Monday, October 26, 2009

Once Upon a Time



Once upon a time is an old way to start a story. Trite and tried. Familiar and full of expectations, but depending on who is doing the telling, you can't expect every author's twists and turns. There is a hope with the beginning being "once upon a time."

That is what I look for when I'm reading someone else's story. I look for a different voice, a different perspective, even if it may be the same ol' place or the same ol' time span. How many ways can you tell a love story?

Last night I saw 27 Dresses for the first time. Ok. The format is very familiar to me. I told my husband that it was like reading a Harlequin romance. High concept and somewhat predictable. Still, I loved it, just because I knew no matter how bad things were going to get, it would somehow turn out all right. And I loved all those dresses. What silliness and fun.

Do you have a familiar old story that you go back to over and over? Characters you want to revisit? A favorite genre? Or do you like to mix it up?

Tell me your favorite stories--the ones you go back to when you need comfort.

3 comments:

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Crystal -

My reading tastes are eclectic, especially since I started blogging. I love happily ever afters, justice being served, mercy shown, and lives transformed.

I rarely go back to novels a second time, but might think about one that's reached a deep level. For several nights, I actually dreamed about Christina Berry's book, "The Familiar Stranger." What a story!

Great post.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Christine Lindsay said...

For comfort I love to go back to books I read as a teenager. I'll often visit those old stories every 5 or 10 years. Mary Stewart's romantic suspence written in the sixties and seventies. She just had such atmosphere and light-hearted romance. Heavy sigh. I just love them.

Terra said...

Like Susan said, my own reading is very eclectic. This week I am reading Marcel Proust "Swann's Way" and Kris Radish's book about friends who walk together "Elegant gathering of white snows."
I read several detective series and an aspect to them that I like is that the main character survives. Yay!
Martha Grimes, Jim Butcher, Ian Rankin and more.