WHAT THIS READER LOOKS FOR

This week I have a very special houseguest and a major project on the go, so both my posting and my book review will be short and sweet. However, as nothing can keep me from a good read, I promise you that my suggestion will lead you towards an excellent reading experience.

Before I get to the review though, let me tell you about an article I found in the September 2008 issue of The Writer magazine called “What Do Readers Love In A Story? Let Us Count The Ways”. The article, found on page 13 and written by Laura Yeager, outlines some of the qualities a reader looks for in fiction. Her goal was to enlighten writers as to what they should be delivering to their audience when creating good fiction. However, her article also highlighted for me the distinct qualities I try to find when looking for a book and got me thinking about what you, my own readers, might be looking for. I figure, if you are seeking literary direction from this blog, it would be very important to know what kind of stories you like, especially in comparison to the stories I tend to read.

Truthfully, I do make every effort to step outside of my comfort reading zone but sometimes that is not as fun as simply going with my first choice. So, with that in mind, I am going to clearly outline, using Laura Yeager’s list, what qualities I look for in a book which should lend you some insight into the types of books I might review in the future.

Laura Yeager’s list for what readers look for in a story included the following;

• Escape


• Inspire positive social change


• Laughs


• Intellectual


• Challenge


• Predictability


• Happy Endings


• Surprise


• Suspense


• Creative


• Analysis of the world (Philosophical)


• ‘Visible’ characters and settings (very descriptive writing)


• Chance to learn something new


• A Connection with the characters.


• Story Resolution or a change in the character


• Complete absorption in a story or meditative effect

After reading it through carefully, I realized that when I pick up a book, I tend to look for all of the qualities Yeager lists, albeit at different times. Sometimes I’m looking for the great awakening, searching out a book that specifically delves into philosophical and intellectual arenas. Other times, I am exhausted from the chaos of my own world and I relish laughter, predictability and happy endings. However, regardless of my mood, what I am always looking for in a book is the “big escape”, the opportunity to completely immerse myself in another realm undisturbed by the current one I occupy. For me a possible read offers one of these qualities and a great read offers them all. But the ultimate book choice guarantees me both the escape and absorption I always crave.

How about you? What do you look for?

Water for Elephants
Author: Sarah Gruen
Published by Harper Collins, 2007

I fought the reading of this book from the moment the ticket was pulled out of the book box at my book club gathering. Who the hell wanted to read about elephants! And I was never a circus person, anyway. Not just because I am aware of the huge animal rights issues, but more because I simply always found the circus to be somewhat off-kilter. While circuses don’t exactly scare me, they make me incredibly uncomfortable. So with this choice I was left keenly aware of the dragging of my bookish heels. Eventually, though, I had to pick the book up and when I finally did, I was hard pressed to put it down again.

Sara Gruen is a very good writer, who strongly reminds me of the eccentric tale-telling style of John Irving. Her book opened vividly and was held together, from beginning to end, with intelligent and witty detail. Her characters were especially human and perfectly imperfect all tied together in the subtlest of ways so typically found in a community. However, what was most indicative of Sara Gruen’s talents was her ability to take Ruby, the elephant, normally delegated to a sideshow presence, and bring about this deeply soulful character. Through Ruby, Gruen, communicated an unwritten story that was as deep and complex as any of her human characters and she did so with grace and nuance.

The only fault I could find in Water for Elephants was the pacing of the book itself. At first, I found that Gruen began her story at a steady pace toggling between past and present, yet managing to keep me in the loop at all times. I even appreciated her subtle trickery with her opening scene which you find later, plays out slightly different than you assumed initially. However, the speed at which her ending suddenly arrived, passed, and then, suddenly again, kept on going, threw me completely off course. It felt like Gruen attempted to gather up all the loose ends in one quick swipe but then changed her mind at the last minute and attempted to keep the story going. Much like hearing the word fire screeched loudly on an otherwise slow and dreamy Sunday afternoon, I was left somewhat wheezy and confused, and annoyed at being either. However, after recovering from this sudden switch, I did very much enjoy the peace Gruen restored to her story and I put down her book with a smile after her final dedication to Topsy and Old Mom in the author’s notes.

Overall, this was a great and easy read. Smoothly created, with attention to the true beauty of all that lives on this planet, Sara Gruen’s Water For Elephants shared with me the potential power of humanity and the devastating possibilities when it is absent.

Favourite line from the book…

I am ninety. Or ninety-three One or the other. (Page 5)