Tag Archives: reading

The Reviews I Don’t Write…

In January I decided to blog about every book I finished. This commitment made me aware of how many books I begin but never finish. I really wasn’t aware of it.

Many things entice readers to want to read a book. A friend might talk incessantly about a story, or a book cover might catch our attention, or the blurb on a back cover might create an interest.

But when a reader delves into chapter one, something has to happen so the reader continues to read, and that is what this post is about.

First of all, the first chapter needs to deliver on promises a ”blurb” might have made.  I don’t care what happens in chapter two,  the writer MUST deliver on promises they make in the blurb. If the writer promised a mystery, don’t start off with a romance. If the writer promised a romance, don’t begin the story with a dead body.

Secondly, only write what is necessary to move the story along. If a murder takes place, make sure it is not “blood for blood’s sake” but blood that is necessary in the plot. If the main character’s grandparents are relevant to the plot then, by all mean, mention them. But there is no reason to tell us everything about a character’s past. That is snoozeville. Readers only want details that are relevant.

Thirdly, it’s the characters we invest time in and learn to love (or hate). But we don’t need to know everything about their past, and every time they change clothes we don’t need to hear every detail about their clothing, and we don’t need to know what they ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

There are many characters in novels but the writer only needs to name or describe the important ones. The doorman might be named Henry Smithers and he might be obese with warts on the end of his nose but, if the only thing he does is open the door in one scene, then just call him the doorman. Don’t give him a name and make him so colorful that he distracts from the story or main characters.

When I begin reading a novel I want to lose myself in the story. But, time is precious, and I’m not going to spend time reading something that doesn’t deliver and, I’m definitely not going to write a review about something I didn’t read.

This is why my reviews are usually positive. If I read the book, it’s because I liked it.

If I don’t read a book, it’s because I didn’t like it. And those are the reviews I don’t write.

The Cabinet of Curiosities

I just finished reading The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. This writing team is a “dynamic duo” because their books never disappoint, their stories are always filled with interesting facts that are interspersed with fiction to create an intellectually stimulating reading experience.

One of my all-time favorite characters, F.B.I. Agent Pendergast returns to center-stage in The Cabinet of Curiosities. Much of the story takes place in the New York Museum with Pendergast interacting with Nora Kelly (another favorite Preston-Child character).

The story begins when bones are discovered in an old tunnel underneath New York City. The bones belong to murder victims and are over a hundred years old. A reporter writes about the bones and copycat murders follow. Pendergast works to tie the old and new murders together and, true to the brilliant plotting of this “dynamic duo”, the ending has a surprise twist that will not disappoint the reader.

I read The Cabinet of Curiosities on my Kindle. It is available for sale on Amazon.

I Spent the Weekend with James Patterson

Well, I sort of spent the week-end with James Patterson.

On Friday I went to the library and  found TWO James Patterson books I had not read yet. So, I checked both out and read them this week-end.

Whenever I’m in the mood for a fast-moving, thrill-a-minute read, I go for a James Patterson book. I’ve never been disappointed and I wasn’t disappointed this week-end.

The two books I read were NOW YOU SEE HER by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, and KILL ME IF YOU CAN by James Patterson and Marshal Karp.

The protagonist in Now You See Her is a female lawyer who is also a single mother.  She has a secret from her college days that catches up with her eighteen years later. I loved the relationship between the mother and her daughter. As with most Patterson stories, there’s a twist at the end most readers won’t see coming.

In Kill Me If You Can the protagonist Matthew Bannon is an art student who falls in love with an art teacher. This story kept me guessing from page one to the end. Of the two books I liked this one the best. It seemed like every chapter brought a new surprise. The one thing I really liked about this story is how many layers there were to the protagonist’s character.

Neither of these books will disappoint. Both are solid plot-driven stories that are hard to put down once you start them.

In case you are wondering, both of these books are available for purchase on Amazon.