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What is to you, the most important quality in a good book??

post #1 of 42
8/8/09 at 12:52am
Thread Starter 
ETA: I am talking about fiction here...
Okay so maybe I shouldn't say a good book, but rather an entertaining book...because a book can be considered good by all literary critics but not very entertaining to me
I love to read books that are in the first person. Genre doesn't really matter although first person is sometimes a no no in some genres...Anyways what I find the most important in a good book, is being able to get under the main characters' skin and see life through their eyes and be able to feel their attitude towards everything, even in my own life after I put down the book.. I like to mentally ponder on how the character I'm reading about would react if put in what happens to me in my daily life, etc...(sorry if I'm speaking like an illiterate haha, I haven't taken a real english class since i've always been in the science and engineering fields until recently but anyways...so my descriptions are probably all weird!!) Sometimes even if a book is in the first person this effect is not achieved and thus I don't like the book...The strange thing is that this is applied to all books that I read..Maybe that's my fetish when it comes to reading kidding. I dunno if I'm jumping to generalizations about this trend or if I am too whimsical and unappreciative of so many writers..I honestly feel a little bad for this, but I am trying to do some self exploring here and trying to figure out what I like in books because I am sooo sick and tired of reading through loads and loads of bad fiction in an attempt to find something good to read and then when I do find something that I like, I obsess like crazy and ask myself why can't all books have that effect on me lol..Another thing is that the reviews of others don't mean a thing ...people with similar interests with me suggest books to me but I still find them soo boring most of the time while everyone else is just obsessing over them!! Usually discovering something good to read is by chance...
So...I wanted to know about everyone else..Is there any particular quality in a book that you find is a must for you to read and enjoy it or is it just me just being odd ??
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post #2 of 42
8/8/09 at 1:19am
Books that don't have vampires that sparkle are good.

I personally prefer mysteries, but I am really fussy with them, they have to be well written or it just goes back. I don't bother buying books anymore unless they are from specific writers, because I know I will get my money's worth out of them.

I also enoy well written psychological thrillers. If there are any good ones out there that can be recommended, I would love to know!
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post #3 of 42
8/8/09 at 3:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiwideus View Post
Books that don't have vampires that sparkle are good.


On that subject. I don't care what the current trend is, I've read at and beyond a college level since I was 9-10. I do not want to read a book wrote for and intended for children or young adults (Twilight series, Harry Potter, etc). Too much drama, especially teeny drama, and my mind wanders off to think about more interesting things.

I like books that actually keep my attention. I'm not overly picky and read fast so this isn't too much of an issue. The writing needs to be fairly detailed, but not so much so that it drags the story to a halt every time something needs to be described. Don't overdue it and get all flowery with the language, if that's what you want to write consider writing poetry.

Too much emotional stuff and drama. I don't connect to people very well this way and it's not much better in a story, it just annoys me.
That the characters have some morals and don't behave like a teenager if they're supposed to be an adult.
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post #4 of 42
8/8/09 at 5:56am
I like characters that I end up really caring about. I also appreciate an author who isn't afraid to kill someone off, no matter how attached the reader may have become to that character. Generally, because I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, a good book for me is one where the world is so realistically conjured that i find myself day-dreaming about what I would get up to if I was living in it
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post #5 of 42
8/8/09 at 6:05am
I've always liked science fiction, but I like it to be something that really inspires some thought. Asimov's "Black Widower" stories come to mind, but the Foundation series is good, too. He once remarked that he went back and re-read them himself, and he was amazed at how little actually happened, and how much was narrative.

The "Last Man On Earth" type of books and stories fascinate me, too.

I'm not a romance reader, but I came across one recently that I found interesting, "Wicked Weaves." It's about a murder at a Renaissance Faire. Apparently the first in a series. The next one comes out next month.

I've read all of Garrison Keillor's fiction, and Jimmy Buffett's. Does that cover the gamut?

On the other hand, I once had a college professor whose opinion of a "good book" was one that had a leather binding and gold inlaid title on the spine.
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post #6 of 42
8/8/09 at 6:16am
My ultimate "last man on earth" would have to be Richard Matheson's: I am legend. That book was awesome The recent movie wasn't bad, but the book was definetley better.
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post #7 of 42
8/8/09 at 6:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiwideus View Post
Books that don't have vampires that sparkle are good.
Omg! you´re funnie Kellye!
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post #8 of 42
8/8/09 at 6:35am
I have to confess I have neither read "I Am Legend," nor seen the latest movie. I did see "Omega Man," which was another version of the same movie.

If you haven't read it, "War Day," by Whitley Streiber and another author, is probably one of the best of the genre.

I have enjoyed some science fiction with convoluted plots. Ann McCaffrey's "Chanur's Pride" series probably best exemplifies that, dropping hints and clues about plots within plots. And after you've read the whole series, you still ask, "What did Tully know that made him so valuable, and so dangerous?"

And I enjoy a good romp. How about Alan Dean Foster's "Quozl?" And speaking of Foster...go through a list of his books, and be amazed.

And I'm slogging again through David Gerrold's "Chtorr" series, novels about aliens remaking the earth for their habitation.
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post #9 of 42
8/8/09 at 6:39am
For me it is a book, any book, that completely takes me there. A book where I am inside of the scene, and it is hard to put it down. It can be any type of book, really.
People can laugh, but one series that did this to me was Harry Potter - as soon as I open those books, I am right there, standing next to them, living every single scene .
My favorite writer - Colombian Literature Nobel Prize Winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez. His books "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Times of Cholera" are nothing shy of fantastic.
Like Water for Chocolate is another GREAT book, and Isabel Allende is another writer I enjoy very much, especially The House of The Spirits.
In general, if a book can't capture me in the first 10 pages, then that's it - I will move on to better ones...
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post #10 of 42
8/8/09 at 6:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post

If you haven't read it, "War Day," by Whitley Streiber and another author, is probably one of the best of the genre.
Thanks, I'll definetley try that one

I have read and enjoyed some Alan Dean Foster and also Phillip Jose Farmer (riverworld series was fun) and Phillip K. Dick has done some good ones!

For awesome plots and characterisation, I love Robin Hobb, her Farseer and Liveship Traders Trilogies were amazing!
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post #11 of 42
8/8/09 at 6:44am
If you like humor in your "science fiction," Foster is good but Terry Pratchett is better! If you haven't read any of his "Diskworld" books, find one. It's a little like Monty Python with aliens, wizards, ghosts, the odd dragon...and policemen!
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post #12 of 42
8/8/09 at 6:49am
Of course! I have read nearly every discworld written to date and have a signed first edition of Men-at-arms. I LOVE pratchett's stuff
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post #13 of 42
8/8/09 at 7:15am
A good Book with a good cofffe PLUS a good Chair,....Priceless!...
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post #14 of 42
8/8/09 at 7:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CoolCat View Post
A good Book with a good cofffe PLUS a good Chair,....Priceless!...
Hum.... my super priceless version of that is "A good book, a good cup of coffee and a Hammock on the veranda".... There is nothing like a good hammock... ai ai ai, I miss Brasil!
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post #15 of 42
8/8/09 at 7:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by carolinalima View Post
Hum.... my super priceless version of that is "A good book, a good cup of coffee and a Hammock on the veranda".... There is nothing like a good hammock... ai ai ai, I miss Brasil!
...That´s TERRIFIC my friend....
I want to IMPROVE your version of priceless"-....
Coffe+ Book+ Hammock+ Beach+ Cococnut plant+ sand!...OMG!, the heaven here on earth!....

There´s not hammock on the pic but that´s the IDEA!.......
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post #16 of 42
8/8/09 at 7:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CoolCat View Post
...That´s TERRIFIC my friend....
I want to IMPROVE your version of priceless"-....
Coffe+ Book+ Hammock+ Beach+ Cococnut plant+ sand!...OMG!, the heaven here on earth!....

There´s not hammock on the pic but that´s the IDEA!.......
And then there is the ultimate.... adding a stupidly cold beer and some fresh cooked crab and shrimp
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post #17 of 42
8/8/09 at 7:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by carolinalima View Post
And then there is the ultimate.... adding a stupidly cold beer and some fresh cooked crab and shrimp
....shrimp!...
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post #18 of 42
8/8/09 at 7:45am
in those circumstances the book becomes a mere detail
after all you need to rock the hammock, hold the beer and grab the shrimp....
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post #19 of 42
8/8/09 at 8:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by carolinalima View Post
in those circumstances the book becomes a mere detail
you bet that.....
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post #20 of 42
8/8/09 at 9:50am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by georgina View Post
I like characters that I end up really caring about. I also appreciate an author who isn't afraid to kill someone off, no matter how attached the reader may have become to that character. Generally, because I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, a good book for me is one where the world is so realistically conjured that i find myself day-dreaming about what I would get up to if I was living in it
I think it is the same with me!! I love fantasy but sci fi can get a little confusing to me. It all depends on how the writer introduces everything, and how well it's explained but when it comes to sci fi, I think it is not the time to be vague and some writers are trying to be cool that way..Sometimes it's the same with fantasy too when it comes to some writers like Patricia Briggs.. I really need to be able to see what's going on through the character's eyes and if I can't do that clearly enough I don't pay attention any longer and give up on the book..
It's really cool to read sci fi that is just barely out of the bounds of the real world. I was reading some sci fi short stories, I can't remember the author and no longer have the book with me but it was about genetically engineering people, and then people were suing their parents, etc and I thought that was really cool because I can see that happening in the future one day lol..

Quote:
Originally Posted by carolinalima View Post
For me it is a book, any book, that completely takes me there. A book where I am inside of the scene, and it is hard to put it down. It can be any type of book, really.
People can laugh, but one series that did this to me was Harry Potter - as soon as I open those books, I am right there, standing next to them, living every single scene .
My favorite writer - Colombian Literature Nobel Prize Winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez. His books "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Times of Cholera" are nothing shy of fantastic.
Like Water for Chocolate is another GREAT book, and Isabel Allende is another writer I enjoy very much, especially The House of The Spirits.
In general, if a book can't capture me in the first 10 pages, then that's it - I will move on to better ones...
I love Gabriel Garcia Marquez!! Love in the time of cholera is my favorite one by him. I read 2 or 3 others but did not enjoy them as much...
I have heard of Isabel Allende, I think it was on my spanish summer reading when I was in high school...Too bad I chose to read Julia Alvarez instead and didn't like the book I chose..
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post #21 of 42
8/8/09 at 10:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ut0pia View Post
I love Gabriel Garcia Marquez!! Love in the time of cholera is my favorite one by him. I read 2 or 3 others but did not enjoy them as much...
I have heard of Isabel Allende, I think it was on my spanish summer reading when I was in high school...Too bad I chose to read Julia Alvarez instead and didn't like the book I chose..
Isn't Gabriel Amazing??? Have you read One Hundred Years of Solitude? If you liked Love in the times of cholera, you will love this one!!
Isabel Allende is also a great writer, and shows a lot of the fantastic realism that Gabriel has on his books (not to the same extent, Gabriel is pretty out there!) - her book The house of the Spirits is awesome!!
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post #22 of 42
8/8/09 at 3:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
I have to confess I have neither read "I Am Legend," nor seen the latest movie. I did see "Omega Man," which was another version of the same movie.

If you haven't read it, "War Day," by Whitley Streiber and another author, is probably one of the best of the genre.

I have enjoyed some science fiction with convoluted plots. Ann McCaffrey's "Chanur's Pride" series probably best exemplifies that, dropping hints and clues about plots within plots. And after you've read the whole series, you still ask, "What did Tully know that made him so valuable, and so dangerous?"

And I enjoy a good romp. How about Alan Dean Foster's "Quozl?" And speaking of Foster...go through a list of his books, and be amazed.

And I'm slogging again through David Gerrold's "Chtorr" series, novels about aliens remaking the earth for their habitation.
wasn't it CJ Cherryh that wrote Chanur's Pride?
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post #23 of 42
8/8/09 at 5:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by carolinalima View Post
Isn't Gabriel Amazing??? Have you read One Hundred Years of Solitude? If you liked Love in the times of cholera, you will love this one!!
Isabel Allende is also a great writer, and shows a lot of the fantastic realism that Gabriel has on his books (not to the same extent, Gabriel is pretty out there!) - her book The house of the Spirits is awesome!!
I have not read 100 years of solitude, I have it but for some reason it never caught my attention once I started to try reading it! I might give it a second try...but I am a sucker for either romance or mystery or some sort of supernatural element...If one of those is missing it is super hard for me to like a book..I'm soo critical lol!!
But reading from the wikipedia description of the house of the spirits, I am sooo intrigued!! I am most definitely going to check it out, probably in spanish to practice my language skills Being completely fluent and comfortable in speaking spanish is my dream so maybe reading more spanish literature will help me get to it...
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post #24 of 42
8/8/09 at 5:12pm
I love Ray Bradbury; Something Wicked This Way Comes. For me, a book has to be well written (like anything by Anne Rice). I also like exciting nonfiction - like The Hot Zone about Ebola and The Perfect Storm. I realize these are all older books, but they're some of my favorites.
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post #25 of 42
8/8/09 at 5:13pm
Oh, and I forgot to mention, I like sparkly vampires!
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post #26 of 42
8/8/09 at 5:16pm
When I don't want it to end.
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post #27 of 42
8/8/09 at 5:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ut0pia View Post
I have not read 100 years of solitude, I have it but for some reason it never caught my attention once I started to try reading it! I might give it a second try...but I am a sucker for either romance or mystery or some sort of supernatural element...If one of those is missing it is super hard for me to like a book..I'm soo critical lol!!
But reading from the wikipedia description of the house of the spirits, I am sooo intrigued!! I am most definitely going to check it out, probably in spanish to practice my language skills Being completely fluent and comfortable in speaking spanish is my dream so maybe reading more spanish literature will help me get to it...
Oh.... you like the romance and the magic.... You've GOT to read "Like Water for Chocolate" then.... It's awesome, and it has PLENTY of romance and even more magic!

I get what you are saying about 100 years of solitude - it is a little complicated in the beginning because everybody has the same name lol, but once the crazy (crazy like supernatural weird fantastic) stuff starts happening, then forget it - you are hooked and can not put the book down anymore. That's the boo that granted him the Nobel... It is truly amazing, and a lot of fun - that man's imagination is out of this world!
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post #28 of 42
8/8/09 at 5:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by goonie View Post
wasn't it CJ Cherryh that wrote Chanur's Pride?
Yeah, you're right. That's what I get for working on the high wire without a net (from my frail memory, in other words).
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post #29 of 42
8/8/09 at 6:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nurseangel View Post
For me, a book has to be well written (like anything by Anne Rice).
She got better, but her first few books can only be described as "clunky".


As for why some sci fi and speculative fiction is sort of vague, it depends on the era it's coming out of and the author. There's the "pulp era" - 20s-30s, the golden age - late 30s-50s, and the new wave that was during the 60s and 70s (and to some degree early 80s). Any newer authors after that tended to write more hard sci fi. You also get cyberpunk around this type.
I prefer the 60s and 70s sci fi. This era was dominated by the speculative fiction writers who did keep the technology side of the stories more downplayed and focused on the social (and political) aspects and consequences.
You get authors like Matheson, Ballard, Dick, Ellison, Moorcock, Silverberg, Farmer, Aldiss, Tiptree/Sheldon, etc from the new wave era.
My bookshelves are filled with as much as I can get a hold of from these authors.
Anyone who doesn't like the technology focused hard sci fi should try this sub-genre. A nice starting point is an anthology called Dangerous Visions - if you can find it.
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post #30 of 42
8/8/09 at 6:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
She got better, but her first few books can only be described as "clunky".


As for why some sci fi and speculative fiction is sort of vague, it depends on the era it's coming out of and the author. There's the "pulp era" - 20s-30s, the golden age - late 30s-50s, and the new wave that was during the 60s and 70s (and to some degree early 80s). Any newer authors after that tended to write more hard sci fi. You also get cyberpunk around this type.
I prefer the 60s and 70s sci fi. This era was dominated by the speculative fiction writers who did keep the technology side of the stories more downplayed and focused on the social (and political) aspects and consequences.
You get authors like Matheson, Ballard, Dick, Ellison, Moorcock, Silverberg, Farmer, Aldiss, Tiptree/Sheldon, etc from the new wave era.
My bookshelves are filled with as much as I can get a hold of from these authors.
Anyone who doesn't like the technology focused hard sci fi should try this sub-genre. A nice starting point is an anthology called Dangerous Visions - if you can find it.
I dunno but i really love Phillip K Dick even tho he's so vague haha sorry I totally contradicted myself there..I guess he isn't vague the way I meant it. He just leaves a lot up to interpretation but that's not what bothers me with sci fi. "Do androids dream of electric sheep" is one of my favorite books because there are soooo many social implications you can think about!! Like the human vs. machine element and what makes one human..There is such a thin line with Philip K Dick, it's almost blurred and it's hard to see his non human characters as non human..

It's just how in science fictionthey talk about imaginary planets and imaginary scientific transformations and new terminology, words that are supposed to mean something while I think they are just made up lol and I get so lost in all that..I dunno I was thinking along the lines of star trek type science fiction when I say I get lost in it.
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