Books HD

As a life long book lover I have read great literature, bestsellers, fluff, chick-lit, thrillers, biographies, diaries, and lots of everything else.  I do not like to be without a book on the go.  Any given week I am reading a hard copy book, listening to an audiobook, (great for while I am painting), and just for in-between times I read graphic novels in French.

I read non-fiction too, but I am a sucker for a good story so I tend toward fiction as my first choice.  I have lost sleep, been distracted by, and agonized over a character’s circumstances in a work of fiction.  I have wondered why would an author deliver tragedy to a favourite character?  On occasion, I have felt betrayed by the author — why would you create a lovable character and then kill them off?  Why? Why?

I wish things for characters; like why couldn’t Scarlett realize that Rhett was perfect for her in a way that that noble wimp Ashley never would have been?  Why? 

I have come to accept that it is the conflict, the circumstances, the tragedies, the dramatic turns that make the story.  If Scarlett had recognized her true nature and stopped trying to be the gentle Southern woman her Mother was, where would the story come from?  It might have still been a great tale, but it would not have been Gone With the Wind. 

The story is the author’s domain.  The reader can rail and wail all she or he wants, but the twists and tragedies befalling our beloved characters are the author’s choice.  If the characters are not faced with challenging circumstances then we as readers never get a chance to see how they rally, how they rise above, or how they cope with failure.  And maybe we don’t get to learn anything.  Perhaps we chase our personal white whales without realizing our lack of balance. Or, perhaps through recognizing Captain Ahab’s obsessive single-mindedness we are alerted to the same qualities in ourselves. Hence the purpose of the great story.

Whether or not Harold and Bella ever get together remains my domain.  New episode posted at  Contentment is for Cows.

Your comments, questions, ideas and suggestions are always welcome.  You can choose between Facebook, Twitter, or the contact button.  

If you haven’t already, sign up for this blog, a weekly post to alert you to when the latest scene has been posted.

Enjoy!