FINDING PRIME REAL ESTATE BETWEEN THE COVERS OF A BOOK

"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend."  Paul Sweeney

I absolutely love to read.  I keep several books going at a time - and it is wonderfully convenient now that I have a Kindle.  It is a rare experience, however, to find a book that haunts me long after it is over.  When you go into a bookstore - you pass rack after rack of reduced books...books that were once best-sellers and are now available at bargain basement prices.  I was in Barnes and Noble the other day, and I was amazed by how many of them I had read...and couldn't really remember.  They had been interesting enough when I was reading them...I kept turning the pages...but they didn't stay with me. 

There have been books that I carry inside me forever.  Some that come to mind right now are:  Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life Of Bees, Markus Zusak's, The Book Thief, Kathryn Stockett's, The Help, and Jodi Picoult's, My Sister's Keeper (the book is FAR BETTER than the movie.) 

And, there is the ever-popular series format.  The Harry Potter books certainly paved the way for readers and writers to remain attached to their favorite characters for quite awhile.  Two other great series of books are the Pendragon Series by D. J. MacHale, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan.  I could also include the Twilight Series here...but that has received enough publicity!

There is a huge difference between reading a book and writing one...besides the obvious.  For a reader, no matter how engaging the book is, a reader will finish it and put it down - and find another book to read.  For a writer, we may be living with our characters and their story for weeks, months and maybe years.   So we better be sure it is a place we really want to be, since we will be taking up residence there for quite some time.

So, how about you?  What books have you read lately that you had wished would never end?