Skip to main content

I Couldn't Put The Book Down

Good Afternoon everyone,

Most people have at least one. You know, that book that you've read, loved, fantasized over the possibilities of what happened to the characters after "The End". Books that inspire, touch our hearts, leave us wanting more. Or even books that leave us perfectly satisfied after the last page.

For me, there's several on my list that fit several of those descriptions.

I've read Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice at least 3 times. Mr. Darcy...awesome, awesome. And I do like the BBC's miniseries that did a good job of portraying the book.

I read Maureen Daly's Seventeenth Summer over and over again as a teenager (well at least twice, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was more than twice LOL).

I've devoured Lurlene McDaniel's books, particularly Don't Die My Love, reading and re-reading them over and over; particularly A Rose For Melinda.

I've read Georgette Heyer's The Grand Sophy at least twice, if not more, as well as Friday's Child more than once. (Still love both books). Also, Sylvester Or The Wicked Uncle at least twice. (Just laughed reading The Grand Sophy, Sophy was a funny character). Or, of course, These Old Shades (also excellent).

I've read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga twice all the way through (especially in preparation for The Twilight Saga: New Moon movie coming out in November). I thought the series was fun, and one of those that has the power to pull the reader into the story.

Of course, there's the books that we read once, but we love every single of them so much, that when another comes out in the series we have to rush out and buy them.

For me this includes Laura Childs' Tea Shop Mysteries. I simply have to know what's going to happen with Theodosia and I own every one of the Mysteries up to the most recent published one (Oolong Dead).

Or there's ones that you enjoy because the characters grab your attention and the dialogue is witty. Kerrelyn Sparks' Love At Stake makes me laugh out loud.

Ciara Gold got me to decide that I could read a Sci-Fi novel when I picked up Celestial Dragon. (I liked the elements of futuristic being weaved with more historical type significance).

Or take me on a ride through different possibilities in Historical England when I read Kim Lenox's Night Falls Darkly. (I found her work quite imaginative).

Of course, there's Nicholas Sparks' A Walk To Remember, that I just can't get over. I've read several of his novels and so far that one is my favorite. I even own the movie starring Mandy Moore and Shane West.

There are just some books out there that grab you and hang on. There's ones that I sit there and think "That was just a gentle read. Just a nice story with a nice ending." Richard Paul Evans' Christmas Box series and several of his other novels have done that for me. He writes gently--everything is just heartstrings and pure human emotion.

There's several other books I could mention, but that would make this post super long and I don't want to bore anyone LOL.

But I can only hope that one day--if I'm so blessed as to be published (and even before being published) people will say that about my novels, "I couldn't put it down!" things like "I loved it." Or even "So and so character cracked me up." Or, "I want more, what happens now???" I have some people saying that when I let them read (or read aloud) any of my manuscripts to tell me what they think...and every time it makes me smile...I feel like I'm glowing. It's high praise and I'm extremely delighted every time someone says "I really liked thus and so character" or "That part where thus and so thing happened was great." Or "This scene was fabulous." Of course, constructive criticism in order for me to improve is always a good thing, but I do like those nice compliments, too. I wouldn't mind having a novel out that people couldn't put down. I'd consider it a great gift.

So tell me, what are the books you read that either you read over and over again or you just love so much you can't help but gush over the story, characters, et cetera? What about your own writing? Whether published or unpublished has someone said they just loved your work?


Have A Marvelous Monday!

Comments

Regina Quentin said…
Not to sound repetitive but I LOVE Pride & Prejudice. As silly as it may seem, I still love Nancy Drew (because of my childhood memories). I like all of Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason novels and I am a huge fan of Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mysteries. I could read those again and again! I love books. Barnes & Noble is one of my favorite places to be.
Bethany said…
Regina,

The Hannah Swenson novels are good. And Barnes & Noble is one of the best establishments our society has. Nothing is as inviting to me as shelves of books and a cup of coffee. There's something so cozy about the two. (Of course, if you're a tea drinker, and I like some teas, don't worry Starbucks also sells tea).
Stephanie Faris said…
Nicolas Sparks drives me absolutely batty. Every book, the main male character dies. Okay, maybe not every book...but a movie was on our movie channel that was based on one of his books and I told my boyfriend, I'm gonna watch this but I know how it'll end. He's going to die. So then it became about figuring out how and why he was going to die...which, of course, he did. I knew it would have to make sense in the end, somehow...that the heroine would have to learn some big life lesson out of it. Ugh.

Anyway, I loved The Stand when I was a teen, by Stephen King. I always liked to imagine what happened to those characters after The End.
Bethany said…
Stephanie,

Oh well. I like "A Walk To Remember". Personally, I think it's one of his best.

I'm afraid to read Stephen King because I think his stories will scare me. Nothing against his writing at all, just that I hear he's a very vivid writer and I'm not sure I could handle it. But I want to read his "On Writing". And like I said, nothing against King's writing, I just never had the guts to read his books.

Popular posts from this blog

Get Thee A Nom De Plume!

Good Evening One & All, Shakespeare wrote in Romeo & Juliet, "What's in a name?...A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Disney talked about names in Aladdin in the lyrics, "Better get a nom de plume ." (the song, "One Jump"). So, for a writer, what does a nom de plume (or, pen name) say about the author? It could be a different spelling of the author's name, it could be a name that has a significance. They could keep their first name, but change the last, or change both. A pen name is also the name a writer will write under for his or her books. The name that his or her readers will recognize them. The name on the autographs and the one where people will say, "Oh yes, that's so and so, they wrote..." Some authors write under their own names. Others, for a variety of reasons, choose a pen name. What about you? Are you considering a pen name? What have you looked at when thinking of your nom de plume ? For myself, I&

Gregori Celebrates My Birthday

Happy Tuesday All, ****CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED**** In honor of my birthday (that was on Oct. 15th) I am doing TWO give aways! The FIRST one is TODAY!  Today's give away is a copy of Kerrelyn Sparks' Sexiest Vampire Alive . Kerrelyn, being the awesome person that she is, has agreed to give a signed copy of the novel to ONE lucky commenter on my blog. Here's how it's going to work and please read all instructions CAREFULLY. ONE entry PER person : If you choose to email in your entry: Email to this email ONLY .  Your email should state who your favorite vampire is. And no, it does NOT have to be one of Kerrelyn Sparks' characters, but that would be really cool if you DID mention one of hers. If you choose to enter by commenting on my blog: Leave your FIRST name, email address, and what vampire is your favorite. It can be ANY vampire--but like I said, it would be really cool if you mention a Kerrelyn Sparks' vampire. You don't know Kerrelyn Spa

Fangs and Mistletoe

Happy Wednesday All, Congratulations to Sarah K. who won the Tess St. John giveaway. Please confirm receipt of the email I sent you to claim your prize! ****KERRELYN SPARKS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED . Thank you to all who particpated. A special thank you to Kerrelyn Sparks for providing the prize.**** Merrily the December Days Blog Giveaway keeps going! ***THIS GIVEAWAY IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED. It was closed on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 10:30 p.m. Central Time per the giveaway details. I am no longer accepting entries to this giveaway*** If you haven't had the fun of reading a Kerrelyn Sparks paranormal romance, then you're in for a treat. Kerrelyn is offering to one lucky winner a signed copy of her fun and fangtastic novel, All I Want For Christmas Is A Vampire: Toni's friend is in the hospital going on about vampires. Toni will prove her right. But can she resist Ian's charm, in spite of his fangs? As always, the book is full of Kerrelyn's wit, ro