mary and Carole Higgins Clark) and some hard core (Robert B. Parker, Raymond Chandler, James Patterson), fantasy (Charlene Harris, Madyln Alt, Juliette Blackwell) gothic romance (Victoria Holt, Phyllis Whitney), a good biography and some history. I like some teen and childrens books (Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, Splat the Cat, anything by Shel Silverstein) and the Classics are great, I just finished Pride and Predjudice. I love any author that can pull you into the story and take you along for the ride.
Oh, Cat, you nailed it! That’s what writers strive to do, and we count ourselves lucky if we can pull it off book after book. Thanks for stopping by to chat. You’ve become one of the Beloved Faithfuls.
Thank you. I so enjoy keeping up with what you have to say. Charlaine Harris has a book and blog on her site. Lots of fun when she goes off on some tangent. I think we often forget that as talented as you all are, you have pet peeves and inane moments like the rest of us.
I read several genres at once, as well. But, like you, I don’t have time to read as much as I want. It depends on my mood as to what genre but the stories have to be very different. Otherwise, when I go back to reading, I am confused.
Hi, Paula! I love that you keep several books going at once. It’s fun to have books all over the house and know that a good book is waiting in each room. My books long ago overflowed the bookshelves, and are now stacked in baskets everywhere.
Love your hair, hope I win! LOL
I like light reading…cozies, humor, romance, your Elvis books!!!
Thanks, Lee. I just let my hair do what it wants, no color and no style except a few licks with the brush. Through the years, I’ve discovered that lots of readers enjoy humor. It’s fun to read a book that makes you laugh all the way through. Janet Evanovich’s Plum series does this so well. It’s also a nice to discover a bit of comic relief in the more serious novels. Since I cut my writing teeth on humor, I always throw in some comic relief. You’ll find flashes of it through The Sweetest Hallelujah. Billie and Queen are perfect characters to provide
a few lighter moments.
Any time you visit this blog, your name will automatically go into the hat for the book store gift cards I will be giving throughout the year, starting April 15th. Good luck and happy reading!