My book,
Story Tellers: In Pursuit of Happiness has received 47 reviews. Wow, that’s a lot of reviews! Well, in those reviews, the reviewers have shared their unique insights about the book. My favorite is this one, from Mr. Dennis Waller, who is an
Amazon Top 500reviewer. Here’s what one of Amazon’s Top Reviewers had to say:
Masterfully Written
(Quote) “Reading Story Tellers: In Pursuit of Happiness” is a mystical, whimsical, enchanting journey through another time, another era. Thomas Baker weaves a beautiful tapestry using words as the finest tool to create a magical carpet ride. A most fascinating and captivating read that one must experience to gain the full beauty of it all.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this book, finding myself at times, with introspective and philosophical threads of thought passing through my mind. Have some fun and take a break and get lost again into the wonderment of that imagination that we once had as a child. (end of quote) (
Click to see all 47 reviews)
7 BASIC TYPES OF STORIES
From Shakespeare to Spielberg to Soderbergh, there are really only seven different types of stories. Author Christopher Booker contends in his book,
The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories, that seven archetypal themes recur in every kind of storytelling. Booker looked at why humans are psychologically programmed to imagine stories this way. First, here are the seven basic plots:
1. Overcoming the Monster
This type of story goes back through Beowulf to David and Goliath and surely a lot further than that. It’s the classic underdog story.
2. Rebirth
A story of renewal. It’s a Wonderful Life is a prime example from the movies. Ebeneezer Scrooge rings a bell also.
3. Quest
A mission from point A to point B. The Lord of the Rings is the classic example.
4. Journey and Return
A story about transformation through travel and homecoming. The Wizard of Oz and Where the Wild Things Are are both journey-and-return stories.
5. Rags to Riches
In literature: Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, snd David Copperfield.
6. Tragedy
From the Greeks (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides) through Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello), these are stories of the dark side of humanity and the futile nature of human experience.
7. Comedy
This is the flipside of tragedy in which the writer not only seeks to amuse the reader, but also to make the reader think about controversial issues… It is more important to unmask the ideas or themes of a comic rather than just the simple plot…
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Where does my book, Story Tellers: In Pursuit of Happiness, fit? Which of the 7 basic types of stories do you think is being told?
Stones & bones are part of our oral tradition. We find stones & bones in folktales, mythology, and religion. What people like about the oral tradition is the ability to change the story, each time you tell it. The result is unique and entertaining. You recognise the story, but it’s different, unlike anything you have ever heard before.
It’s like going into the kitchen on the day after Thanksgiving. You get a meal by making some unusual combinations: a pinch of salt here, a bit of sugar there.
I have taken stones and bones, stories and myths, folklore and tradition, a bit of religion, a pinch of love, a bit of travel, mixed it all up with an incredible long distance romance and built it up around a dynamic protagonist who you will either love to hate, or hate to love… For dessert (yes, you get dessert too), there is also birth, rebirth, a battle for immortality and ultimate power to rule the world.
It all comes down to the choices that an unlikely hero will have to make about who to trust, and who not to trust. Finally, this book is dedicated to you, the reader. I hope you enjoy your story. These stones & bones, I humbly offer for your reading pleasure. Enjoy…
Story Tellers have always told the stories of man’s pursuit of love, gold, power, and ultimately, happiness. In this book we meet a mythical storyteller, Solomon, his wife Lanisha, and his son David.
Through their stories we follow the earliest fortunes and misfortunes of man’s attempt to achieve tremendous wealth, power and happiness. It is a story which will leave you wiser about the true meaning of true redemptive love, success, and joy…
