phrases

When I read, I find myself savoring phrases.

Last weekend I read Susan Elizabeth Phillips' MATCH ME IF YOU CAN. Here are some quotes from it that I admire.

“His hair was thick and crisp, its rich color a cross between a leather portfolio and a bottle of Bud.” Not only does it give the color, it’s a wonderful summation of the character. Successful businessman who worked his way up.

“They (his eyes) were the exact green of a hundred dollar bill singed at the edges with displeasure.” Makes it obvious someone (the heroine) is wasting his valuable time.

Then there are the side conversations that are wonderful.

The heroine Annabelle and the grandmother of one of the players, Arté, have been sightseeing in the company of the hero’s driver, Brodie. One of the Chicago Stars players rides up on his bicycle.

---When they reached the other side, they wandered toward the jogging trail. As they stopped to admire the view, a biker called out to Brodie, then pulled up beside him.

Annabelle and Arté fell still, both of them gazing at the man’s skintight black biker shorts. “Time to praise God for the glory of his creation,” Arté said.

“Amen.”

And when Phoebe (the Chicago Stars owner) learns Annabelle has pulled a fast
one on the hero.

-- Only Phoebe looked pleased and her amber eye’s glowed like a cat’s. “I love this. Not for the fact that you’ll end up in a shallow grave---I’m really sorry about that, and I’ll make sure he’s prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But I love knowing that a mere slip of a female put one over on the great Python.”

Molly glared at her sister. “This is the exact reason Christine Jeffreys won’t let her daughter have a sleepover with the twins. You frighten people.”

Sums up Phoebe’s shark character and the sister relationship – supporting characters in this book and it’s fun to see them again.

Writing like this is why SEP is consistently on the NYT. I love a book that surprises me into giggles.

In TATTOO BLUES by Michael McClelland, a character walks into a man's house. Every surface is covered with clutter. The details of the clutter through the living room, dining room, and kitchen go on for pages. But at the very end is "a lone pickle floated in a jar of brine, a hand lettered sign stuck on the jar's side: Please do not feed the pickle." I love it. I rate "Please do not feed the pickle" right up there with Douglas Adams "So long and thanks for all the fish."

One of the best phrases I've come up with is in ONCE UPON A FAMILY which is in ebook now from Triskelion Publishing and will be in print in January '07. In it, Jane, the widowed heroine, reminds herself she really doesn't want her divorced friend Sam as anything more than a friend reminding herself that since his divorce he has a history of "sex and run." It summed up her impression of Sam's character, an impression she discovers is erroneous later in the story.

Then there is Edan from FALLING STAR WISH, an Elf who is a cobbler. The heroine, Holly, has a dog grooming studio. A male dog marked his territory on Edan's boot. (paraphasing the conversation) Edan was enraged and told Holly, "Do you know how long I worked building these boots? The spells I cast while building them? This dog has ruined them." Holly started to laugh and said, "Well, if the boots are ruined, all I can say is your spells must have been piss poor."

I love to read. I love humor in books. The ones that make me laugh are the favorites in my Keeper Shelf.

What do you keep to re-read?