Aside from reading Rapunzel to my kid at bedtime, I haven't touched a book in months. I've tried reading other books to her, but has her own way of choosing them. By book color and princess importance, which is her own opinion. That got me thinking as to how I choose my reading material as well as how others make such decisions.


Is it the book cover? Is it the writer? The mood you're in? Does a simple color of the book have an effect on our selection?


It's rare that I'll start reading something recommended by another reader. Without any background I've found that I simply can't read just any book, even if the genre suits me. I'll still push through and finish it though. Worst part is I'll forget the writer's name and there's always a chance of finding the subject interesting but not the story-line or the writing style by the same writer. The ones I do like to read, I remember their names.


Does the book cover really matter? Not entirely, but a lot of people are visual and it's the first thing that will grab ones attention. That includes the color of the cover, the font chosen for the title, perhaps even what's written on the back of it. Then you've got the actual font of the story itself. If it's too small I'll walk away from it because it makes it for tough reading... Unless the summary really grabs your attention.


The mood determines the writer. Sometimes none of the ones collecting dust in the dark basement get to be chosen and it calls for something new entirely. Those are my favorite moments! I look for an interesting subject, different characters, something not tried a hundred times over. Something a bit refreshing, if you will.


Once all those boxes are checked, the first page of a new book matters even more. There's nothing worse than finding something that grabbed your attention right from the start, sucked you in, yet when you start reading, it's anything but what you hoped it would be.


So, while I'll let my little one choose her books according to her favorite colors and princess characters for now, I'm still hoping that we'll grow out of that state and read books containing more than ten sentences.


'Til next time!

Comments to my previous "Horror/Scary Newsletter (June 26, 2024)" :



Annette wrote:

One night, I woke up screaming because I felt something had jumped on my bed.
I told myself it was just an earthquake jolt.
Since that initial jump, I could feel something walk over my bed at night, even before I had a cat.
They live among us.


That would really creep me out! How did you manage to get any sleep at all?!




Beholden wrote:

Thank you very much for including my short story, A Shining Example, in your Editor's Picks section.

There is no doubt that we become inured to horror though watching so many horrific things in movies and television. Every day the make-up artists have to get more inventive in the continuing effort to shock us into attention. And it becomes ever more difficult as writers to come up with new and unexpected ways of producing that scary response in our readers. It's surprising how much mystery and horror can lurk in ordinary things - which is where I go for fresh inspiration for horror stories.

The example I'm most proud of was the story I wrote about air conditioning after my wife asked me if I, too, heard voices behind the sound of whirring fans. A little research revealed that most people do. All that was necessary then was to think about what the voices were saying...

Oh, and yes, I grew up in Africa, my parents having moved there from England when I was very young.


Then I might be one of the few who feel safe when the air conditioning is on because it blocks out all other noise for me. But! Living in an old house that creaks and makes loud popping noises in the middle of the night can get ones imagination going wild. You're right. The every day things do contain a lot more horror and mystery than we think it does.