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Over the last several weeks I’ve attempted to identify a common thread between the different authors/books that I like to read. Is there a certain kind of character I seem to like? Do the authors I read write in a similar style? Do I enjoy a certain setting? The answer to every question I asked myself was no. So, what on earth was the draw? Why do I prefer certain books over others?
I started to think it might be the story itself. That maybe I just like a good story told well. Meh, that really wasn’t it. It finally dawned on me that I like reading stories that pull me in emotionally. What I mean by that is that I have to care or like something about the characters, situation, setting or the story itself. I have to feel some emotional connection with something going on in the writing.
I’ve read wonderfully written books in which every sentencewas a piece of art—but I didn’t give a damn about the characters or their lives. Absolutely beautiful writing just doesn’t do it for me. I can admire it, but it doesn’t guarantee that I’ll love the story or the book.
So, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m an emotional reader. I need to be engaged not only mentally with a story but emotionally. I need to feel somehow invested in the characters and their challenges. I need to feel worried, scared, happy, or hopeful, as the case may be, for the characters I read about.
For me, the best part of reading is being pulled into another world. In that world my imagination fills out the images behind the words. I like losing myself in the many different worlds created in books. When I finish a good book I come away feeling both mentally and emotionally satisfied.
Yes, I’ll admit it. I’m an emotional reader and that’s okay.
