I Read A Lot

That is the most boring title I've ever seen.

That doesn't make it less true, though. I do. I read a lot. A few weekends ago I read 9 books in two days. I also cleaned house, ran errands, wrote lesson plans, did several loads of laundry, and slept about 7 hours per night. Which is to say, I don't just read a lot. I read fast. Always have.

This is a skill that comes in mighty handy when I have 175 feature articles handed in on the same day and I need to read them all and make revision notes overnight. It does not come in handy for the purpose of book clubs. I'm always afraid to talk. What if I slip and say something about a plot point that the rest of the club hasn't gotten to yet? So I'm more a listener until everyone has finished. I don't mind.

I don't skim. I read. I feel this is an important distinction to make. I read for content just as much as anyone else. However, the fact I read so many novels in the same genre means things can get mixed up. I hate it, feel really guilty--like I'm betraying the author. But there's no help for it.

Because I read a little differently than a lot of people, I had to come up with my own system for making recommendations about books. I never expected to become the go-to gal for book recommendations, but being the writing specialist somehow came with the responsibility. I hate to tell my colleagues that I'm no more qualified to choose books than anyone else. It feels like failing if I don't at least try to help them find books they'll like. So, try I do.

My system for suggesting books is really simple: If I could read the next installment of a series without having to go back and reread the last to remember the plot, I feel good recommending it. That significantly cuts down on the books about which I feel comfortable extolling virtue. There are a lot of really great YA urban fantasy series that rocked my toe socks (toe socks, incidentally, are freaking weird if you think about it; why does each toe need its own snuggly pocket?). But, because of the way I read, some of the finer points don't hang around in my head for long. The ones that do, the ones I could recount in great detail months after putting them down, those are the ones I tell people about.

For instance, I read the entire Dark-Hunter series (including anthology short stories) in one week. That's got to be close to 30 separate stories with the majority being full length novels. And this is a seriously in-depth world Sherrilyn Kenyon has created. You have to remember a lot of stuff for it all to make sense (most important point to remember, Acheron belongs to me. Just saying.) Despite the intense world-building, constantly growing cast of characters, and important pieces of information you need to remember from book 1 to book 20-something, I could give a five minute book talk about every story. They're just that good. Or, in my system of recommendation, memorable. To me, that's what makes a book worth telling your friends about.

Just for the record, Dark-Hunter novels are not YA. Those have just been recommended to grown-up type ladies. But Kenyon has started a YA companion series. In case it ever comes up.

If you remember minor details a year later, it's a damn good book.

That's what I'm working on in my novels now. Making sure they're memorable.