Reading report - Faking It
Reading, for me, is right up there with breathing, eating, sleeping – absolutely essential life sustaining stuff. I not only read, I sample, browse, re-read, study and dissect . And I’m a moody reader.
Last week I’d earned a comfort read. For those of you not familiar with my brand of comfort - a definition.
A comfort read is not steamy sex. A comfort read is not heart thumping suspense. A comfort read is not profound. It is soothing, amusing, distracting and has enough meat to be sustaining.
Perusing the TBR shelves, I selected a vintage Jennifer Crusie, Faking It. Now there’s a problem with reading Jennifer Crusie, as it happens she wrote one of my favorite books, Anyone But You. I know it’s unfair of me, but every time I scan the first page of Crusie I’m hoping for the quirky, true and perfect love story.
Faking It started out fine. Crusie’s voice charmed, soothed and yes, comforted. There’s even a dog, Steve. He’s nervous and needy (obviously no Fred) but I can work with that. Jennifer Crusie has a wonderful talent. Her characterizations are fresh, vivid, engaging. Her craft is honed and sparkly. Her plots – no forget it. I’m pretty sure there are voodoo ceremonies involved in uneven attempts to unearth her stories structure.
Expectations are tricky. Reading an enchanting book puts an author on the must read list. Reading a disappointing book by a revered author shakes the faith.
For those compelled to form their own opinions -
Last week I’d earned a comfort read. For those of you not familiar with my brand of comfort - a definition.
A comfort read is not steamy sex. A comfort read is not heart thumping suspense. A comfort read is not profound. It is soothing, amusing, distracting and has enough meat to be sustaining.
Perusing the TBR shelves, I selected a vintage Jennifer Crusie, Faking It. Now there’s a problem with reading Jennifer Crusie, as it happens she wrote one of my favorite books, Anyone But You. I know it’s unfair of me, but every time I scan the first page of Crusie I’m hoping for the quirky, true and perfect love story.
Faking It started out fine. Crusie’s voice charmed, soothed and yes, comforted. There’s even a dog, Steve. He’s nervous and needy (obviously no Fred) but I can work with that. Jennifer Crusie has a wonderful talent. Her characterizations are fresh, vivid, engaging. Her craft is honed and sparkly. Her plots – no forget it. I’m pretty sure there are voodoo ceremonies involved in uneven attempts to unearth her stories structure.
Expectations are tricky. Reading an enchanting book puts an author on the must read list. Reading a disappointing book by a revered author shakes the faith.
For those compelled to form their own opinions -
posted by Evanne Lorraine at 11:30 AM
1 Comments:
I'll admit it, here in public. If I never get published, (surely that's impossible) I'll still like the fact that I have a spot on your comfort read list. :) Much thanks. Truth is, plots are difficult and not as much fun as writing comfort.
Sheila
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