Style and Age

While I still read a lot of made-with-paper books, I’ve recently delved into e-books.  More specifically iTunes books on my phone.  It started because one of my favorite authors, Lois McMaster Bujold published a new book but only in electronic format.  My desire to read Gentleman Jole and The Red Queen pushed me into reading books on my phone and it was a pretty good experience.

So when I saw a link on Facebook to BookBub.com I signed up and I’ve been getting these tantalizing daily book offers ever since.  I selected authors and genre types and it sends me things it thinks I’ll like.   I view them and if the blurb doesn’t sound interesting I’ll erase the email.  Needless the say, I have LOTS of emails that I didn’t erase waiting for me to decide to download or not.  (More clutter in my life….sigh.)

A few weeks ago I was without anything I wanted to read so I downloaded one the BookBub finds.  The Song of Dragons trilogy by Daniel Arenson.  The blurb sounded very good with an interesting concept of wereDragons.   I did manage to get about halfway (I think it was halfway, hard to tell with an e-book) before I realized that this book was boring the CRAP outa me.  If I had to speculate, I would say it was written by a male in his early twenties… it’s so adolescent in it’s plot line, with little life experience and no humor.  Ironically, it’s NOT written by an adolescent but definitely by a male raised on D&D and not his first novel….not even the first in the series, even!

So I took another chance and downloaded a different series.  The Imp series by Debra Dunbar.  And I’m thoroughly hooked!!  I don’t know how far I’m into Demon Bound but this book is HILARIOUS and WONDERFUL and SHOULD BE A MOVIE OR SERIES!  I adore this author.  And perhaps it’s not her first novel… (and it would be sad if Song of Dragons wasn’t Arenson’s first, cuz it reads as a first) …just her most popular series, cuz it’s well thought out, with clear and interesting characters and a wonderfully interesting world.   With Demons being risk-taking hedonists pared with their nemesis the tight-assed, sanctimonious Angels, oblivious humans and other races all  interacting in modern day east coast countryside…. it is a joy to read.   And surprise, surprise, Dunbar is a middle aged (in her prime!) single mom.

I’ve always favored female writers because they tend to flesh out their stories with really interesting and real characters.  But I do have several male authors that are just as captivating in their created worlds who I thoroughly enjoy.  But as I age and become more experienced when I read a book I need a character that I can relate a bit more with.  Dunbar’s Imp Series’ character is young for a demon (under 1,000 years) but old for a human (in her 40’s) and she’s lusting after her 20-something gardener like a good Cougar would and it is SOOOOOO much fun!