# Rules for Reading



## Erick Flaig (Oct 25, 2010)

I had lunch today with an afternoon host from one of my local radio stations.  I gave him a copy of my book (not that he asked for one, but hey, it was free  )  He said that although he usually doesn't read any fiction newer than 50 years, he'd try to read it. 

I thought that was an interesting rule for fiction reading.  I've never had a 'set' rule for reading, although I do have an arbitrary "No R-rated movies."  I did that years ago in an effort to lessen the trash I put into my head.

How about others?  Do you have rules for what you will and won't read?


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## Aaron Pogue (Feb 18, 2011)

I was just reading the "anti-heroes" thread and trying to figure out how to express my opinion there...and it fits much more naturally here. I don't want to read anything that diminishes the human experience. I don't care how "real" it is, if it's going to make living life worse (and it's totally made-up), I don't want to voluntarily participate in it.

That might be a little amorphous and vague, but it's the one rule I really stick to.


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## Erick Flaig (Oct 25, 2010)

I, for one, like your rule.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I certainly have likes and dislikes a genres I frequent and others I avoid, but I don't think I have any black-and-white rules such as a minimum "age" for a novel. Maybe the closest I have is that I avoid novels where the cover has a bare-chested hunk staring longingly into the eyes of a woman in a flowing dress falling off of one shoulder.


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## Erick Flaig (Oct 25, 2010)

NogDog said:


> I certainly have likes and dislikes a genres I frequent and others I avoid, but I don't think I have any black-and-white rules such as a minimum "age" for a novel. Maybe the closest I have is that I avoid novels where the cover has a bare-chested hunk staring longingly into the eyes of a woman in a flowing dress falling off of one shoulder.


I've been following this rule without even knowing it existed.


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## kindlegrl81 (Jan 19, 2010)

Not me.

I'll read anything someone puts in front of me.  From innocent children's books to bodice ripping trash novels, I read them all.  I never know what I will be in the mood to read so I like to keep a broad selection on hand; This is where the kindle has come in handy


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## Frank Marcopolos (Dec 29, 2010)

kindlegrl81 said:


> I like to keep a broad selection on hand; This is where the kindle has come in handy


This is also where the idea of a Sample is so genius -- makes it so easy to "taste test." I'll try a lot of things, but if it doesn't grab me from the start, I won't stick with it long, unless it's a classic or highly recommended by a trusted friend.


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

I agree, Aaron, I don't want to read anything that's unredeemably foul. I don't want a head full of upsetting images or ideas that serve no purpose except to disturb me or inspire misery.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Aaron Pogue said:


> I was just reading the "anti-heroes" thread and trying to figure out how to express my opinion there...and it fits much more naturally here. I don't want to read anything that diminishes the human experience. I don't care how "real" it is, if it's going to make living life worse (and it's totally made-up), I don't want to voluntarily participate in it.
> 
> That might be a little amorphous and vague, but it's the one rule I really stick to.


I may well be the opposite. I know the world isn't all nice and a novel that tells me it is won't convince me. It is people overcoming the fact that the world can be a terrible place that makes literature worth reading.

Edit: Irredeemably foul, no that doesn't interest me, but neither does Pollyanna. Life is very often "worse". I can't pretend that it isn't so when certain things happen in say The Game of Thrones and the world pretty much sucks and most of the people AREN'T heroes and the heroes mostly die--I say, yeah, that's my experience of the world and it makes a good story.


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## R. H. Watson (Feb 2, 2011)

Don't judge a book by its cover. Not original, not new, but it works for me.


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## Aaron Pogue (Feb 18, 2011)

JRTomlin said:


> I may well be the opposite. I know the world isn't all nice and a novel that tells me it is won't convince me. It is people overcoming the fact that the world can be a terrible place that makes literature worth reading.
> 
> Edit: Irredeemably foul, no that doesn't interest me, but neither does Pollyanna. Life is very often "worse". I can't pretend that it isn't so when certain things happen in say The Game of Thrones and the world pretty much sucks and most of the people AREN'T heroes and the heroes mostly die--I say, yeah, that's my experience of the world and it makes a good story.


I understand your point. And, yeah, Game of Thrones is exactly the kind of book I'm talking about. I've read much worse books, but Game of Thrones is so pure and transparent in that aspect of its storytelling that it makes a fantastic example.

To me, the difference between "what is" and "what should be" is the whole point (of literature, of art, of life). Yes, dark stories accurately reflect "what is," but I don't need reminders. What nature doesn't provide on its own is "what should be."

That's why I make art, and that's why I consume it. I don't really aim for Disney-style happily-ever-after (in production or consumption), but I'm definitely slanted closer to that than I am to Game of Thrones.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Gee, Mine sounds a bit different.

1. No reading before homework gets done.. cuz I would never get to the homework otherwise...
2. Repeat #1.
3. If mom is reading do NOT expect her to know what the heck is going on in the house, and don't ask anything like," Are you listening to me?" the answer is no.
4. Repeat #1.


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## Aaron Pogue (Feb 18, 2011)

BTackitt said:


> Gee, Mine sounds a bit different.
> 
> 1. No reading before homework gets done.. cuz I would never get to the homework otherwise...
> 2. Repeat #1.
> ...


That's the nice thing about pursuing a Professional Writing degree. Most of my homework _is_ the reading I want to be doing.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I think that we've gone overboard with the "flawed hero". Dirty Harry was once a fresh change of pace, now the idea that in order to be a good cop one must be a bad cop has gotten to be a cliche.


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

kindlegrl81 said:


> Not me.
> 
> I'll read anything someone puts in front of me. From innocent children's books to bodice ripping trash novels, I read them all. I never know what I will be in the mood to read so I like to keep a broad selection on hand; This is where the kindle has come in handy


I pretty much agree with this


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

I don't have a rule on what I won't attempt to read, but once I've started a book I know the "not a chance I'm hanging with this one" feeling. Mostly it has to do with a lack of integrity in how the author deals with plot or character. Or just, imo, stupid plot turns. I (attempted) to read a story by an author recently who used a term that is colloquial to a time period, but used it about 500 years to early.  Drove me nuts, so I dumped the book. It was something along the lines of someone in the 1500's saying they couldn't "wrap their mind around....".  Another example is when Elvis turned up as basically a mentally challenged vampire ( in a different book, by a different author).


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## Guest (Mar 8, 2011)

NogDog said:


> I certainly have likes and dislikes a genres I frequent and others I avoid, but I don't think I have any black-and-white rules such as a minimum "age" for a novel. Maybe the closest I have is that I avoid novels where the cover has a bare-chested hunk staring longingly into the eyes of a woman in a flowing dress falling off of one shoulder.


That's because you hold out for the ones with the flowing dress falling off both shoulders, right?


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## Bob Mayer (Feb 20, 2011)

My only rule is to read whatever my wife tells me to.  Beyond that, I don't discriminate.  I think rules such as no book newer than 50 years makes little sense.  In fact, I regularly follow the three rules of rule breaking:
1.  Know the rule
2.  Have a good reason for breaking the rule
3.  Take responsibility for breaking the rule


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

R. H. Watson said:


> Don't judge a book by its cover. Not original, not new, but it works for me.


Unless it's a picture of a bare-chested hunk staring longingly into the eyes of a lady in a flowing dress that's falling off of one shoulder.


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## R. H. Watson (Feb 2, 2011)

NogDog said:


> Unless it's a picture of a bare-chested hunk staring longingly into the eyes of a lady in a flowing dress that's falling off of one shoulder.


Ha ha.

Actually I just read my first paranormal romance. It was, "In the Dark of Dreams," by Marjorie M. Liu. The cover shows a bare-backed hunk of a merman staring longingly into the averted eyes of a lady in a flowing dress that's falling off one of her shoulders. It was a pretty good action story that spent more time in the heads and emotions of the two lead character's than most action stories. Both leads were much more interesting, smart, and capable than the cover suggests. I'll be reading more of the genre.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Aha! The exception that proves the rule!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

R. H. Watson said:


> Ha ha.
> 
> Actually I just read my first paranormal romance. It was, "In the Dark of Dreams," by Marjorie M. Liu. The cover shows a bare-backed hunk of a merman staring longingly into the averted eyes of a lady in a flowing dress that's falling off one of her shoulders. It was a pretty good action story that spent more time in the heads and emotions of the two lead character's than most action stories. Both leads were much more interesting, smart, and capable than the cover suggests. I'll be reading more of the genre.





NogDog said:


> Aha! The exception that proves the rule!


Probably many purchasers of the book were disappointed.


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## maryannaevans (Apr 10, 2010)

I don't read books with violence so graphic that it gets in my head and won't come out.  It's hard to give a firm rule as to what that might be.  I quit reading one book after I spent the opening chapter the head of a woman who was bound with duct tape while she watched her husband be killed, before she herself was beaten to death slowly with a ballpeen hammer.  I think my imagination is just too good.  I put myself in that woman's shoes and just couldn't step out of them.

I also quit another book which opened with a scene from the point-of-view of a very bad man who was also very stupid.  He was approached by an Angelina Jolie lookalike clad in skin-tight black leather.  Once she had him dazzled with her sheer sexiness, she unleashed some serious martial arts skills on him that concluded with slashing his abdomen open so quickly and with a blade so sharp that he didn't realize what had happend until his intestines fell out in his hands.  Ewwww....

I'm also not big on decapitations and dismemberment.  Maybe these are arbitrary rules, but they're mine.


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## BlondeStylus (Jan 28, 2011)

I've found that over the years my preference in what I read changes with the decades.  I've read the trashy romance novels (can't remember the names of them, it's been so long), self help books (some should be called appeasement books to give you something to read), and finally find I like reading more diverse writings now.  I love great character studies as well as historical settings.  A little sci-fi works too.  We live in such interesting times that even the news can be interpreted with a better understanding of history and geography.  I'm just not into blood and gore violence.  I can turn on the TV for that.  

Now where is that Nancy Drew mystery...


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

BlondeStylus said:


> I've found that over the years my preference in what I read changes with the decades.


This is definitely true for me. I don't want to be shocked anymore. I don't want my world turned upside-down or inside-out.

I just want to be entertained, transported. I want my escapism. I still want clever ideas and amazing worlds and excitement and heroes, but I guess I have smaller desires now.


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

I'm pretty open, but I don't like heros/heroines that are really unlikable. I definitely think the anti-hero schktick can backfire... sometimes there's too much anti, not enough hero.


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## bashfulreader (Jan 29, 2011)

For every rule I can think of, I can think of an exception that I've read, so I guess I don't have any hard and fast rules.  But I definitely have preferences.

I need to care about the main character, or I won't care what happens to them or with the story.

I'm definitely more "Pollyanna" than doom-and-gloom.  Everything doesn't have to be perfect, but life is depressing enough already.  I want my books to be an escape from that.

If there's going to be violence, I prefer it be of the "paranormal" kind.  Serial killer stories keep me up at night, wondering if I really locked all the doors and windows.  I'm not quite as worried about being attacked by vampires or werewolves.    (But I find I break this rule much more often than the others.  And yes, I double-check my locks a lot.)

I'd rather read a story from the point of view of the victim than the attacker.  I just don't want to get into the mind of a killer.  There can *be* a bad guy, but I want to learn about him from the "good guys".  I don't want to really get inside his head.  This probably disturbs me even more than the actual violence.


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## Klip (Mar 7, 2011)

Not really a "rule" as such, but I'm certainly predjudiced against books written by more than one author.  And I mean novels, not collections, of course.

I have also avoid self help books, particularly anything to do with business or management skills!  Aaaarhg!


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## Christine Kersey (Feb 13, 2011)

I don't read stories with an overabundance of profanity, sex or violence. In fact that is one reason I began writing. I wanted to read good suspense stories that were clean, so I wrote them.


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## easyreader (Feb 20, 2011)

There are no rules.  One of the things I love about living here in America is the First Amendment.  I start making rules for myself, I'm limiting my own freedom.  Certainly there are preferences.  Those who don't like or profanity in your books, that's fine, don't read them.  But I think you're limiting yourself.  But that's just my guideline, not a rule.  Feel free to rad or not read whatever one wants.  But when we start making rules for ourselves, it's a slippery slope to extending those rules to others.


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## bashfulreader (Jan 29, 2011)

easyreader said:


> But when we start making rules for ourselves, it's a slippery slope to extending those rules to others.


I found your comments rather interesting. While I agree that rules can be limiting, I sure don't expect others to live by my own personal rules. (Gosh, I'd be mighty lonely, if I did, LOL.) But especially when it comes to things like books (and music, art, etc.), I'm so glad that there are so many different options. I'm enjoying this thread specifically because it's interesting to see what others consider important in their books. I'm glad y'all don't agree with me.


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

Christine Kersey said:


> "...I don't read stories with an overabundance of profanity, sex or violence..."




I am no prude, I know all the dirty words and have seen most of the "body parts", but have never seen the value of graphic gore and vulgarity either in print or on the screen.


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## TheRiddler (Nov 11, 2010)

My reading rule is simple.

If I like it, read it, if I don't like it, then don't read it.

This means occasioanlyl I stop reading a book that I'm not enjoying, but I'm open to give most things a try.


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## William BK. (Mar 8, 2011)

Back in the Stone Age when I used to go into Barnes & Noble to thumb through books, I would pick up a copy, turn to random pages, and scan quickly for profanity. I'd usually say no to a book if a simple random search like that turned up even one page with a curse on it, as I would assume the rest of the book to contain quite a bit of foul language. (I found out a few year later, upon picking up a book I'd passed on before that this isn't fool-proof by a long shot as the page I'd read at random turned out to be the only page in the 400-page novel with a curse word on it! LOL)

As for villains and/or heroes actually suffering through the real cruelties of the world and such, well, I have to say that I kind of like the old-fashioned villain would was always so polite right before he tried to kill you (classic Sherlock Holmes stories come to mind here!), but I would be the first to say I like a good anti-hero too (like Donaldson's Thomas Covenant...).

Anyway, since I buy books on Kindle now, I sample first, always. My only other rule for reading would be to judge by genre. I have a pretty good idea what I do and don't like--though this hasn't stopped me from buying Greek and Roman epic poems hoping that I'll finally find one I like!


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## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

I stay away from novels with F-bombs on the first page.  If I wanted to get cussed out for hours on end I'd call up my father-n-law...


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## AnneKAlbert (Dec 7, 2010)

maryannaevans said:


> <<I don't read books with violence so graphic that it gets in my head and won't come out.>>
> 
> I'm the same. I've read stuff 20 years ago that still haunts me. I can't get it out of my head. I SEE it. I FEEl it. I LIVE it. Can't do that anymore. It's just too much. However, I'm SO glad to know I'm not the only one who has this problem. I'd love to be detached, but that's SO not me.


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

I can handle books that face negativity head-on.  But if the main character is a depressed, negative, horrid person-- why would I want to see the world through their eyes?


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

Cursing is something I don't care about. But I find it in very few of the books I read. (Mostly sf, fantasy, historical and romance.) If I am reading military fiction and the soldiers aren't cussing their heads off, I admit it doesn't seem quite right, but I wouldn't expect the same in a book about church bake sales. *grin*


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

I have two rules that I will never break when it comes to reading:

1) The book will interest me enough to pick it up.
2) The book will keep me interested enough to keep reading it.

I'm sorry if those rules are too harsh and discriminatory, but I can only read so many books in this life.


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## RhondaRN (Dec 27, 2009)

No rules, just whatever strikes my fancy.  Could be a book someone talked about on this forum, an author's book who wrote a book I liked previously, could be I like a particular subject matter and a book I see is about it, could have seen it on the best seller list, could be I like the cover, could be a book written that I saw the movie once and liked it, maybe because it's a classic I never read, it might even be a book that was "suggested for me" by amazon and on and on.  I have no rules.  BUT, once I get into the reading, if I don't like it, after a good try, I will give it up if it doesn't interest me.


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## BuddyGott (Feb 4, 2011)

I have a rule that I sometimes wish I didn't follow: I usually hate reading books in which the main character(s) have witty names like "Justin Case." 

For example, I'm a big fan of Christopher Moore and usually love his books. However, one of his recent books has a main character named Abby Normal. I started to read the book, but I would cringe whenever I read that name and I eventually put the book down and never picked it up again.

However, I know I'm missing out on some good novels by following this rule and I'm trying to break it. I initially avoided Joe Konrath's Jaqueline "Jack" Daniels' novels because of the character's name, but now I've read a few of the books and I think they're very good.


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

You are missing a lot on the Moore book. It was really funny.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

NogDog said:


> I certainly have likes and dislikes a genres I frequent and others I avoid, but I don't think I have any black-and-white rules such as a minimum "age" for a novel. Maybe the closest I have is that I avoid novels where the cover has a bare-chested hunk staring longingly into the eyes of a woman in a flowing dress falling off of one shoulder.


I agree with this one completely. 
deb


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## theraven (Dec 30, 2009)

The Rule for Reading that I have are only for me and I don't judge anyone for what they chose to read. Books affect and don't affect every reader differently. I just know that some scenes affect me negatively so I steer away from books with graphic violence and also true crime novels.


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

easyreader said:


> There are no rules. One of the things I love about living here in America is the First Amendment. I start making rules for myself, I'm limiting my own freedom. Certainly there are preferences. Those who don't like or profanity in your books, that's fine, don't read them. But I think you're limiting yourself. But that's just my guideline, not a rule. Feel free to rad or not read whatever one wants. But when we start making rules for ourselves, it's a slippery slope to extending those rules to others.


Ah, but if we didn't have personal rules or limits and we all were open to everything, wouldn't we all be the same opinion-less person? Isn't it essential to our individuality to have preferences (which are essentially limits)?


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## Erick Flaig (Oct 25, 2010)

It looks like everyone is different...that's what makes us all the same.   I do have my own preferences and standards, and they guide what entertainment I consume.  We all have filters...we can call them rules, or guidelines, or rammah-framma-bing-bongs.  I have a limited amount of time on this planet; even if it be a hundred years, it's only a spark drifting up from a fire.  It blinks out, and it is gone.  I guess I don't want to spend the short amount of time I have left filling up on Danielle Steele (sorry, Dani, I know people luv ya!) or Stephen King (king of potential product-placement) and their ilk.  Nor do I want to spend my time with any writer who thinks every other adjective starts with an "f."


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## Indy (Jun 7, 2010)

Mostly I would like for the author to be literate.  I get seriously offended by someone suggesting I pay money for a product that has bad spelling, bad grammar and run-on sentences in it.  It's very rare that I will finish something with all those things in it.  Aside from that I also dislike badly formatted ebooks and books that manage to lose their immersion altogether.  In a fantasy novel, for example, that doesn't take place on earth, the vulgar language they use probably isn't the exact same vulgar language I would use.  It would also be nice if people wouldn't try too hard to copy the classics, lest they wind up seeming like a horrible cliche, or worse, reading like a description of a D&D campaign.


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