Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Books -- Days 18-19 -- Not very helpful!

Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book

I don't know. Honestly, I remember very few details about most of the books I read, at least to this extent. Story line, now that I remember, usually anyway. But opening scene? Nahh. Not after the book's finished, anyway.

When I choose a book, I'll read the book cover information first, then thumb through and see if it captures my attention.

It depends on my mood, what I'm hungry for, whether I want candy that will let me escape into another life, another world, or whether I want something that will stick to my ribs and allow me to savor the words as they unfold. Most of the time I don't know which I want until I pick up a book.

Dan Brown's books usually begin with a bang, snatching you in immediately. Michael Crichton always did too, and sometimes Robin Cook.

But beyond that, I'm fairly useless on this question.

Day 19 – Favorite book cover

Oh please.

That old saying about not judging a book by its cover leaps to mind.

No doubt that some covers entice you to open the book. Bodice-rippers, with covers featuring half-dressed, curly-tressed buxom women being caressed by muscular, mostly naked attractive men, promise intense passion and provide very formulaic plots, but there can be comfort in the expected.

I know that lots of time, skill, and calculation go into planning of book covers, but I don't believe I've ever bought a book based on its cover or its title. I'm not exactly the prime marketing candidate, am I.

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