A couple of weeks ago I finished reading The Man Who Died Twice, by Richard Osman. I think it’s book 2 of his Thursday Murder Club series, but I didn’t read book 1.
(I actually have done this multiple times on accident and I kinda like starting on book 2…?)
(Also I picked it out from the library completely because he was on Taskmaster.)
It was a really fun read, but one of the things I loved about it - and about all novels, really - is “the meander.” Where the characters thoughts just kinda wander around, or even actions in the story happen that don’t really have a major relevance to the plot, but it’s just fun and you learn more about the people and you feel like you’re really connecting with them.
Sometimes I get caught up in the “modern” take of trimming everything down to racecar efficiency. It was good to remind myself that I enjoy the Meander.
Study Question: What do YOU think of “the meander”? Do you read them? Skip them? Are there books that do it too often? Are there genres that don’t do it enough?