Well, sometimes timing sucks. Here it is my turn to post and wouldn’t you know it? I’m putting the final touches on my next novel because it has to get to my copy editor by the end of the day tomorrow.
So, yeah…I’m a bit swamped. Which means I need to put The Experiment on hold for a post or two. So, if you’ll excuse me, I'd like to throw out some questions to get a dialogue going, and get us all thinking today. Who knows, some of it may help me with the experiment, too!
Answer as many as you’d like, even if it’s just one.
What in a story will make you put a book down and never pick it up again?
Do you give authors second chances, or if they lose you in one book, that’s it?
What are some types of things that get you excited when you’re reading?
What are you looking for when you read a book, if anything at all?
Are there any books you’ve read that you went into with no particular expectations, but came away excited that you’d discovered it? If so, I loved to know titles!
Looking forward to your answers!
7 comments:
Finishing is stressful but ALWAYS good. Good luck with the new book.
Forgot to answer. I dislike it when an author blows it on research in a blatant way, like a total disregard for police procedure, for example. I also dislike weak characters. Main characters need to earn their starring roles. If they are wishy washy or blah or change their minds depending on who they're talking to (things I've read in YA unfortunately), then I lose interest in that author's work. A character can have flaws, but I like to see growth from them as the book progresses.
I'll put a book down if the story fails to grip me in the first 30 pages. I'll put a book down if there's too much detail dumped on me at once and I have to skim to find the characters in the midst of all that detail.
I'll put a book down if the heroine is too whiny or if there's no plausible reason or anticipation of a reason for her actions like suddenly changing her mind about another character she previously hated. Or she's a good girl and suddenly becomes horrible. If there were no clues leading up to those chnages-I don't enjoy that.
I do give authors second chances and find that while I don't like some of their stories, others of them I love. I try not to judge an author by one story or even two. But if there's a repeat pattern, then I won't buy the books again.
I love reading books that are so intricately built you know something's around the bend and that it's going to impact the character in such a way that they cannot help but change.
I look for stories that have hope. Hope for justice, hope for the character to change, hope for them to make it out of their circumstances. I don't like books that have no hope. Where everything is dark and dismal and the world has nothing to offer-books where people are just trying to survive against really dark odds. Then if they do survive, their world didn't change for the better.
I don't like woe-is-me, gloom and doom somebody ate the last bite of chocolate left in the entire world books.
That's probably why I don't like a lot of 'the world as we know it has ended' books.
Good luck with finishing your story, Brett.
What turns me off in a book is boredom - if things don't move, and pretty quickly, I tend to put the book down. So, less back-story up front.
I've read a couple of YA books where I felt the voice was more suited to Middle Grade - like maybe the author was trying too hard, and had pinned too simple a voice on an older character.
I read Pandora's Key by Nancy Richardson Fischer last week and came away surprised and smiling after I'd discovered it.
I hate books where characters are flat-lined. Blah and shallow. They can be in an awewome world, but if they have no personality, I generally don't finish the book. Also, if I catch something that proves they didn't research (especially a time period). Ran into one recently where the heroine was in a poodle skirt at the end of the Vietnam war. My time, and poodle skirts were Halloween costumes. Second chances? One. If they can't get me with a second book, I forget them. Same thing in reverse. If I love a first but a sequel tanks, I may read the third, I may not. Books that surprised me? Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles and Dreamland by Sarah Dessen. Good luck with the deadline!
What makes me put a book down is poor writing or lack of pacing. Also a snarky, over the top YA voice will do it.
I will give authors a second chance...sometimes I'm just in the wrong mood for a certain book. So I'll put it away but may pick it up again months later unless it had that snarky voice...see above.
What gets me excited about a book is when a character just comes alive - that there is just no way I cannot keep reading.
I'm looking for a great story...see above. A story that grabs in the first page and won't let go.
The Forrest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan...I so did not expect to like a book with zombies. Same with Maberry's Rot & Ruin. But best of all....one day I was at Sam's Club and just happened to be browsing the books. I spotted one that looked interesting, flipped through the pages, and dropped it in the basket. Got home, started reading and could not stop. That book turned out to be The Hunger Games. Awesome book on so many levels but I'm sure everyone knows that by now.
What in a story will make you put a book down and never pick it up again? Actually, pretty much NOTHING. I stubbornly refuse to put a book down unfinished, unless it's really not catching me, or keeping my attention. I can DISLIKE a book, while it still has my attention :D
Do you give authors Second, third, fourth! Yep! If it's an author I already love, I'll stick with them no matter what. If it's a first-time author, I'll be a little more hesitant, but still give it a chance :)
What are you looking for when you read a book, if anything at all? Entertainment, and escapism. Pure and simple. I just want to enjoy a book, have fun, and finish it entertained! :D
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