Too Many Words

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Have you seen the television series "Outlander"?  It's based upon the book by the same name, written by Diana Gabaldon.  (An excellent book, by the way.)  It's a 600+ page fantasy story set in another time.

One of our regular patrons came up to the desk this week, he was returning his copy of the book.

"I'd like to register a complaint about this book" he said.

"Sure, what's the problem?"

"Well, I've seen the series and I wanted to read the book.  I tell you, this book is a serious disappointment.  I was expecting action.  Lots of action, just like on television.  Instead, what do I get?  Words.  Lots of words.  Words describing the scenery.  Words describing the clothes.  Words describing everything and basically no action."

I was reminded of the opening scenes to Princess Bride, where the grandfather promises the young boy a story filled with action, pirates, and sword fights.  Not even a paragraph into the story, the little boy interrupts the grandfather to complain that there's not enough action, and reprimands him for reading him "A Kissing Story". 

I stared at him, speechless for a moment, not sure what to say.  He laughed and smiled, and then pulled out his library card and asked if he could "put that next book in the series on hold.  I want to see if it's got just as many words as this one does."

What a great guy!  (And a great book, too.)