Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Why Do Books Excite You? #reading

Mmm, yummy.


That's my question for you today. Why do books get you excited?

I'm thinking about my own crazy behavior lately: staying up all freakin night to finish MOCKINGJAY, then till 3:30am to finish the sequel to EVERMORE; in between times, sifting through the incredible (and copious) contests available right now at WriteOnCon.com. Holy book giveaways, Batman!

And I have to reflect a little on what it is about fiction that gets me so stinking excited...

Is it the new book smell?

Is it the Disney effect?

Is it the unreal other-worldliness?

Is it the prestige of saying, "oh yes, I read that in one sitting, minus bathroom breaks"?

Is it the vicarious thrill of experiencing an adventure through someone else's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose? (Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes, knees and toes.)

Is it the sense of completion, that all is right with the world, when the last page is turned and there are no further epilogues to be read?

Why do I love fiction so much?

Why do you?

7 comments:

  1. I'm supposed to stop reading for bathroom breaks?? I do some of my best reading in there!

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  2. LOL! I had that same (gross) thought while writing it. I won't tell if you don't.

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  3. Wow. You pretty much nailed all of my reasons. The books that suck me in and make me refuse to put them down, then stay with me for days (or even longer) afterwards are what excite me. Ones where I feel as though I could *be* that MC, where I feel what they're feeling, and see what they're seeing. Those are the books that excite me.

    Oh, and also, I never forget the books that made me laugh. They stick with me much longer (and make me re-read them) much more than the ones that made me cry!

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  4. Jessica, yes! I'll rave about books that make me cry, but I only re-read the ones that make me smile.

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  5. I LOVE how you can sit in your lounge room, or wherever, and travel off to this amazing place, which sucks you in and doesn't let you go until you've read the very last page! Hopefully. If the book is fantastic. And there's always that excitement of wondering if the book you're about to start reading will be the one to keep you up all night long, spellbound...

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  6. I don't know why. I just know I do it! Right now? It's Personal Demons. I forced myself to go to bed though, so I'll be finishing it tonight. If I can hold out that long.

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  7. Books that make me laugh, cry, grip me with their great psychological portrayals, I love mystery suspense, but not so much gore, I love to learn about other people in their autobiogs but less so in biogs because again the psychology element. I love books that wrap their beautiful language around you as they take you on a journey.

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