BTT: Flavor

Think about your favorite authors, your favorite books . . . what is it about them that makes you love them above all the other authors you’ve read? The stories? The characters? The way they appear to relish the taste of words on the tongue? The way they’re unafraid to show the nitty-gritty of life? How they sweep you off to a new, distant place? What is it about those books and authors that makes them resonate with you in ways that other, perfectly good books and authors do not?


This is a truly complicated question. Several books stand out as favorites, all for different reasons. Reflecting on those that come to mind I would have to say that these books resonate with me due to what I was going through at the time I read them. I have fond memories of Anne of Green Gables as a child, most likely because I was coping with my parent's divorce. Anne is a strong, courageous character who overcame obstacles. I'm positive this is why I was drawn to her.
Old Jules by Mari Sandoz reminds me of living with my own angry father. It is one of my favorites because again, if Mari could do it then so can I. I related to many of her experiences even though she lived in the 19th c. When I read it my father was just being diagnosed with kidney failure and thus in need of a lot of assistance.
I have always loved the Harry Potter series because when you listen to them they sound so exciting. I enjoy the feeling of closing my eyes and listening to Harry's adventures. It's an escape from reality unlike any other audiobook I've ever listened to.
I've enjoyed Jeanette Winterson and Jhumpa Lahiri because of the emotion they write into their books. Winterson makes me think about feeling like I never have before, while Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies came at a time in my life where I was feeling lifeless. Reading the emotion helped re-spark life back into me.
Then there are those books like Carson McCullers's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and Carlos Bulosan's America is in the Heart that just remind me of growing up in small town USA. Bulosan because he traveled through the area I grew up in and McCullers because she captured the loneliness small towns often possess. I am proud of myself for not looking back after H.S. graduation. Small town life is just not for me.*

So, the flavor is really just what I'm experiencing in my life at the time I'm reading any book. I'm sure I'm not alone in this as many people read in search for parts of themselves they've never known or explored. I don't need self-help books, just the right book at the right time.




*Small is under 10,000 people. I am perfectly content in a city of 30,000 + or even seven million.