Giezelle Cruz: "Dear Carmen Maria Machado: Show, Don't Tell"

Dear Carmen Maria Machado: Show, Don’t Tell
By Giezelle Cruz

            I’m not going to lie and say that I have never picked up a book because of its book jacket. When choosing books, I either go by specific criteria before even considering to open the book, or I just go by random criteria like color schemes. Of course, I’ve also read books that were from recommended by friends. In fact, I read my first book when my friend recommended The Lightning Thief  to me. Yes, you’re correct--I was in 5th grade when I picked up my first book (I didn’t speak English until then, but that’s for another blogpost).

Today as I write this blogpost, Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick sits atop my desk and I remember exactly why I bought it. I remember being attracted to its bright red cover with the black, white, and gray lettering. Along with this, I have also bought books based on how they end. A few years ago, I developed a bad habit of reading the absolute last line of books to determine whether I’m buying them or not. Why? Because if a book had an intriguing last line, then I would want to know the context in which the plot got to that point.

            However, when it comes to picking fantasy books, I am very strict with myself in that I only read series. My process is usually reading the synopsis and seeing if it sounds like another book that I’ve read and enjoyed, and then seeing if it is part of a series. Don’t think I’m joking when I say that I have an addictive personality. With every book that I end up falling in love with, I usually dive into the deep end for months, or even years, until I’m slightly less obsessed with it. When I first read the Harry Potter series, I finished all the books in six weeks and proceeded to read the entire series SEVEN more times. This is why throughout the years, I’ve learned to pick up mostly series when it comes to fantasies. This way, I get to spend more time with the characters that I adore and get the opportunity to delve into their world even more through each book.

            Now that the author has gotten me to pick their book, the challenge is to keep me intrigued enough to finish it. To keep me interested throughout the book, I usually rely on the first couple of paragraphs of each chapter. To me, those sentences hook you in enough while simultaneously keeping up the mysterious atmosphere of the plot. When the world building part of the book takes too long, I end up getting irritated. The reader should not still be lost on the logistics of the fantastical world while the climax is already happening. Normally, I will put down a book when I don’t feel invested enough within a quarter of the way through.

            Part of what draws me to reading books is the investigative aspect of it. I absolutely love the sleuth persona that I get to play when I’m trying to get to know the characters in the books. Through reading bits and pieces about their lives and piecing them together, I get to analyze and break down their actions. With this process, I truly understand the characters’ motivations and how to see the world through their lenses. So, I detest when authors begin to tell me about what drives the character instead of showing it through their actions. When an author explicitly tells me what the character means with every piece of dialogue, my favorite aspect of reading gets taken away from me.