What makes the book jump off the shelf and say "buy me!"
For me, it is a few things. First, a review from a friend. If they are excited, I get excited. Second, an author that I know. If I find an author I like, I will read all their books.
And last, the cover.
A cover draws me in. I know that sounds cliche' but it's true for a lot of us.
Combine the book cover and the short synopsis on the back of this book and I was hooked. In 'Kindred', the author Octavia E. Butler takes Dana, a modern-day (1976) black woman, and transports her to the antebellum South. If that hasn't hooked you then listen to this: "I lost an arm on my last trip home. My left arm. And I lost about a year of my life and much of the comfort and security I had not valued until it was gone." Oh my! If that doesn't hook you, then I'm not sure what will. Don't worry, this wasn't a spoiler. It was the first few sentences of the book. Ms. Butler has a way with words that draw you into the storyline. Nothing about this book was familiar to me, but that is what a good storyteller does. She takes the reader to the unknown and makes them feel like it is happening to them. While reading this book, I would go to bed and wonder if I would wake up somewhere else. Dana jumps from 1976 California to pre-Civil War South several times. Torn between wanting to change history and wanting to survive. Her life will never be the same after the last page but through it all, I think she would say it would be better. I believe that we have to know where we come from to fully appreciate where we are and where we are going. Not all history is good. But knowing it helps us know how far we have come and the direction we must go.
