There are a lot of reasons to love a book—simple entertainment, to evoke emotion, to escape our lives. Then there’s laughter, intrigue, or to simply fawn over the beauty of lyrical prose. I kinda wish I had written ALL THE BOOKS (ok, yeah, maybe not all of them), but here’s a teeny tiny sampling of those that make the top of the list:
FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY
How could I not say the Harry Potter series? If not for the brilliant plotting, for the BILLIONS of dollars J.K. Rowling hauled in, the utter respect from her colleagues and the industry, and there’s all of those red carpet events and the fame. So yeah…
FOR LAUGHS, FOOD FOR THE SOUL, AND ERR, SHOCK VALUE
Bring on Tom Robbin’s FIERCE INVALIDS, HOME FROM HOT CLIMATES. I adore this man’s books, but this is my favorite of the bunch. This novel is satirical and chock full of inappropriate comments and philosophical maxims. He manages to mix all of that with a wildly odd plot line and a love story.
FOR THE BEAUTY OF PROSE
I’m going to cheat and squeeze in two books here, though there are many I could list. AHAB’S WIFE by Sena Jeter Naslund and THE PAINTED GIRLS by Cathy Marie Buchanan for a more recent novel, are a couple of novels whose lines I have reread and reread simply because they are beautiful and I wanted to somehow absorb their perfection into my brain.
FOR SHEER READING PLEASURE
I wish I had written the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. These books are packed with her sparkling wit, bawdy scenes, and snappy dialogue that made me laugh out loud, and the best, most important thing of all (to me)–the endearing characters. The characters in this book are unforgettable, lovable, and detestable, the variety that you NEVER forget. Throw in a love story that makes you ache and it qualifies as one of my favorite novels of all time.
What reasons do you pick up a book?
I love the different categories you’ve included here, Heather. I’m reading the Harry Potter series right now, for the first time, and there are definitely moments when I wish I’d written them!
Yes, it’s not my favorite series ever, but I did enjoy it a lot and even the movies were fun. The series gets better as you keep going, IMO. 🙂
Under the “for love of money” category, I’m gonna say I wish I wrote the HUNGER GAMES trilogy, too.
Yes! I would certainly be okay with that, too. LOL. Or, hell, maybe Gone Girl as well.
Thanks for being honest about why you wish you’d written Harry Potter. I do too, and for the same reasons. 🙂
Right? Anyone who says otherwise is a big liar. Who wouldn’t want billions of dollars and respect from her peers? I mean, come on. 🙂
I love the Harry Potter series, especially Book 1. There are so many reasons I pick up books – either the cover appeals, or I’ve had a recommendation from a friend, or I read a review. I’m always on the lookout for a new favorite.
Same here! And I love books for many many reasons, each of them in a different way, like children or lovers, errr…I’ll shut up now before I saw something stupid.