Booking Through Thursday, 28.August 2008

"If you’re anything like me, one of your favorite reasons to read is for the story. Not for the character development and interaction. Not because of the descriptive, emotive powers of the writer. Not because of deep, literary meaning hidden beneath layers of metaphor. (Even though those are all good things.) No … it’s because you want to know what happens next?

"Or, um, is it just me?"


Whether fiction or nonfiction, the thing that drives my interest is "what happens next," most of the time. In nonfiction where I know the basics of the story, I read to learn all the details. In fiction, I read not only for the plot, but also for the beauty and depth and richness of the language. A good plot cannot, for me, make up for clumsy or poor writing. I'll toss a book aside before I'll plod through mediocrity. I must confess to feeling this way about nonfiction, too. If a writer wants me to invest my time and interest, he has to produce something worth my while in more ways than one.
As a teenager, I put up with bad writing in order to see how the plots came out, but I skimmed along enough to glean the essentials only. I was more tolerant, then.
But I'll tell you something that really frosts my flakes: absurd twists in the tales. I go crazy when I invest time in a book only to have a plot resolution come completely out of left field. I understand that writers want to have clever plot twists, unable to be guessed, but do me a favor! Please, folks, don't insult us readers by pulling the ol' "it was all a dream" ending or something equally ridiculous.

Wordless Wednesday

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America, 1938

I love history, and I love to listen to people telling how they lived years ago. That's why I enjoy visiting www.svensto.blogspot.com. Svensto is a lady of ninety who just began blogging about immigrating from Sweden to New York in 1938. She writes simply but eloquently, and she drops a lot of famous names from the time. Visit Grandma Svensto and say hello.

Wordless Wednesday

Buy this!

I'll make this short. If you want a product that well and truly lives up to its name, buy Sheer Bliss ice cream. It comes in tiny, metal cans and is decidedly not a bargain brand, but if you want to put sheer bliss into your mouth, buy Sheer Bliss. I tried the "Freedom" flavor, heavenly vanilla laced with pomegranate and blueberry. Knockout! I can't wait to try the other flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, Pomegranate with dark chocolate chips, Mediterranean Coffee, California Pomegranate, and Vanilla with pomegranate seeds.
I have no connection to Sheer Bliss and I receive absolutely nothing to compensate me for this post. When I find a product this good, I like to tell others.

(nearly) Wordless Wednesday

see more dog pictures

(nearly) Wordless Wednesday

see more dog pictures

BBB

BBB is big, beautiful Blanca, a deaf and blind Great Dane that lives at Rolling Dog Ranch, a sanctuary for disabled animals in Montana. The cats, dogs and horses enjoy life there where they are accepted and loved just as they are. The best of medical care is given them along with treats and toys and lots of blog coverage [www.blog.rollingdogranch.org].
The ranch is supported wholly with donations from the public. The founders, Mr. Steve Smith and Ms. Alayne Marker, have hearts as big as the Big Sky country where they live. It shows in their blog posts, updated five days/week by Mr. Smith.
Blanca is a special favorite of mine, and I just had to share her gorgeous picture with you. She has a funny habit of dragging her bed around the outdoor area to sleep now here, now there, now somewhere else. I think it may be because she can lift her big, beautiful head to inhale the different scent pools in different areas.

Booking Through Thursday, 7.August

OTHER WORLDS
suggested by Miko
Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live?

Or where you certainly would NOT want to live?

What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life?

(This came to me when reviewing a Jonathan Carroll book - I’m not sure I’d like to live in the worlds of his books.)

I love the little villages and towns in English cozy mysteries. They sound charming - - filled with flowers, bowers and showers - - and the inhabitants often seem like people I'd enjoy knowing. But then again, so many folks in these places drop dead, and nearly always in nasty, horrid ways! Newcomers seem especially likely prey. So, although I'd like to visit or live there, I'm quite sure it would be hazardous to my health.