Books. Who doesn't love books? Even if you don't like reading, you can still listen to the story on Books-on-Tape. I recently tried Books-on-Tape. My friend used to listen to them during her commute. And my grandmother, who's vision is going, listens to them all the time. And, I was doing a 2,500 mile trek cross-country. And I was driving through places that didn't even haven nasty country music (sorry, I'm form New York, not upstate NY. Country - only if I'm really, really desperate) And, I was really desperate. And, no radio. So, I tried it. The first one. Let's not and say we did. The second one, it was 5 disks long, and thankfully my CD player in my vehicle can hold up to 6 cds. It wasn't bad. But, I somehow loose the ability to visualize the story in my head when someone else is reading the story. For one, I can read much faster than that person spoke, and for another, I don't understand what that narrator's compulsion was to change voices during the read. Come on already. Did you think I didn't know it was the same guy doing different voices. Let's not and say we did. Oh, and I realized how cheesy certain parts of the novel were, when it is being read aloud. Great incite for me. I plan on having my novel, when it's finished, read aloud. Either by me, or one of my friends. It really is a great way to see how the flow of words or the story line just doesn't work. So, thank you books-on-tape for giving me this new incite. I'll use in good health.
Okay, so now back to books. Like I mentioned on my book page, VC Andrews - Heaven was the first real book I ever read for pleasure. You might question, why a seventh grader, a 13 year old girl, had never read previously for pleasure. Well, I guess the simple answer is that I have learning disabilities. And since the first grade, I've always had issues learning how to read. I remember being in the fifth grade, and taking out Arnold and his purple crayon as book to do for a book report. I attended reading every year in elementary school. It wasn't until I started to read books for pleasure, Heaven, did my reading skills improve. Actually, my reading skills improved so much that I tested in the post high school level for reading comprehension. I always had that in me. My mother graduated with her MSW (Master's Degree in Social Work) when I was in the 6th grade, and I remember her giving me one of her books to read, and she had me read several pages, and explain to her what it said. I understood what I was reading even then.
I don't know what it was about that book. It did take 6 months to finish it. Now, I can finish a novel in a couple of hours. When I was returning home from my first overseas deployment, I had 6 days I had to wait for transportation All I did for those six days was sleep, eat, watch movies and read. They had a library will all the latest hardcover books I'd been missing for several months. You couldn't take them out, but you could read them there in the library. They'd even hold them for you for a day or two. I remember I stayed their till 4:00 in the morning several days, reading 3 or 4 hardcover novels. I read one hardcover novel in less than 3 hours. It was awesome.
The funny thing is, I can remember the titles of movies I've seen and the actors who are in them. But, for the life of me, I can't remember my favorite authors or the titles of the books I've read. It can be very annoying to purchase a new book, get it home, start reading it and realize, duh, I've already read this book. There are a couple of books I would love to re-read, and because I either can't remember the title or the author, I haven't been able to find them since. It is aggravating.
Yes, I do re-read my books. Just like I re-watch TV shows I love and moves I really like.
But unlike my one friend who will re-read the whole harry potter book again, cover to cover. I refuse. Especially if I didn't like the whole book to begin with. You see I have this system when I read books. (this is why of course I buy my books. Plus I always forget to return the library books. You have no idea how much I've paid in late fees over the years. I probably could have bought two house by now with all that movie I've spent on late fees. Not just library books either, video rentals. So bad. I know)
Anyway, my system. I dog ear my pages. Now, before you start screaming at me. I've bought the book. So technically I own it. The top ears are for the pages I really love. The double turn over dog eared page is for sections that are just too awesome not to miss or re-read. The bottom turn over page, is for all the sections that I skip. Yes, I do skip on occasion. I don't always find the whole book interesting. Did I forget to mention I have ADD? My logic, is that if god forbid, I missed something really critical to the story, I know exactly where I skipped and I can always go back and read that section. How many times over these many years have I gone back to read a skipped section? Maybe 5 times.
Do I skip over the sections from really awesome authors? Hell no. Because the whole story keeps me engaged. Do I skip when I can't put down the book at three in the morning and I have to get up for work in an hour or so? No. Double no.
Unfortunatly, it seems to me, that the feeling of total immersion into the story before me seems to be dwindling. In recent years, the quality of books being published sucks! And, frankly I just don't understand why. Even the older authors who I always could rely upon in the past to give me an awesome reading experience, even they suck! The book might start out great, but the ending was such crap. You're like, what the hell just happened. You've got to be kidding me. Where did the story go? What happened to the charters I loved? It is because of this lack of quality that I've started the mantle of writing my own novels again. I've always been a writer. Songs, short stories, poems - elementary school, junior high, high school. But, with the recent turn out of such garbage that people consider a novel, I've decided that I can do a much better job then they are doing. And, when I finished with it. I'll actually want to read the whole book through and not skip anything.
Even these trends that occur are annoying. I was an avid reader of romance novels. No, it is not the only thing I read. I also love reading Science Fiction, Young Adult (yes, I acknowledge that I am a closet YA reader over the age of 16), Espionage, Thriller, Suspense, Adventure, Historical, and horror. But, for a while, most of what I was reading was mainly Romance and Jack Higgins (until he decided all he would write about is Sean Dillon - the first three books okay. But, I miss his historical novels and his other more interesting characters) Anyway, I used to enjoy reading the Historical romances, Harlequin romance novels and some of the contemporary novels. But, all of a sudden this trend came out of nowhere. Time travel novels. Now it's vampires and other weird creatures. What the heck happened. I loved Patrica Potter's historical novels. She no longer writes them. Instead she writes something else I have no desire to read. Harlequin hardly does historical novels anymore, and Silhouette changed a lot of their brands. I'm sorry to say it, but most of those books are crap. The stories are a joke, the characters are the same. And I'm tired of it. Bring back books with characters who made you cry for them. That's what I want. I want to feel for these characters again. And, unfortunately, I haven't felt much of anything for them except contempt for a very long time.
So, I know this was a long tangent. But, come on now. I need some really good books to read.
Dean Koontz hasn't failed me yet!!!! Thank you!!!!
Anyway, I can't wait until I can pick up a great book, and forget that the Planet Dune is an imaginary planet that came from the brilliant mind of Frank Herbert!
Calgone take me away.....
-G
P.S. - on a personal note, I love, love, LOVE this spell checker for this blog. It rocks! I don't have to google words to find how to spell the word, because this spell checker picks it up and actually gives me the right word!!!! Microsoft, get on the ball already.
------- Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference --The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. --Dune by Frank Herbert
