Notable Books

Came across a list of "notable" books posted in one of the world's most famous newspapers. I won't say the name, but you know which paper all the fashionables in North America tend to quick read every morning. I like the paper's word games. The word "notable", however, bothers me. Who determines "notable"? Does it mean the most "talked about book" on the streets of that huge city? Which street, one wonders? When I look at must-read-books, I shudder. Most of them I  have no desire to read after seeing their blurbs. When I plunk down to read a book, I want it to entertain me or inform me or help me, but most of all it should inspire and delight me.  Few of the books I have thoroughly loved aren't on the Best Seller list. And I care not. Nor should I feel guilty over it. Like you, I read because I love to open a book and wait for that wonderful moment when I think "ahhh, you and I, my dear, are going to spend a lot of time together". I want the book to take me somewhere, to surprise me, to involve me and to make me smile or cry or groan or tremble, but never to let it completely leave me after the last page. I have no truck with audio books. They are not books, they are not reading, they are listening. I want my brain to see the use of  language done beautifully and deftly. Not only do I crave to learn new words, but of their use in sincere forms that are not scruffy Creative Writing instuctor cute tricks. I crave words that pique my desire to honor them and discover their new and unique way  of use.  It has nothing to do with how many people bought the book or what the current media hype demands. Nor do I like to talk about books at parties. Book clubs, yes. Parties, no.  Reading the dusty classics, I find words to add to my list of Arachaics, as I call them: words I have never heard used or written in my readership. To me, that's very exciting and is a chance to have an "aha" moment. I don't find these sorts of words in modern works unless they are coined very cleverly. I am not a snob reader but I know that Fiction is the star because it has arms and legs, it's human and realer than real.