It's true. I really am. Or maybe I'm just picky. Here's how I choose fiction and I sincerely hope at least one person is out there somewhere in this world who reads like me. I prefer to go into a book blind. I wholeheartedly rely on the first page or two to intrigue me.
Throw a note off the cliff, run into the arms of your long lost love, hold your best friend's hand, say "ready" and jump into a ditch, make someone fly, bang on a door, barge into a palace, get the dog to bark, shout at the whale in the ocean, drink your tea and say "oh, pirates!" and I'm in. The intrigue! The excitement! Yet, start the book with flowers, forests, the season's trendiest fabrics, the color of the protagonist's shoe laces, the wind's direction, the house's build and architectural integrity and I will close the book immediately.
I'd like to blame all this on my attention span and stop saying "but life is too short to read this stuff" but it seems that my method of picking books works well for me. I end up truly enjoying almost each and every book I pick. Yes, I do occasionally DNF (did not finish) a few but those are far and few in between, but most stay memorable and ingrained in my memory.
I wonder, isn't it grand to be able to reflect on our quirks and strange habits? Do you reflect on your reading style and habits too perhaps and sometimes chuckle? :)