Thursday, January 24, 2013

Together on Tuesday: What Us ToT Writers Read

This week, we the writers, decided to turn the critical eye back around on ourselves.
What do I read?

I am embarrassed to admit, that I just have not been reading like I should as of late.  It certainly isn't for a lack of books or other reading materials.  I just choose to do other things rather than read, and admittedly, I really need to change that bad habit.  Being the daughter of an avid reader, I can say without doubt that my Mother would scold me if she new how little I was reading these days!

Firstly, I will tell you that my favorite book is The Great Gatsby.  I just love the story, the literary tools that are used in the writing, and I also just have a general affection for stories set in that particular time period.  If you have not read this book, I strongly recommend it.

My second favorite book is To Kill A Mockingbird.  I just feel like it is a story that we can all learn from.  The story is just chocked full of life lessons.  I also love that the story is told through the perspective of a child growing up in the midst of a huge local controversy while trying to understand what all the grown-ups are so embattled with one another over.  All the while the children are also exploring life and mysterious people (enter Boo Radley...).

I also LOVE reading Agatha Christie books.  Specifically, her Hercule Poirot detective series.  One of the reasons that I like these books is that they really do keep me guessing right up to the very end.  As I've read through many of these books, I made a point to cast a critical eye on whether there was some tell-tale giveaway early on that reveals the 'whodunnit' part of the story, I have not found one.  I've also been mindful to look for a 'cookie cutter' footprint to her stories....asking myself, "is there a common thread throughout her books that make them predictable?"  To date, that answer is still no, not one that I have found.  She really did uniquely weave the story line and plot of each of her books.  While there are a number of common characters across the series, each mystery seems unique to itself.  I love that about her writing.  In recent years, I have drastically slowed down the rate at which I have been reading through the series.  I really want to get back into them.  One of my goals has always been to read every book in her Hercule Poirot series.

The book that I started reading last summer but did not get very far into was The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo.  It is the first book in a trilogy, and I need to challenge my self to read the entire series.  The author was Swedish and the story takes place in Sweden - so I did find that I was having to look up a number of words used in the book that I was not familiar with, so that did make it a bit more 'work' to read, but broadening my vocabulary certainly is no reason to not continue though the book, albeit at a slower pace than I would normally read.

Of course, I also always read the other ToT blogs!  We each bring a unique perspective to every topic, so I am always very eager to read what the other ladies have to say and see how we approach each topic differently!  That being said, use the links I've provided to hop over and find out what the other ladies recommend for good reads!  Go on now...scram!!

So, besides the ToT weekly blogs, what do you read??  Please share in the comment section below!

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