I just finished Alison Pace's latest book, THROUGH THICK AND THIN, and I have to say...she had me with the dog on the cover. I've never been one of those people who will buy any book about any subject if the publisher simply includes a photo of a Great Dane or a Cocker Spaniel on the front. But the pointy-nose creature on the front of TT&T looks, ever so slightly, like THAT DOG when she was a puppy. (You know, before her front legs grew longer than her back legs and we spent eighteen months or so wondering about her genetic heritage. And her stability while running.) Anyway, all that to say, I might have grabbed TT&T off of that front table at Borders even if I hadn't read Alison's two other great books. But I'm okay with that...Because this is, in my humble opinion, her best yet. I loved this story--I loved the way she developed the characters slowly, so it was like meeting real people; I loved her descriptions of Meredith's disappointing dates (it's like a primer on the concept of "show, don't tell"); and I loved the descriptive one-liners she tosses in at the end of scenes that sort of sum the whole thing up--not just what the characters are thinking, but what I've thought, when I've been in those kinds of situations myself. (I'd offer an example of this, but I failed to fold down the corners to mark all the lines I loved. Why don't I fold corners? I own the book--I'm allowed to fold the corners!) Suffice to say that my copy of TT&T will look a bit like origami after I read it again.
This also, furthers my theory that dog ownership is an incredible helpful facet of successful writing, right up there with having a sharpener for your colored pencils! Do they teach these important things in writing programs???
6 comments:
Ooooh, I'm so in agreement with you on this, Trish. Dog ownership is ESSENTIAL to good writing. At least, I think so. I have a Newfoundland and he's my muse.
Love that cover, btw.
It does have a wonderful 'pick me up' feel to it!
So THAT's what I'm missing ... the dog! :) I am on a run of good books (have you read Love Walked In? If not, READ IT!) so I will have to add this to the list!
Holly - a Newfoundland! Is he trained to tackle you when you try to leave your computer without finishing your writing for the day? I never thought about the benefits of having a "muse" who is big enough to double as an enforcer!
Swishy - I have read LOVE WALKED IN. So wonderful. One of my favorites! Glad to hear you're on a run of good books :)
(BTW, blogger is making me sign in to comment on my own post - what's up with that???)
Ooh, a good recommendation!
AS and I went to a nearby dog run yesterday and stared at all of the dogs. We had to walk away to counter our temptation to dog nap one (or two) of them.
I must have missed Thou Shalt Get A Dog day in all of my writers' workships. Either that or I had lousy teachers.
That pointy-nosed creature, my dear, is a long haired dachshund. Dachshunds are my favorite dogs in the world. I think I relate to them because they have legs the size of Vienna sausages. But they rock and I plan to have one or two some day. And you can use mine on the cover of your book about me.
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