Books

Current inches of snow on the ground in Spokane, WA: About 18 inches from just this past week.  

It’s been so fun to have some time to write during this crazy weather week. I’ve been doing a very unscientific study on opening chapters and opening lines in books…what makes them interesting, how do they grab the reader, how much of the plot do you divulge in those first few pages…and have found that there is no rhyme or reason to writing a great beginning, you really just have to go with what works. I’ve also realized that some books have great opening lines, then fizzle as far as content, and some have weak opening lines but keep you reading because the plot is so worthwhile. Seems rare that books have both but then those are probably the ones that go onto your Top 10 list.

Speaking of Top 10 lists, I thought I’d think about what my Top 10 all-time favorite books are as far as pure entertainment (which for me is the reason I read). Off the top of my head here’s what I came up with. I wonder if I went back and read some of these books, with my newfound WPF knowledge , if I’d feel differently about them as I seem to have become a more critical reader…a good thing perhaps but sometimes, you just want to read to read.

(In no particular order.)

• Love @First Site by Jane Moore (Chick Lit/Contemporary Romance)
• The Testament by John Grisham (Mainstream Fiction/Thriller)
• Forgiving by LaVyrle Spencer (Historical Romance)
• The Lighthouse Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner (Childrens)
• Five Days in Paris by Danielle Steele (Contemporary Romance)
• All Too Human by Edward Klein (Non-Fiction)
• Stealing Home by Sherryl Woods (Contemporary Romance)…just finished this one this week, another good thing about the snow!
• Snowbound With Betsy by Carolyn Haywood (Childrens)
• You Shouldn’t Have To Say Goodbye by Patricia Hermes (Young Adult)
• The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella (Chick Lit)

~Stephanie