That afternoon finally presented itself. I read the first page. A prick of disappointment seeped into my heart because I guessed where this story would be going. How could the author be so obvious? I read to the end of the first chapter and realized the reason I was able to guess the plot line was because I'd read it before. Hello!
Have you ever picked up a book, completely unaware you'd read it before? Maybe I'm just dense, but cut me some slack - the cover had been redone. And the back cover copy sounded so good . . . for good reason. I enjoyed the book very much the first time.
I don't say all this to brag about my enormous list of "already read" books. It's not so long there aren't any more new ones to read, trust me. It does prove the point that we are drawn to a similar type of book time and again. For me, it's either an historical novel with lovely twists, or else it's a richly-layered contemporary novel. I tend to stay in the same vein, mining the best stories I can find.
I think that's okay. But every once in a while, I like to force something different on myself. That's why I love book clubs. They make us read stuff we wouldn't necessarily choose ourselves, and most of the time, we are the better for it.
Do you find yourself in a genre-rut? If so, what genre? And do ever find ways to jump out of that rut?
