Sometimes I miss the way books were written thirty years ago.

I have vivid memories of reading the opening pages of The Moon Spinners. There are five pages of beautiful lyrical descriptions of the landscape, a mountainside rich with plants and flowers. Vacationing on the isle of Crete, Nicola watches a white egret fly, spots something which she investigates, and is drawn into the intrigue of the book. It’s a slow, yet beautiful start to a book I read dozens of times as a teen.

Authors don’t write like that anymore. They wouldn’t get published if they did. Now books need to start with a hook. The first line needs to grab the reader’s attention and draw them into the second line and so on. There are definite advantages to that style of writing. The reader is pulled into the plot from the very start, but sometimes I miss the old way.

I grew up reading Mary Stewart. In high school, my favorite books were Stewart’s Merlin series—The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment. I can still picture in my mind’s eye the scene where young Merlin (Ambrosius) is given a poisoned apricot by his uncle. Stewart’s description was so vivid I was there. I could smell the warm ripe fruit, see the dark shadow of the poison, and hear the erratic buzz of the wasps as the poor insects succumb to the deadly nectar. I felt Merlin’s pain and confusion. Used to being ignored or abused, someone (his mother’s brother) was finally paying attention to him, making a seemingly friendly overture. Merlin saw the poison and recognized it, but part of him wanted to take the apricot and eat is just to keep his uncle smiling at him. It was heart wrenching. Even now, decades later, I remember that scene vividly.

I loved those books.

Do you have old books you loved and still think of today?

I'd love to read your list.

Laurel