Book talk

I've talked before about how much I love holding an actual book in my hands, but I am too lazy to go back and find the post, so you'll just have to trust me.   I love all aspects of reading.  I especially enjoy the "pregame' festivities--the reading of the book jacket, the 'about the author' bio, and of course, the table of contents. You know--foreplay.  If there is an intro to the story, I like to delve into that, as well. 

The beginning of the book is where all the fun starts.

The beginning is where we are first introduced to what I, and probably lots of people, call 'the hook'.  This is whatever is needed to get the reader interested in the story, and by extension, the characters.  For example, the main character of Lee Child's books, Jack Reacher, at first glance appears to be extremely one-dimensional.  An ex-military cop who solves crimes.  Yay--how original!  Delve into the first couple of chapters, however, and you'll find a man with more dimensions than a seven-layer-dip. 

I like that. 

If a book is a house, the beginning is where you enter the house.  Are you entering through the garage?  The back door?  Is the front door wide open, or closed?  These are clues about the rest of the book to come.  And after you walk through the door of the house, what do you see?  An entryway with coats neatly hung up on hooks?  Piles of pizza boxes and dirty laundry?  An obstacle course of children's toys?  These are also clues.  If a beginning is too cluttered with information, the reader gets tripped up, and  it can be difficult to focus on the story.  Which is a shame.  

I am not so fond of the ending of a book.  By the time the end of a book rolls around, I've established a relationship.  I've been inside the character's heads.  We've laughed, we've cried.  But at the end of the book, we have to say goodbye and go our separate ways.  That is just the way it is.  I'm not good at goodbyes.  I get clingy and emotional.  I don't want the relationship to end, and I get a bit stalker-y.  It's kind of embarrassing.  

What is your favorite part of a book?