I love books.  I love to read books.  Recently I have discovered ebooks, which to be truthful, my kids and my brother have been recommending for years.

Lying in bed with no lamp, reading from just the back light of the Ipad, reminds me of the days as a kid when I would read Hardy Boy books under the cover with a flashlight when Mother told me to “GO TO SLEEP”.

Over the years I have often thought that it would be great to actually write a book, but I realize that I just do not have the writing skill.  That little magic that separates the blogger from John Grisham.

This blog is my little attempt at being a writer.  Amusing incidents of my life,however when I re read them I realize that I just do not catch the story and, while fascinating to me, may not be the same as a Clancy novel.

Every book must have a great first line.  They capture the reader and can carry them on for the first 20 pages.  I am an aficionado of first lines and have many that I could use for a book.

“The reflection off the windshield of the excavator hit me in the eye as I became conscious and realized I was lying in a ditch and could not remember how I came to be there.”

“The first time that I realized that our marriage was not perfect came when she stormed out of the apartment with a duffel bag and wearing my favorite Blue Jay Jersey.”

“As my eyes came up from my computer screen and I looked around the carrels of the mindless workers around me, I realized I hated my life”

“It was a dark and stormy night..”      OK I stole that one.

And dozens more.  But the problem has always been what do you do in the next paragraph.

I always admired authors who just capture you and keep you enthralled.  You need a strategy and a flowing plot and every word should captivate you on into the story.

Than I started to read a new book by Alexander McCall Smith that I down-loaded.  Now he is famous for his series of books about the Number 1 Detective Agency.

This book I am reading is entitled 44 Scotland Street which he wrote in segments to be published in an Edinburgh newspaper.  It’s obvious he wrote it with no plan as to where the story would go,  just publish each week as it came out of his brain.  Each chapter would have been a column in the paper and introduced characters with boring lives and some interconnection and you think there might be a crime/disaster/sex scene but no.

Seinfeld episodes on TV (which prided itself on having no story line) still had more plot than the chapters in this novel.

But I am now on chapter 44 and wondering why I am still reading. It is fascinating as it reminds me of my views on people around me.

Now remember, I actually have a list of all the books I read with and interest scale that includes DNF.  Which means DID NOT FINISH, because life is too short to read a book that you do not enjoy.   I have long since passed that in this book even though it would never make a movie.  I just like it.   It reminds me of my blogs.

Which tells me I could write a book about my ongoing life.  For instance I could tell about our wonderful episodes of mowing the lawn and meeting dog owners and exciting drives in Little Red to pick up fresh vegetable, with the little excitement of someone trying to cut me off on the traffic circle .  And… I have great book concepts from dreams, just need some editing.

I know I could get a book deal because I could guarantee at least 15 buyers…. the dedicated readers of my blog.