What do authors love to read?
Sara Niles
Author of The Torn Trilogy
There many types of books, science fiction, crime drama,
philosophy, fiction and nonfiction, but the one thing they all hold in common
with best sellers is the writing. Good writing spans all genres of books, from
the terse and concentrated style of writers like Ernest Hemingway to the
elaborate long winded style of Thomas Wolf or the florid style of Danielle
Steele.
Some writers capitalize on the brilliance of their own
intricate storytelling with twists and turns in every chapter, a rising crescendo
of suspense and a satisfying conclusion that makes the reader happy to be where
they are in real life, that is safe and alive, after an escape in to thrilling
fantasy rife with danger.
Agatha Christie is one of, if not the most prolific author
with over one hundred books and short stories published, not counting the plays
and many other works. The best-selling book And Then There Were None (formerly
Ten Little Indians), is one of the best-selling books of all time. So what is
appealing about Christie as an author? The answer is simple; she was able to
marry the skill of great storytelling with good writing.
Stephen King, John Grisham as well as a long list of other
best-selling authors hold the talent to write well and tell a good story in common,
which of course, explains their continuous ability to create best- selling
books. If you have ever searched high and low for a good book to read, you may
have come to appreciate the skill required to write one.
Although taste in books is an individual thing, I love to
read almost any style of writing if the writing is good and the story is
believable and compelling and I delight in finding a new treasure. While doing
my usual Saturday morning garage sale foraging, I discovered one such treasure
in the form of Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent, a book written in the late 1980’s
when it first became a runaway bestselling book which was made into a movie in
1990.
So what was my reaction after reading Presumed Innocent?
“I just completed
Presumed Innocent (1987) by Scott Turow (Hardcopy edition) and was impressed
significantly-not simply by the skillfully written story but by the skill of
his writing. The entire book flows with literary gems, even normal reflection
is laden with deep insight, literary metaphors and beautifully worded
phraseology” (Excerpt from my book review of Presumed Innocent)
Now I feel compelled to read Turow’s latest works in the hopes
that the author consistently produced in the style of his first masterpiece.
