What Makes a Good Book?
Thanksgiving is over... but there are still SO MANY LEFTOVERS! And I'm not really a huge leftover fan. I have, however, had canned cranberries three days in a row. Plus some on Tuesday as a pre-Thanksgiving perk. I've probably eaten a can all by myself. But canned cran has already been discussed on this blog so instead I'll discuss what makes a good book.
What, exactly, makes a good book? I recently finished rereading "Catching Fire" (we're all a little obsessed... what with the movie post, music post, and now a book post!) and I realized just how well thought-out the whole series was. Suzanne Collins had it all planned from the very beginning. Or at least it seems that way. But we, as readers, have no idea what is coming. That takes a lot of skill, to know exactly what is going to happen, to drop clues about what is going to happen, and to still not give it away. But Suzanne Collins does it so masterfully, you can read her books again and again and still go "Wow!". Reading "Catching Fire" for the second time wasn't as edge-of-my-seat thrilling for me, but I did fly through it. And I got to see more inside of the author's head, because I wasn't so consumed with the suspense of it all. I was able to pick up on the clues I hadn't picked up on the first time around. And yet, it still wasn't in-your-face obvious. There was one part where bread keeps being delivered to the allies in the arena and Finnick is the one who always counts it out. I didn't pick up on this as being unusual until the third time the bread was delivered and I was like "Oh! The bread is a clue, isn't it?". But I still couldn't remember what it was a clue for. I found out a couple pages later that the district the bread came from stood for the day, and the number stood for the number of hours until rescue. But I didn't know this until Katniss knew it. I think a good book is one where you essentially are the character. You feel what they feel, you know what they know, and you love or hate who and what they love or hate. That is hard to do as an author. To make characters three-dimensional. But it shows up in books. The very best come alive in your hands, and the very worst stay paper and ink. It all starts with the characters.
Day Eight Song Recommendation: "Eyes" by Rogue Wave. And now that I've made eight song recommendations, I can make an 8tracks playlist! Here's the link to the Papersol 8tracks account, where you can listen to all of the songs I've recommended. Papersol Song Recommendations Days 1-8
-SE Wagner
What, exactly, makes a good book? I recently finished rereading "Catching Fire" (we're all a little obsessed... what with the movie post, music post, and now a book post!) and I realized just how well thought-out the whole series was. Suzanne Collins had it all planned from the very beginning. Or at least it seems that way. But we, as readers, have no idea what is coming. That takes a lot of skill, to know exactly what is going to happen, to drop clues about what is going to happen, and to still not give it away. But Suzanne Collins does it so masterfully, you can read her books again and again and still go "Wow!". Reading "Catching Fire" for the second time wasn't as edge-of-my-seat thrilling for me, but I did fly through it. And I got to see more inside of the author's head, because I wasn't so consumed with the suspense of it all. I was able to pick up on the clues I hadn't picked up on the first time around. And yet, it still wasn't in-your-face obvious. There was one part where bread keeps being delivered to the allies in the arena and Finnick is the one who always counts it out. I didn't pick up on this as being unusual until the third time the bread was delivered and I was like "Oh! The bread is a clue, isn't it?". But I still couldn't remember what it was a clue for. I found out a couple pages later that the district the bread came from stood for the day, and the number stood for the number of hours until rescue. But I didn't know this until Katniss knew it. I think a good book is one where you essentially are the character. You feel what they feel, you know what they know, and you love or hate who and what they love or hate. That is hard to do as an author. To make characters three-dimensional. But it shows up in books. The very best come alive in your hands, and the very worst stay paper and ink. It all starts with the characters.
Day Eight Song Recommendation: "Eyes" by Rogue Wave. And now that I've made eight song recommendations, I can make an 8tracks playlist! Here's the link to the Papersol 8tracks account, where you can listen to all of the songs I've recommended. Papersol Song Recommendations Days 1-8
-SE Wagner
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