When searching for a book to read, we’re looking for one that will pique our interest–hold our attention for hours and days. It’s one we don’t want to put down, one that will make us think about the story, the characters, and stirs us to compare it to our world. We could spend days looking for such a book, one that we hope will inspire us and change our outlook on life–give us some insight too.
At some point, we find a book that appeals to us. We start reading. But what ends up happening is that after a few pages in, we get bored–become uninterested in the story. Even though the synopsis sounded exciting, the story doesn’t go anywhere. Nothing exciting happens. We start yawning every time we read a page. It’s one of those books that gets great reviews, but our experience doesn’t match them. It’s as if we’re reading a completely different book. That great book that they praised and lauded was nothing like what we read.
In reality, however, a great book isn’t one that we find. It’s one that we discover once we’ve finished it. But what makes a great book anyway? Every reader has their own criteria of what makes a great book. Perhaps one way to put it is one that we wish we could write. Or maybe it’s one that we would read again.
Fallton Havenstonne 