Reading has been, and continues to be, one of my favorite things to do. You can imagine my delight when someone advised “Read everything you can and always ‘read up’.” That is, read writers who are better at their craft than you are. And, read out of your favorite genre to broaden your understanding. Reading is educational for a writer.
One of my problems is a desire to devour a book rapidly, especially when its written by one of my favorite authors. When that happens I miss some of the ‘educational’ nuances that a writer appreciates and may use in her own writing. For instance, in one of the books I’ve read a child is held captive in the climax of the novel. The hero is facing the child while the villain has an arm around her neck. Earlier in the book the hero and child had exchanged remarks about Through the Looking Glass and the Jabberwock who has fierce teeth and nails.
The hero makes a remark about their secret of enjoying reading and what the Jabberwock does. The child gets the hint and bites the villain’s arm, which makes her rescue possible. That is a terrific ending to a tense scene and I hope I can use some variation in the future. In my rapid reading I might cruise past the early scene between the hero and child.
But, my point is: I go back and reread books that I enjoy and the second read is slow and savory. Every word is delicious.
Photo is by Laura Kapfer in Unsplash.
