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Which Book Would You Read First And Why?

November 24, 2020 Jenny Riddle Leave a Comment

Based on the following three opening lines from three new bestselling books, which one would you want to read first?

1) Of all the rooms and halls and landmarks that make up the White House and its grounds, it was the West Colonnade that I loved best.

For eight years that walkway would frame my day, a minute-long, open-air commute from home to office and back again. It was where each morning I felt the first slap of winter wind or pulse of summer heat; the place where I’d gather my thoughts, ticking through the meetings that lay ahead, preparing arguments for skeptical members of congress or anxious constituents, girding myself for this decision or that slow-rolling crisis.

2) I’m going down. It’s a flash fall. Vertical to horizontal in a blink. I twist my head to save my face from collision with the kitchen tile. What the hell just happened? I rise up on my right elbow, expecting to shift my weight to the left and push up onto my feet. Surprise: I can’t feel my left arm. As my shock subsides, it’s clear I need help.

3) The first time I wished for death—like, really wished its bony hand would tap me on the shoulder and say “this way”—two bags from Stanley’s Fruit and Vegetables sat shotgun in my car. Cabbage, carrots, a few plums, bell peppers, onions, and two dozen red apples. It had been three days since my visit to the bursar’s office, where the law school registrar handed me a notecard with my class rank, a number that had begun to haunt me.

I gave these to my mom and sister to read, and if you’re like them, you chose number 3. Here’s what my mom, Madge, texted me when I sent this little “quiz” to her.
Those are 3 great openings. I would take number 3 to read first, though I suspect number 1 is Obama’s new book and I heard part of an interview with him and I love him. And number 2 certainly makes you want to find out what happens. But I loved 3 with the bags of veggies and fruit riding shotgun and I want to know what that number for the ranking was.
Mom/Madge perfectly summarized what makes for great storytelling.
She was right that the first book is from Obama’s new book, A Promised Land. The second is from Michael J. Fox’s new memoir, No Time Like The Future, about his difficult but heroic journey with Parkinson’s Disease.
And the third is from Christie Tate’s new book, Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life, a surprisingly great book that I whipped through in two days.
In her opening lines, Tate capitalizes on two important strategies for great storytelling:
1) She uses specific details, like the fruits and veggies sitting shotgun, that make the passage more memorable. The more specific the details the better we are able to visualize it and to feel an emotional connection.
2) She also includes a breadcrumb (think Hansel and Gretel) about her class rank which makes us wonder why and ponder what will happen next which keeps us reading.
These are two easy storytelling techniques that anyone can incorporate into their stories—specific details and breadcrumbs to keep us curious.

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Jenny Riddle is a keynote speaker and consultant who helps people in business BE IRRESISTIBLE through the power of strategic storytelling.
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