What are you reading?

Okay, today were going to try something new. Today, I want to hear from you. I want to know what books you are reading and enjoying. I want to know how you came to read the book. Was it recommended? Were you drawn to it by the cover? What kind of covers to do you like? Any covers you don’t like? Did you read a review and think it sounded good and just had to get it?

Then I want to know what pulls you into a book? Is it the characters? Is it the plot? Do you always read a certain type of book? Or do you venture out in different genres?

How long do you give a book to pull you in? Do you read the first page and if it doesn’t’ grab you, do you toss it? Or do you give the book one chapter? And make sure you tell me if you are also a writer. I think writers sometimes read differently.

And because I never expect you to answer questions that I don’t, here are my answers:

I recently read Susan Andersen’s, Bending The Rules. I loved it. I’ve bought, Lori Wilde’s “The Sweetheart’s Knitting Club” but I haven’t read it yet. I also bought Susan E. Phillips latest book and haven’t read it yet either. I read six "Rita" books, but because it's a contest, I can't tell you the names. But I had several that were really good.

These above authors are pretty much automatic buys for me. But I do regularly pick up books just because of the cover. I will then read the back cover blurb and a few pages before I invest in it. I think I buy most of my books due to recommendations. Someone will say, “This author was so good.” And I’ll have to go find out for myself. I also read Romantic Times Magazine and will sometimes read a review and then go pick up the book. Do any of you read Romantic Times Magazine?

What pulls me into a book is a character that I want to love. It can be either the hero or heroine, but they need to intrigue me. It can be a great plot, but if I don’t care about the people, I will probably set it down. I read across the board in all genres: historicals, contemporaries, young adult, and paranormal. But not a whole lot of fantasy. I will give a book about 25 pages and if it hasn’t pulled me by then, it usually gets placed in my “maybe someday” pile. There’re too many in that pile right now. And since I did clean off some of the books I'm probably not going to read, I will be shopping for some great reads to build up my to-be-read pile. So come on, recommend some great reads and educate me in how you choose a book.

Oh, and because I always try to offer one little chuckle: My son, who is in Pennsylvania at school, called me the other day and said, “Mom, something is wrong with my refrigerator.”
“What is it?” I asked.
He said, “It doesn’t produce food like the one we have at home. I keep opening the door and checking, but it’s just not working.”

Hey, you gotta love those kids. Now, make sure you let me know what books you are reading.

CC