Serial Readers

I’m sooooooo not one of those people. I hate it when I’m asked whose author’s work I follow and adore above all others. Like to be an author’s groupie is the vogue thing to do. I honestly feel that if I tell the truth about my book selecting process, these Serial Readers will look down their noses and judge my passion for reading and writing as just some hobby or passing whim. The truth is when I pick up a book and decide whether to read it or not, the last thing that crosses my mind is the author’s name. I know, I know, how gauche of me! When I pick up a book I: Step 1- I read the title and jacket. I think this is because of my marketing background. I feel that if an effort wasn’t taken to present me with something remotely interesting and thought invoking than obviously no one else thought it was appealing either. The name of a book is so important!

Step 2- I consider the cover art and how it must connect somehow with the story. Again I feel that if an attempt wasn’t taken to present me with something eye catching than obviously no one else thought it was worth the time it took to think about it a bit more. Harsh, I know, but cover art matters. Warning: This is the artist in me going ape-shit at all the ridiculous covers of sci-fi and romance novels out there. Sure there might be a great story behind one of these eye sores, but I don’t want to be seen in public holding or reading it! Enter stupid sounding voice, “Hey look! This is what the aliens must look like. Holy shit! The chicks are hot in this book!” I don’t want a picture!! I want the author to DESCRIBE the aliens or characters to me than I will paint the picture in my mind! Erg!!

Step 3- I’ll maybe read the first few pages of the book. I don’t do this often though, if Step 1 and 2 didn’t clinch things for me and something is telling me to give this book a chance I’ll read a bit of it. I can never devote myself to a few authors I think write well; although I admire many. I like to sample numerous different storytellers works in a plethora of different genres. I rarely pick up a novel from an author I've already read unless it's a sequel or the title and jacket sounds amazing. I prefer the single magical encounter that I have when I read a book and the author is fresh to me. The voice of the story is spanking new and the plot is original and has nothing to measure up against. When I do read more than one book from an author I tend to find patterns in characters, story arks, and even dialog. Which allows me to predict everything that will happen in the book with almost 93.59% accuracy. LOL! I like to keep the author’s work unblemished and honored in my mind much like a chance smile shared with a beautiful stranger.

Are you a Serial Reader?

Peace out! Stella