What Makes You Read?

I'm reading Atlantis by David Gibbins. If you like history and underwater exploration, this is the book for you.

Gibbons is an expert in underwater archaeology, ancient shipwrecks, and sunken cities. He uses all of that knowledge in the book. His main character is an underwater archaeologist and scientist. Even though it's clear Gibbons did his research, I did find it hard to believe the protagonist is also an expert on all types of weaponry and can fly attack helicopters, despite being severely wounded.

Those of you who know I was a mermaid for three years might have suspected I'd like a book about the lost city of Atlantis. Even with this frame of mind, I am at places overwhelmed by the technical jargon and details about ships and history.

So I've skimmed in places -- mostly in the first half of the book because what I really wanted to get to was where the characters finally get to Atlantis. I wanted to see where it was and what it looked like.

But that's not to detract from Gibbons' obvious expertise. He definitely knows his stuff. And because of his credentials, I'm more likely to believe that the city would look the way he describes. That it might actually be where he puts it. Without all the technical stuff, his theory wouldn't be so believable.

But, still, I skipped some.

But that's me. Someone else might read it just for the pages I skipped. My son for example. I'm going to pass this on to him because I think he will love the history and technical stuff. I think that will be the pull for him, not the characters searching for the city.

We each read for our own reasons. We each look for different things in books. And as writers, it's good to remember that there is no "one" reader.