Good story or good writing? Can't I have both?

I sometimes find it hard to remove my editor's hat when I'm reading for pleasure. But there have been times... Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code comes to mind. The writing was certainly less than stellar, in my opinion, but the story managed to grab me up and sweep me along all the way to the finish. Many readers turn up their noses at this book, and I can sympathize. But doggone it, that was a fun read.

On the other hand, I have sometimes run across authors who can write beautiful prose, but they can't really tell a story. It thrills me to discover an author who can do both, one who can use chill- or sigh-inspiring prose to tell a page-turning, awe-inspiring, or heartwarming story -- and sometimes all three of those in one.

I'm currently reading Ann Patchett's State of Wonder. I've read  a couple of her books before (The Magician's Assistant and The Patron Saint of Liars) and found her talented but not stunning. This book is different so far. I'm finding that I want to go back and read certain sentences or paragraphs and then mark them with a sticky note so I won't forget to bring them up at my next book club meeting when we discuss the book. Here's an example:

Hope is a horrible thing, you know. I don't know who decided to package hope as a virtue because it's not. It's a plague. Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth and somebody just keeps pulling it and pulling it.

What about you? Do you want story and sparkling prose or are you okay with just one or the other? What authors have you discovered that can provide both?

You’re reading what?

My name is Vicki, and I am a reading snob. (Recovering) I wasn’t always snobbish about what I read. As a young person, I eagerly devoured books that ranged from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan stories to the westerns of Louis L’Amour, from Victoria Holt’s gothic romances to Ayn Rand’s paeans to “objectivism,” and of course mysteries of all types. So what changed?

Well, my years as an English/American Lit major certainly introduced me to what academia considered “quality” fiction. But that didn’t really sway me, I don’t think. Because the truth is, I find many books considered classics downright boring. No, I think what happened was that over many years of reading a wide range of books and authors, I came to appreciate good writing. I learned to recognize formulaic plots and clichéd writing devices. The more poorly written novels just couldn’t hold my attention anymore.

I then fell into a trap, however, assuming that just because a writer wrote in a certain genre (romance) or a book cover carried a certain style of illustration (Fabio), it must be poorly written. How wrong I was.

Two things made me realize the error of my ways: First, I was discussing books with a woman I met at a party. I mentioned that I really liked Tony Hillerman’s books. He wrote mysteries set in the American Southwest and his main characters are Navajo Tribal Policemen, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, two of the most fully drawn characters I’ve ever encountered in any book. I want to have these guys over to my house for dinner.

Anyway, this woman responded, with a noticeable sniff: “I prefer Barbara Kingsolver’s writing. Hillerman writes at a fourth- or fifth-grade level.” I hadn’t read Kingsolver at the time, but felt somewhat slapped in the face by this comment. (I went on to read several of Kingsolver’s books, and she has become a favorite author of mine.)

The second wakeup call came from a website I frequent called Readers Paradise – a place for people who love to read and discuss books. Posters there read books of every type and category: fiction, non-fiction, romance, mystery, memoir, and more. And everyone is welcome. Several people kept mentioning that they liked reading Georgette Heyer. I researched Heyer, and learned that she is considered “the undisputed queen of Regency Romances.” I confess I didn’t know what that meant. But looking at the covers of her books, I was somewhat put off.

This just didn’t look like something I would read…so I didn’t. But I kept seeing her name mentioned with such fondness that I finally picked up one of her books, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have since read several others and plan to read more.

I never want to be that sniffy woman. I want to always stay open to new authors and new stories, because without that openness, I might miss out on something truly astounding.