Thursday, January 26, 2006

Love and/or War? Stella is curious.

"Put milk in my tea, please."

"I'll take the dressing on the side."

"Hold the vermouth, I like my vodka naked."

Are we three groups of readers, do you think, the mixers, the dabblers, the purists? How many other classifications of readers might be added to the list?

I'm a mixer. Toss almost any element at me and as long as the story holds my interest I'll keep on reading. Characters I love to love and love to hate, characters that make me smile, or cry, these are the glue that holds a story together for me. Add a darn good yarn: thriller, whodunit, procedural, soft sci-fi, literary story, fantasy, historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense (list goes on,)make sure there's a relationship I must root for--and some sweet, sensual, dangerous or outrageous sex and I'm hooked. We mixers are either adventurous in our tastes, or our taste buds are tickled by any piquant possibility. Some might even say we have no taste!

The dabbler has favorite genres and can have a good time with an occasional "alien" book. This reader also enjoys a story encompassing more than one element but probably leans heavily toward one and uses any others as seasoning or dipping sauce.

Purists want their drug-of-choice straight, neat, unadulterated. This doesn't mean the reader is narrow in his tastes, but she is highly educated in a particular form of fiction. The purist reader may have more than one favorite genre but he likes each one served on a separate plate.

Which group do you belong to? Or are you entrenched in a more exotic reading addiction? Why--or what is it about your favorite stories that resonates for you?

Cheers, Stella