Good Books

With time a precious resource these days (husband and child and writing demanding my time as well as work, horses and day to day chores), I get little time to read. One of the ways I get my daily reading fix is by listening to talking books. What a great invention ladies and gentleman, talking books.

I have listened to great works of fiction as well as non fiction.

What do you think makes one book better than another?

I have bought books because I have heard the author interviewed and other people review it, only to be disappointed. And yet other authors, popular or not, I cannot get enough of.

My husband likes to tell the story of an interview he heard where the author said there are four kinds of books. There are those books that are written well and sell well, then there are books that are written well and do not sell well, as well as those books who are not written well and sell well and lastly books that are not written well and do not sell well.

I think a well written book is one that you do not want to end.

I just finished listening to John Grisham's Calico Joe (apologies for mis-spelling). He is such a great author. What a story teller. After listening to the book I am ready to go and watch a baseball match. Living in Australia and being originally from Germany I have little knowledge of baseball and seen even less. But the story was so well told I am ready to go and watch a match.

There are many more authors that inspire me and that I love to read, McCall Smith for example as well as Jeffrey Archer and Matthew Riley, and of course my husband. I take my hat of to all story tellers. It is a great skill to transport people to another world.

As I leave you today I am off to edit my romance novel and see if I can work out how to publish electronically without page numbers. Every day there is a new challenge.

Enjoy the weekend.

A dragon in the centre of this maze provides plenty of inspiration as one meanders along the path in Amazing Mazes at Arthurs Seat on the Mornington Peninsula.