Growing up, the one thing I remembered was that I loved curling on a sofa with a book when the rest of the house was asleep. It didn’t matter that it was in the wee hours of the morning.
That was the time when I could be by myself and plunge into a world made up of words. I used to love young adult novellas but I never lost my love for the classics.
And then I got into Stephen King’s horror and my world changed. My reading time was no longer limited to early morning. I had to read that horror novel all through the day until I had bags under my eyes. Time could pass and I couldn’t care less. It was only me and that book and the story that needed to unfurl.
Of course, life happens, people grow up and it is impossible to shell out that much time for a book now. Now it is back to reserving a time for reading and hope nothing important comes up then.
Which is why it is important that the book I’m reading is that good. That it pulls me in and make me forget the real world for just a tiny bit. Since I can no longer afford the time to browse through every book in the bookstore anymore, I obviously lean towards recommendations in the groups I have joined.
This year, I was finally able to devote some time to reading, although I have not updated my Goodreads list at all.
I pretty much waited the whole year for Stephen King’s book FAIRYTALE to come out. And when it did, for a while, none of the bookstores had it here. I had to rely on online stores to find a digital copy and finally I did.
I began reading it and couldn’t understand why some horror fans didn’t enjoy it as much. Sure there wasn’t any inclination towards horror at first. It was a story about a boy and his neighbor and the neighbor’s dog.
It was still enjoyable and still compelling. I have to admit that I am a fan of King’s earlier work and didn’t really take to his recent work. Fairytale was turning out to be an exception. I was looking forward to the next chapter.
Then the story abruptly changes around one-third into the book. The minute the neighbor’s secret is revealed, it starts to feel like a different story. For me, the connection was suddenly tattering.
The writing is excellent, of course. It does pull you in although the story lost its power over me. I am going to finish it, though. One day for sure.
The next book I left incomplete was Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell. Supposedly the story was inspired by the author’s own experience. The first half of the book is great. The threat seems real, and the horror scenes evoke a natural response. You do get scared as you read it.
But then…it became repetitive. And here’s something I thought I would never say about a story: there’s just too much going on.
I love fast-paced books. In fact I lose my patience when an author dwindles through the story and I have to read a whole page about some backstory that has no relevance to the events going on in the book. So I should have enjoyed the pace in Stolen Tongues except I didn’t.
When too much is going on, and too quickly, it no longer flows naturally into a story. The book taught me the importance of writing scenes that may not seem important to the story but are required to make the flow seamless.
There was something going on in literally every page without a respite to get to know how the characters are actually reacting to this incident. And things fall into place rather conveniently. I never thought the Rule of Three was so important.
The Rule of Three states that a characters must try to overcome adversities or hindrances, etc, at least thrice. And they must succeed only after the last try. It was supposed to keep the interest going.
I thought the Rule of Three was too obvious and no longer required in modern storytelling. I changed my mind. It does keep the interest going. Because in this story, most of the character’s problems are alleviated with a phone call, and people are so readily available for help.
I haven’t finished the book, yet and can only hope that it redeems itself to the standard it created for itself in the first few chapters. The first few chapters actually scare you.
The day has only begun now. And there is much to do before my allotted reading time.
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