Evoking Emotions – with a good book

It never ceases to amaze me how a book can stir up the emotions like nothing else.  I’m not a particularly expressive person and the last time I cried was probably through anguish that someone else had got to the last biscuit first, but a good book seems to get the better of me every time.

Here are my top 5 emotion-evoking reads:

Want to feel warm and cosy with a dose of romance and friendship?

Then read…any book by Millie Johnson.  I love this woman’s books so much I’d marry her. There’s not too much sop that you want to punch the romantic couple in the chops, and her one-liners are priceless.

This paragraph is not enough praise for Millie Johnson and soon I’ll do a full review, but for now all I can say is that they’re great reads – trust me!

Leaves you feeling: so satisfied from your read you’ll want to go out and hug everyone.

Milly Johnson, Award-Winning Author, Public Speaker and Scriptwriter

 

Want to feel like a gritty woman of the world?

Then pick up a…Martina Cole.  How she thinks up those horrors goodness only knows.  I read The Graft with a mixture of intrigue and repulsion; it was a page-turner all right and I raced through it, fascinated at this underworld life I was completely naive to, but at the same time put off by the grossness of it all.

Martina Cole is very clever writer and if, like me, you’re a bit ignorant to the nasty stuff, then give it a go – it’s an eye-opener!

Leaves you feeling: Like you want to don a leather jacket and dance to Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’.

http://www.martinacole.co.uk/

 

Want to feel glamorous and edgy?

Then try…Helen Fielding’s Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination.

I first discovered Helen Fielding when, at 15 years old, a friend gave me a well-thumbed copy of ‘Bridget Jones’ along with a fierce recommendation that I must “read it at once”.  I did and, like most people, absolutely loved it.

So much so in fact that when I heard that she was bringing out a glamorous female spy thriller, I was straight on it, spending a fortune on the hardback version because I couldn’t even wait for the paperback to come out.

Olivia Joules is a complete departure from Bridget Jones.  It’s like Scuba Barbie combined with a female James Bond.  It’s completely different from anything else I’ve come across and my advice would of course be to “read it at once”!

Leaves you feeling: Like you could save the world while dressed in a ballgown.

 

Want to feel inspired?

Then give Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Work Week a go.  Tim Ferriss managed to work just 4 hours a week and make a tonne of money in the process.  I loved reading about how he did it, although the fact that I’m still working a 37 hour work week suggests I could do to read it again.

If you have entrepreneurial spirit and fancy yourself as master of your own destiny then give this one a go.  A right good holiday read.  And if you can put into practice what you learn then all the better!

Leaves you feeling: Like you could rule the world – and still have plenty of time for the finer things in life.

 

Want a profound read and a good cry? 

These days, after years of hardcore studying reading lists, anything too heavy is definitely off my agenda (the fluffier the better!), but if you can cope with the emotion then I’d recommend The Dead Poet’s Society.

I saw the film before I read the book and was too young to have a clue what was going on, but when I did read the book at 21 it had a profound effect.  I was working as a language teaching assistant in East Germany at the time.  It was the middle of a lonely winter and I was already pretty depressed – but was definitely more so by the time I got to the end of the book!

I read it in one night and did so because it was part of the curriculum of the class I was helping to teach.  I think I’m the only one who actually read it! – but I’m pleased I did as it made me think, even though I couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night!

Leaves you feeling: DPS lifts you then plummets you down to the depths of despair.  It’s an important read, but not a frivolous one.

Bookreavement

Bookreavement.  If it’s not a word, it should be.

This is the word I use to refer to the feeling you get when you reach the end of a book that you’ve really, really enjoyed.  You feel that not only have you got to the end of the story, but also that you’ll never meet those characters again – characters whose lives you’ve had an insight into, who you’ve made friends with, even fallen in love with.

And now, they’re gone.  Yes, you can read the book again but that wouldn’t really help ease the loss, because it would only tell you what you already know, rather than what you yearn for – which is more.

OK, I’m not seriously comparing it to actual bereavement, but there does need to be a word for it because it’s definitely a thing.

Sometimes the English language fails us because there are holes in it where concepts exist but words don’t.  In such cases we normally pinch words from other languages; think ‘faux pas’ / ‘Wanderlust’ / and my personal favourite – ‘Schadenfreude’ – a very useful word we just don’t have a simple translation for in English.

I don’t know if any other language has a way of expressing this particular concept but I really think we need a word for it, so ‘bookreavement’ is my suggestion.

I’ve recently experienced ‘bookreavement’ when I got to the end of ‘Miss McGuire is Missing’ by Eileen Robertson http://www.eileenrobertson.co.uk/.

A cosy murder mystery, this book had me absolutely hooked!  I couldn’t wait to get to the end to reach the conclusion but I knew doing so would be a double-edged sword – I’d get the satisfying ending but then that would be it.  Game over.

And it was.  I read on her website that Eileen is going to work on a sequel so I hope she hurries up with that one as I for one can’t wait to get my hands on it.  Actually, in this instance I didn’t put my hands on it at all, I downloaded it from the Amazon Audible site.  You can now get 3 months’ subscription free with a Prime membership http://www.audible.co.uk/.

This means I can consume 2 books at the same time – one in the traditional format when I’m at home, and one in my car when I’m not – marvellous!

 

Suppress self doubt – and emerge brilliant, or humiliated?

In order to achieve something we want is it necessary to risk making an absolute idiot of ourselves if it all goes wrong?  I’m beginning to think it is.

If we give it a go and emerge triumphant then happy days, but if we give it a go and emerge a failure then there could be some serious personal humiliation in store.

The problem is, if we want something so much, I mean really, really want it, then we’re prepared to risk achieving it at all costs, right?  Right – unless of course, self doubt raises its ugly head, gets the better of us and means we never actually go through with it due to the fear of making a bit of a dick of ourselves in the process.

I’m struggling with a touch of the ol’ self doubt at the moment.  If the publisher doesn’t like my book and I go with my second choice of self-publishing it, then I’ll open myself up to the criticism of, erm, let’s see – the ENTIRE WORLD!  And that’s an extremely daunting prospect.

Normally in life I don’t really care if someone doesn’t like something about me – my outfit, point of view, way I bring up my child, etc.  But this is different; this is my personal creation on the page and the result of months and months of hard work.  If, over breakfast, I see someone has left a bad review I can’t pretend I won’t end up face down in my porridge.

Of course you’ll never please everyone, I know that and that’s fine, but here’s where self doubt creeps in – what if my book doesn’t please anyone; what if I become a laughing stock; what if my friends and family disown me; what if I’m banished from society for ever daring to think I could do this and succeed; what if, what if, what if…..

And there’s the problem, once you start doubting yourself, there’s no end to it.  Well, there is, it’s when you finally talk yourself out of even trying because you’re convinced you’re bound to end up a massive failure who people will be pointing and laughing at for eternity.

I know if I’m going to get anywhere with my book then I need to suppress this self doubt and deal with whatever may come, and I want it so badly that this is what I’ve decided to do.  Come what may, that book is getting out there!

I wonder how many people have been put off from having a go at something because of their own self doubt?  Are there geniuses out there who were on the brink of showing their talent to the world – be it sport, acting, art or science related – just to pull back at the last minute because of this devilish emotion?

Has self doubt ever stopped you from doing anything?  Where could you be now if you’d have fought through its barrier to give it a go?

I’m thinking of starting a one-woman campaign to banish self doubt forever.  So say we give something a go and it goes wrong, say we get talked about and laughed at, who cares! Perhaps that will result in a great dollop of self respect that we had the gumption to give it a go, and surely that will tell our self doubt to take a hike once and for all.

 

Competition Alert!

In celebration of the fact that today I’ll be finishing my book, I’m giving away 5 little boxes of these lovely heart shaped choccies.

To WIN all you have to do is visit my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ginahollands, LIKE my page and the post and COMMENT ‘Happy End’ below it. Don’t forget to SHARE the post with your friends too!

Due to postage, this one is only open to UK residents – Good luck!

Terms and conditions: Terms & Conditions:
Only open to UK residents, over 18 years old, with a UK address. Closing date is midnight on Sunday 22nd May 2016. One winner will be selected at random and will be notified by Tuesday 24th May. No purchase necessary. Prizes are non-exchangeable and non-refundable or negotiable. The competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions. The winner agrees to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.

Should we be trying to change our other halves?

I’m just putting the finishing touches to the final scene of my book, and it’s occurred to me how different my characters are at the end of the story compared to how they are at the beginning.  I realised these changes (which were all positive) were brought about by each other and their emerging relationship.

 

Does this happen in real life, or do we sometimes change each other for the worse?  Is it right to try to change our partners at all, or does this mean we’re forgetting why we fell in love in the first place?

Perhaps some of us enjoy the challenge of trying to create the ‘perfect partner’ by changing them according to our preferences – ooh dear, that doesn’t sound like it would result in a fairy tale ending!

It most likely wouldn’t.  Remember what happened to the creature Victor Frankenstein created?  Not to mention poor Rocky in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, who was manufactured by Dr Frank-N-Furter.  These beings, made according to their creators’ visions, both ended up coming to a rather sticky end.  As did their creators, actually, which is probably a warning signal for anyone who fancies moulding their partner to fit their preferences.

It’s inevitable that if we spend so much time with another human being, that experience will change us.  If it’s a healthy relationship these changes should, in theory, be for the better.  There is no doubt that my husband has changed me over the years, although I don’t think for a second he planned to.  His laid back nature has tamed my fiery one and made me more tolerant and cooler-headed, thank goodness!  My optimistic outlook compared to his tendencies to see the glass half empty have, I believe, made him less like of a grump – I can’t bear grumps!

In my book the heroine makes the hero face up to his doubts about himself.  Failing to do this in the past have meant he hasn’t found real happiness.  For her the result of meeting him is that she discovers the power of her own abilities and a new found confidence.

All good stuff.  But what about these relationships, and I think we all know someone like this that we want to shake sense into, – where one partner at least seems to spend all their time hoping that their other half will become trustworthy / romantic / caring / considerate / fashionable / hard-working / better at DIY / thinner / get a boob job, etc. etc.  (delete as appropriate)?

Well, to be frank, they’re probably doomed.

Personally, I couldn’t bear a romance that didn’t have a happy end, and that goes for real life too.  If you spend all your time wishing your other half was something they’re clearly not, that happy end is going to be very difficult to find.

Once I make the decision to read a book I don’t like to give up on it, even if it’s disappointing me after the first few chapters.  But sometimes you just have to admit it’s not what you hoped it, and revisit the shelf in the pursuit of that happy end you were seeking.