Here’s the game: I tell a quick summary (no spoilers of course) and you guess the title.
Ok. First one. It’s about this girl who is in love with her best friend’s boyfriend. And she doesn’t want to hurt her friend so she won’t make a move. But as things go on, everything changes, and she and he fall in love, but she still keeps her best friend at the end. Which book is it?
How ‘bout this one: This girl is a nobody at school. She has this best friend who’s a guy. Then this new guy comes to school and thinks she’s the best thing ever. they start going out, the best friend admits to being in love with her… What’s the title?
Or this one: This girl is (again) a nobody special. She sees this really hot guy and kinda begins to like him. He avoids her. Halfway through the book we find that he likes her too. But he’s keeping a secret from her. We find out he’s a vampire (or a werewolf. take your pick). By the end of the book she has decided that she doesn’t care and that she wants to be a vamp too so he changes her last minute to save her life from horrible accident, and they’re both vamps and live happily ever after. Title?
Ok. so notice that I was vague. the point is……. notice how there are so many books that will fit into those three summaries? they’re all……. typical. that’s so annoying.
I wish someone would write a book that was surprising. I wish someone would write a book that makes you think it’s all gonna turn out ok in the end, but it doesn’t. I wish someone would write a book that is so unexpected that you don’t even know if you like it. I wish someone would write a book that has so many little things that tie together in the end that it feels real, the way God orchestrates our lives.
Now I’m sure there are plenty out there… They’re just hard to come by. There’s nothing new under the sun. But we can at least be creative. Right?
Right.
Hence my newest story idea. Which I won’t tell you a bit about. Until it’s done :)
What do you think about typical books? granted sometimes I know exactly what I want to read: I want to read a teen novel. I’m in the mood for a vamp romance. I am dying for a drama. But most of the time, I want to read something new every time. If I wanted to read the same story again and again, I would read the same book again and again.
~H
What do I think of typical books? Predictable, but fun. When I can't stand reading one more typical book I reach for Ted Dekker. That's one of the reasons I have two of his books on the top of my TBR pile right now. I'm hoping to read both of them this weekend. Then I'll be ready to go back to those predictable, typical, light and fluffy books. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree! I'm so tired of guessing the plot outcomes of every book I read. Nothing is really surprising anymore. OR, they're so out there that I doubt anyone could truly understand what they're trying to say (read a few of those, what a waste of my time).
ReplyDeleteThat sameness is one reason I got off the historical romance kick 10+ years ago-- couldn't finish several in a row so that was it for me.
ReplyDeleteGuess the predictable but fun plotline is what gravitates us to our fave genres. For me, thrillers and sci/fi/fantasy. But I agree it is great when a book is surprisingly and amazingly different. I run across that more in sci-fi, I think.
Lately, I've been reading some classics and have been pleased that they aren't always typical. Some are like watching indie movies-- not always a happy ending and I'm not always sure I like them but I'm usually glad I watched them. I rarely regret reading a book.