I used to be a Grey's Anatomy fan, but over the last few months it lost its appeal, at least for me it did. (most every other show did once the Vampire Diaries came on)
But I stuck with it.
And after watching the season finale last night I'm glad I did. WOW. Every muscle in my body felt all sore and stiff, my stomach was all tied up in knots and I thought I might have nightmares, but it was all worth it because that was the best episode of Grey's in years. Talk about redemption. I'll be back next year because of that one episode. Which got me thinking about redemption in books.
I'm not talking about characters redeeming themselves, I'm talking about the actual story---the writer. Because as a writer I try to make every word count, every scene count, every chapter count, but we all know that doesn't always happen. I've read books I wasn't so sure about. Maybe the story didn't suck me in or maybe I didn't connect with the MC all that much, but by the time I closed that book, I loved it. Something happened along the way and whether it was page 25 or page 225 the story redeemed itself enough to keep me reading.
The funny thing about redemption (in my opinion) is that can erase all the other "stuff" that made it less appealing, unfavorable, or whatever in the first place. The finale of Grey's kicked such emotional ass (including my own) that I pretty much forgot what it was that I didn't like about the other ten or however many shows were on this season prior. I haven't forgotten that beef---why so many repeats? The important thing is I'll be back and if this was a book I'd without a doubt read the second.
Any one else have thoughts on this? Have you ever read a book you didn't love or even like but kept reading anyway and ended up loving?
If you watched Grey's don't give any spoilers we so don't want to taint it for anyone who recorded it to watch later. *cough, cough* Like my sister, Jenn. Ohh but what did you think? Crazy, right? After the first shot I wasn't sure I could even watch the rest!
10 comments:
I gave up on Gray's Anatomy years ago, mostly because I didn't have time to watch it. I did love the show, but I think there were too many repeats, and then I forgot about the show (which is what happens when there's no new episodes to watch).
I've read tons of books that redeem themselves. That's why I give books more of a chance than an agent would. Of course, if it never redeems itself, then I won't pick up the author's next book.
Great post!
A Tale of Two Cities did that for me. Had to push myself through, but wow, what a feeling it left me. I'm not sure I'll read it again soon, but the end absolutely redeemed all the boring stuff I had to push myself through.
I am still in SHOCK over the awesomeness of that episode. The first ten minutes blew me away, and I thought it would go downhill from there... but it SO didn't... it just got MORE awesome!
Yes, sometimes I've struggled through books that I ended up liking, but it usually didn't end up as a passionate love for the book.
Twilight was like that. I struggled to finish it because the writing didn't jive with me, but I needed to find out how the story ended. Love/hate thing.
Yeah, stories can do a heck of a job redeeming themselves. One series I was reading totally turned me off in the fourth book, but I ended up skipping on to the fifth and sixth and actually finishing the series. I never did finish that fourth book though. :)
Thank you dear sister for protecting me from the spoilers. I am both looking forward to and dreading it now :-) I have to say I have felt that way with books on occassion. There are times I know it's going to hurt so good that I dread reading it - does that make sense? OR times when I know a book will leave me hanging, like books with sequels or incomplete works-in-progress (my turn to *cough*cough*) that I know I will love but dread reading with the knowledge that I have to wait a year to read the rest. Hmmm I could really go off on a tangent about that sort of thing.....
I love the way you tied writing to your TV show. Redemption is such a great topic - well done! :-)
I haven't watched Grey's yet, so thanks for not spoiling (and now I'm excited)!
I know what you mean... I'm trying to think of a book that redeemed itself... IF I STAY did a little bit, though I still didn't like it. :D
(Okay, completely random piece of information, I changed my blog url like a week ago, and I thought it would automatically transfer people through, but it doesn't, and my mom couldn't find my blog (ha) so if you haven't seen any blog updates on your feed, could you pretty please refollow? beyeager.blogspot.com is the new URL. I'm so sorry about this!!!)
Also, adding onto my previous comment, I just read Velocity by Dean Koontz, which I put down about 20 pages in because I didn't like it, but I then I gave it another go, and finished it in one sitting. So yeah. :D
Interesting post! I use to watch Grey's all the time but then my TV schedule had to be put aside as work, life, and books took over..not to worry, there's always the DVD's! I definitely understand what you mean though on the "redemption" factor in books and TV/movies. It can happen more frequently when you have something you are unfamiliar with (like a new author) since you don't know what to expect and your hopes are set high (though I can't pinpoint a specific title right now). I love the moment when it turns around though...you begin to crave reaching the end.
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