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Today’s thought-provoking meme:

Think about your favorite authors, your favorite books . . . what is it about them that makes you love them above all the other authors you’ve read? The stories? The characters? The way they appear to relish the taste of words on the tongue? The way they’re unafraid to show the nitty-gritty of life? How they sweep you off to a new, distant place? What is it about those books and authors that makes them resonate with you in ways that other, perfectly good books and authors do not?

I like stories about people. People I can believe in and admire and love. People that are real (without being actually real). That doesn’t mean that they have to be perfect. In fact, it’s quite the opposite; it’s the flaws that make my favorite characters work. All of my favorite authors, Steinbeck, Austen, Enger, Wolff, Ondaatje, Greene, Dahl, create flawed, real characters and toss them into tough situations to see what they’ll do.

I like an author that has a “way with words.” All of my favorite authors do, though I would say the most poetic is Ondaatje.

And finally, I like sweeping. No, not the floors. I like a book that sweeps me off to a new and different place. In order for a book to reach the top echelons of “my favorites,” it must be able to absorb me, lure me in, keep me there, and leave me wanting to stay a little longer.

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