# What do you look for as a reader?



## Edward Lake (Mar 11, 2012)

What draws you in and keeps your interest when you read a book? 

And what makes you stop reading a book?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

elake28 said:


> What draws you in and keeps your interest when you read a book?


Interesting characters that I care about and good writing, with at least a reasonably interesting and original plot.



> And what makes you stop reading a book?


Characters I don't care about and poor writing.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

elake28 said:


> What draws you in and keeps your interest when you read a book?
> 
> And what makes you stop reading a book?


Doing a market survey?  

Mike


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

Instant action draws me in. Useless filler makes me stop reading.


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## henryandhenrybooks (Sep 6, 2011)

I enjoy getting to know and appreciate great characters.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

jmiked said:


> Doing a market survey?
> 
> Mike


THat was my first thought too.. so tired of this forum being used by authors as market research.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

BTackitt said:


> THat was my first thought too.. so tired of this forum being used by authors as market research.


this


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Folks,

I think, in general, what a reader finds appealing in a book is a legitimate question, if somewhat too generalized in this case.  Elake--what do YOU look for as a reader? The Book Corner is for discussions.  It's not enough to just post a question--start a conversation.

Personally, I like mysteries and thrillers.  I like books where stuff happens.  I like characters who are not one dimensional.  I like strong female characters.  I like books set in interesting locales.

Betsy


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

It has to have either a great, fast pace plot with believable characters and reasonable decent writing quality OR excellent writing quality and fascinating, multi-dimensional characters. 

In other words, if it's plot driven, the characters don't necessarily have to have a lot of depth as long as they are believable and the writing quality doesn't have to be super flowery and descriptive but can't have major errors. Plot driven books are about... well, the plot. So the other stuff can somewhat take a back seat.

But if it's not plot driven, the writing quality MUST be very good and the characters MUST be very interesting.


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## jbcohen (Jul 29, 2011)

Ability to tell a tale without exisive number of changes of points of view and sceen changes.  I hate authors that use a lot of sceen changes it breaks up the flow of the writing.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Oh, I missed the second part of the question.... as for what makes me stop reading a book (or not buy it after reading the sample) - mostly, it's when characters or their dialogue aren't believable, things don't make sense, really poor writing quality, or it's just generally boring.

For example, I once stopped reading a book because the prologue was written in present tense but there was one sentence when the author apparently forgot to write present tense and it's in past tense instead. Ugh, get an editor! Thankfully, it was a freebie. 

In another book, and this is one of my favorites that I've mentioned before... there is a sentence that ends with "a symbolic symbol of defeat." Shockingly, this was from one of the "big 6" publishers! Don't know how that made it past a so-called professional editor.

In another one, the main character spills her guts to a complete stranger about her rape simply to answer the mundane question "why did you leave London?" which I found hugely unrealistic.

In another, the main character describes how she has a "desperate need to be close to the beautiful people".... and I'm supposed to LIKE this character?

In yet another, the main character has no reaction whatsoever to finding her boss's dead body. Although she didn't like her boss so it might be understandable that she didn't grieve for him, you'd think finding the dead body of anyone would be quite a shock to the average person, right? She's not a cop or anything so it's not like she finds dead bodies all the time. Yet she registers NO shock at all. Totally unbelievable. I don't know how this stuff gets published (well, I do when it's self published but this one wasn't).

So yeah, believable characters, behaviors, and dialogue is a must and the lack of it is probably the main reason I stop reading a book.


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## cheriereich (Feb 12, 2011)

For me, I want to be immersed in the story. I don't like extra things being put into it, such as pointless description. Unless you're writing a cookbook, I don't need to know what your character is eating at every meal. I like scenes and interesting quirky characters. I prefer the fast-paced, no word or scene wasted type of books.

I stop reading if a book is plodding along and nothing is happening.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

cheriereich said:


> For me, I want to be immersed in the story. I don't like extra things being put into it, such as pointless description. Unless you're writing a cookbook, I don't need to know what your character is eating at every meal.


And see, I like at least some of that. One of the things I like in the Spenser novels by Robert Parker is he frequently described Spenser cooking. It wasn't every meal, but occasionally. And it set off the main character nicely as he was this big burly ex-boxer ex-cop private detective, but he knew how to cook a nicely pan-sauted chicken breast or whatever.

Betsy


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## Twofishes (May 30, 2012)

Characters and plot are overrated. 
Style and allegory are underrated.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Twofishes said:


> Characters and plot are overrated.
> Style and allegory are underrated.


And vice versa, to paraphrase Yogi Berra.


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## LilianaHart (Jun 20, 2011)

Pacing and great characters. I love books that go from action scene to action scene so it's hard for me to catch my breath.


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## Verbena (Sep 1, 2011)

I don't care about and poor writing,too.And I use to find books by categories,so that I can find my favorite novels.


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## jwest (Nov 14, 2011)

For me it really depends on the genre, but in general I would say the characters and how I relate to them really bring a story together. Some of my favorite authors can write about something that means absolutely nothing to me on a personal level, yet draw me in, compel me to keep reading, and leave me feeling satisfied. As far as turn-offs, it's hard to say. Some stories just don't connect with me, so I move on.


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## Verbena (Sep 1, 2011)

Close to life，great characters and good plot


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

Twofishes said:


> Characters and plot are overrated.
> Style and allegory are underrated.


In my opinion, style and allegory mean little, although they might be nice enhancements. Story is king, and that's plot and character. Of course, you don't have to like what I like.


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## Alton Bock (Mar 13, 2012)

I like a story that is well-paced. It can't drag out unless something really important is being done or discussed (The Council of Elrond, for example) and it's can't gloss over important things just to move things along.

Characters that I like need to be there. If everyone is a tool (eg. "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia") I won't read it unless I know up front that the joke is on the character. Even then, I get stressed out reading about really bad people. That's why I don't watch much reality TV either.

The writer's ability to construct decent prose is important, but I couldn't care less if the author sounds poetic but can't drive the story forward. I'll take narrative written for people with ADD over a guy who wastes my time writing about foliage.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

QuantumIguana said:


> In my opinion, style and allegory mean little, although they might be nice enhancements. Story is king, and that's plot and character. Of course, you don't have to like what I like.


I agree... I once read a novel that was very beautifully written. But the characters weren't that great and the plot dragged in places. End result, it was mediocre. Not surprisingly, the author majored in Creative Writing... so course the style is going to be beautiful. But if I was only interested in style, I'd read poetry instead.


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## Alton Bock (Mar 13, 2012)

history_lover said:


> But if I was only interested in style, I'd read poetry instead.


Amen!

Beautiful prose does not a great novel make. Plenty of beautifully written books lie in second-hand bookstores for one reason: the beauty was only skin deep. Once people dug beneath the language, there was little there to enjoy. Bad dialogue will turn me off faster than almost anything else. (Think most of Orson Scott Card's work. Good story-teller. Horrible dialogue.)


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## charlesatan (May 8, 2012)

Something new, something different, or failing that, something stylish.


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## Katie Salidas (Mar 21, 2010)

An escape. That's really the bottom line for me. I want to escape my normal everyday life and jump into the shoes of someone more interesting. A good story is one that does that for me. It takes me away.


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## Shaun4 (Jun 29, 2012)

I think I'm mostly drawn in my something dramatic and a quick pace, but I *Really* get into a book once I find characters I can get into. Someone I like, or hate, or want to root for.

I'll give up on really rough, awful prose, but if the writing is just plain and straightforward that doesn't bother me at all. 

And if the writing manages to combine brilliant prose AND great characters and quick pace, then my addiction takes over


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

In addition to great characters and interesting plot, I want to be taken to a different place that is either (a) very pleasant, or (b) utterly fascinating. That of course is a description of an "ideal" book - rarely found, in fact. Those found are cherished and re-read many, many times. 
All these can be achieved without any unnecessary stylistic flourish. Example - Patricia Highsmith. Any time I read her Ripley books, I am just puzzled - how did she do it? Everything looks so simple, and yet so elegant and perfect.


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## Twofishes (May 30, 2012)

Alton Bock said:


> Amen!
> 
> Beautiful prose does not a great novel make.


I'll have to respectfully disagree. For me at a certain point it stopped being about the story and started being about how it was told. But and also, I think it has to be more than just good prose. It has to have style. 
The Recognitions is jumping up in down in my mind. Not because it has no plot or characters , but because of the way it is written


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## Skate (Jan 23, 2011)

A book needs to draw me in by Chapter 3 - either through a character I like so much that I can't bear to not know what happens to him/her, or through prose that delights me enough to want to immerse myself in it for a while.


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

A reader answered a question I recently posed along similar lines: she said "When I read a book, I want to feel the rhythm and culture." 

I want that, too. I want to be right there, on the edge of the scene. If I'm vested, I'll keep reading, and I'll seek out other works by the author.


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## AN Patel (May 19, 2012)

A great start, a surprise ending, and lots of action in between.  This is what I like - as a reader or as a writer.


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## Ruby Barnes (Sep 20, 2011)

For me there are two general things. To keep reading I have to feel like I care about what has / is / looks like it will happen to the MC. That's the plot part of it for me. What makes me put a book down (although I usually pick up again as I hate to admit defeat) is anything in the writing style that throws me out of the story. That could be various things e.g. wandering point of view, unrealistic dialogue, information dumps, clichéd character introduction with a full head to toe description including all clothing items, character confusion (too many or too similar) or (my pet hate) improbable analogies.


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## Steve D Palmer (Jun 28, 2012)

Things I look for:

* An outstanding first sentence; it's possible to fit an awful lot into just a few words and it's something authors rarely do well.
* The story has to start on page one (unless there's a prologue). Back story in the first chapter is a crime. Something Big has to happen in chapter one.
* Voice. I love simplicity, economy, and character in the narrative.

Things I hate:
* When 1st person POV spends half a page describing the architecture of the building they're speeding through on a motorbike in an attempt to escape the zombies or whatever. Pacing, I guess.
* Bad imagery in the narrative.
* Factual errors. 
* Naff dialogue.


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## Steven Lee Gilbert (Mar 21, 2012)

I teach students creative writing throughout the year, grades 4-12, and in order to keep it simple, I say: 

We read to find out what happens.
We stop reading when we don't care anymore what happens. 

Simple, but sounds like good advice for any aspiring writer. Cut out all the parts they wouldn't want to read themselves.


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## Phil Berry (Jun 22, 2012)

Depends on the time and the place; when I had the luxury of time I enjoyed immersing myself in descriptive, slow-paced stuff.  Now, with children and zero time, writing has got to be efficient.  The Proust will have to wait...


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## TWErvin2 (Aug 7, 2010)

elake28 said:


> What draws you in and keeps your interest when you read a book?


Interesting characters and the plot goes somewhere.



elake28 said:


> And what makes you stop reading a book?


Bloated prose and a meandering plot.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I look for something that sounds like an interesting concept and a good story. I tend to like darker stories, as well, but will give most things a try if it sounds interesting.


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## Alpha72 (May 9, 2012)

For me, I'm interested in epic books with high powered characters. I usually want people who have unique skills and abilities. Also, I'm a giant nerd. =-)

Let me also say that I really like your question. I hate it when people are like, "What makes a good book?" I think they're missing the point. A book's "goodness" or utility depends entirely on the audience. What does that audience want? That's the important question.


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