Sunday, June 3, 2018

Best Selling Lists

PBS recently posted a list of the 100 most popular American books of all time, called The Great American Read. I took a look at the list, which was filled with best-sellers. Since I spend most of my time reading romance novels, it came as no surprise to me that I was only able to cross off maybe 30 of the PBS list. Determined to expand my horizons this summer I went to the library and picked up one from the list.

Shouldn't have started with The Handmaid's Tale.



As most of you know, I've been rereading Stephen King's great book On Writing. One of his mantras is that in order to become a great writer, you need to write a lot and read a lot. Given the man's schedule, I was surprised to find he reads about 80 books a year. If he can do it...

But not with The Handmaid's Tale. Too depressing. I like happy endings. I write happy endings. But I don't think Margaret Atwood would appreciate me putting a happy ending on her book.

Fortunately, Stephen graciously supplied a list of the best books he's read. I'm taking back The Handmaid's Tale and selecting one from Stephen's list instead. Maybe The Secret Life Of Bees. 




How about you? What are you reading this summer?

6 comments:

  1. I think you will like The Secret Life of Bees better than The Handmaid's Tale. I certainly did. I am reading Dune again. I've lost track of how many times I have read this most-favorite book. And I am voting for it every day in The Great American Read contest. Don't expect that it will beat Harry Potter but I've got to go with my heart.

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  2. I need a summer book. I think I'll pull Sleeping Beauties out from my pile and start spending some quality King time.

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    1. Good choice. This one is a Stephen King epic that he co-wrote with one of his sons. Very compelling story.

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    2. My trip to the library today resulted in not only The Secret Life of Bees but also The Other Lady Vanishes by Amanda Quick. Love her.

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    3. And Lynn--any time with King is quality time.

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