A fresh start...

Many people have emailed me when they notice that I've put up "What we're reading"... and if you are one of those people you've probably noticed I've been on the same book (Pillars of the Earth) for about 2 months. That is because I've simply taken a reading hiatus but plan to get back on the saddle. As motivation I got a new book... by a Canadian author. It's called "The Birth Club" and I have no idea what is it about. It was marked 40% off and was surrounded by U.S. authors that I like so I thought... why not? Let me explain...

I have two ways of picking out books 1) A recommendation 2) I look at the genre... and just take a chance... a good cover that gives me some decent information will get me.

I will not read the flaps or backs of books for summaries. I think it is a habit I got into when I was a senior in high school and all I read was Danielle Steel... and if you read her book summaries you always find out that Susie and Mark were high school sweethearts and completely in love when Mark is in a terrible accident... and then years later a still greiving Susie meets Phillip and they have a passionate love affair and she learns she could love again. Cheesy stories yes (and really they are all some variation of Susie/Mark and then Susie/Phillip), but at the time those stories were easy reads and just a good escape. My point is... when I stopped reading the summaries... I didn't know that something was going to happen to Mark... or when Phillip is introduced I didn't know this was going to be the guy. Could I often predict it as I was reading? Sure... but it did make it more enjoyable not to know in advance. (To the left is my favorite Danielle Steel book, "Lightning"... just don't read the summary or it will blow it for you... it's simply a recommendation - which is the best way to pick a book anyway!)

I gave up Danielle Steel about a decade ago and graduated to James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks... a little less predictable, slightly more advanced read that was still simple enough it didn't require too much extra thought. Which brings me full circle to the start of this post and what is going to happen to "Pillars of the Earth"... I'm going to shelve it until I finish "The Birth Club" and get back into my habit of nightly reading. I'm anxious to finish the 900 plus page novel so I'll get it done... in just a few more weeks! :)