Hypothetical: If you had to choose a novel written by somebody else, that you wish you had written, what would it be?
16 thoughts on “Reader Friday: A Novel Not Your Own”
It’s a tie between Gone With thr Wind (I love history and grew up finding minie balls in friends’ back yards and going to re-enactments) and Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart. Love the humor, the mystery, and the Lipizzan stallions. When I first read it as a kid, it was all about the horses. When I read it as a teenager I saw it from the teenager in the story’s point of view. When I read it as a young married woman I noticed the part where her husband was caught on film at a circus fire with a young blonde. When I read it last year it was just fun all around. She really had a gift.
A couple of comments went poof
Laura Drake: When Crickets Cry, by Charles Martin. Amazing
Brian Hoffman:: Angel Flight by Michael Connelly.
“Forlorn River” by Zane Grey. And Mr. Grey got to live & roam the west before it became a giant slab of concrete! Yeehaw!!!
Also wish I would have been the one to come up with and develop the concept of the Hardy Boys series of books.
I’m sure there are others but those are the ones that come to me immediately.
The Year of Goodbyes and Hellos by Kelly Irvin. She put much lasting joy into a book about a loved one battling cancer. I cried both happy and sad tears.
Awww
Thank you! Does my author heart good to know this.
My wish is similar to Brenda’s, except I’d like to have created the Alphabet series by Sue Grafton. Her stories stayed consistently good for 25 books.
I’m sure I’ll come up with something deep and profound later, but in the early morning fog, I’d say Naked in Death by JD Robb. It was a departure from her Nora Roberts identity, but it was a book that started a series that’s passed the 50 book mark, and readers are clamoring for more even as she’s released 2 a year.
The Shadow of The Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Of Mice and Men.
Nuff said.
Tuf Wandering by George R R Martin. I’d have done things a little differently, but I love the tone of this book and the breadth of imagination.
One of my all-time favorite novels, read the first time as a teenager (and I still have that edition) and reread several times since, is Christy by Catherine Marshall.
Beautiful story.
Tough choice to make! This morning I’ll say “Daughter of Time” by Josephine Tey. Superb mystery. All her Alan Grant mysteries are excellent, but this one is especially clever.
I was going to choose The Daughter of Time, but I see Dale has already taken that one. I’ll pick another of my favorites: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Wonderful question, James. I can’t argue with the excellent books cited by the TKZ’rs above, though I must choose differently. I wish I could have written PILLARS OF THE EARTH by Ken Follett. A superb immersive read, and a clinic for writers seeking an example of plot (and subplots), character, authentic setting, and voice.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, The Stand, The Dark Knight Returns, the Sacketts, Sherlock Holmes
Late to the dance as usual.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle/Cogan’s Trade/The Digger’s Game by George V. Higgins.
I know there are three but they should be considered as one overarching work.
It’s a tie between Gone With thr Wind (I love history and grew up finding minie balls in friends’ back yards and going to re-enactments) and Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart. Love the humor, the mystery, and the Lipizzan stallions. When I first read it as a kid, it was all about the horses. When I read it as a teenager I saw it from the teenager in the story’s point of view. When I read it as a young married woman I noticed the part where her husband was caught on film at a circus fire with a young blonde. When I read it last year it was just fun all around. She really had a gift.
A couple of comments went poof
Laura Drake: When Crickets Cry, by Charles Martin. Amazing
Brian Hoffman:: Angel Flight by Michael Connelly.
“Forlorn River” by Zane Grey. And Mr. Grey got to live & roam the west before it became a giant slab of concrete! Yeehaw!!!
Also wish I would have been the one to come up with and develop the concept of the Hardy Boys series of books.
I’m sure there are others but those are the ones that come to me immediately.
The Year of Goodbyes and Hellos by Kelly Irvin. She put much lasting joy into a book about a loved one battling cancer. I cried both happy and sad tears.
Awww
Thank you! Does my author heart good to know this.
My wish is similar to Brenda’s, except I’d like to have created the Alphabet series by Sue Grafton. Her stories stayed consistently good for 25 books.
I’m sure I’ll come up with something deep and profound later, but in the early morning fog, I’d say Naked in Death by JD Robb. It was a departure from her Nora Roberts identity, but it was a book that started a series that’s passed the 50 book mark, and readers are clamoring for more even as she’s released 2 a year.
The Shadow of The Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Of Mice and Men.
Nuff said.
Tuf Wandering by George R R Martin. I’d have done things a little differently, but I love the tone of this book and the breadth of imagination.
One of my all-time favorite novels, read the first time as a teenager (and I still have that edition) and reread several times since, is Christy by Catherine Marshall.
Beautiful story.
Tough choice to make! This morning I’ll say “Daughter of Time” by Josephine Tey. Superb mystery. All her Alan Grant mysteries are excellent, but this one is especially clever.
I was going to choose The Daughter of Time, but I see Dale has already taken that one. I’ll pick another of my favorites: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Wonderful question, James. I can’t argue with the excellent books cited by the TKZ’rs above, though I must choose differently. I wish I could have written PILLARS OF THE EARTH by Ken Follett. A superb immersive read, and a clinic for writers seeking an example of plot (and subplots), character, authentic setting, and voice.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, The Stand, The Dark Knight Returns, the Sacketts, Sherlock Holmes
Late to the dance as usual.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle/Cogan’s Trade/The Digger’s Game by George V. Higgins.
I know there are three but they should be considered as one overarching work.