793 and counting …

• Posted in Books I've Read

I’m on a reading roll. Just finished Hundred-Dollar Baby by Robert Parker. It’s his latest Spenser book and finds the intrepid private investigator trying to help a madam manage her upscale, call-girl business.

Like all of Parker’s books, it’s heavy on dialogue and light on description with very short, easy-to-read chapters. I can read one of his books in about two hours. And still savor every word.

Every time I read a Parker book, I can’t help but marvel at his heavy emphasis on dialogue. That’s really all his books are. We are talking minimal description of everything else — rooms, people, cars, the weather, etc. The most-used word in his books is probably said.

The only other person that I know of who writes in a similar style is James Patterson.

What about you? Which do you prefer — lots of description or lots of dialogue? Inquiring minds want to know …

2 Responses to “793 and counting …”

  1. spyscribbler says:

    That’s heartening! I have that problem too, darnit. I’m trying to get rid of it, though. I like dialogue, but I’m always particularly interested when an author has more of the opposite, because I want to know how he/she does it.

  2. Jennifer Estep says:

    Parker’s books (and Patterson’s too) are really helpful to study if you want to polish your dialogue — or use it as your dominant element, instead of description.

    If you want to work on description, I’d suggest “Beauty” by Robin McKinley. It has a lot of lovely language. 🙂

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