Why are there so many bad VF books?

[Jute]

I just finished the pick of the month for another group I'm in and I'm again left shaking my head. At one point during the read I felt like pounding my head against the wall and just saying "WHY?"

My husband always laughs at me and asks why I finish these books. I guess I'm always hoping that somehow they'll get better.

But I often wonder, why are so many of these so poorly written? Sometimes the writing is poor, but more often than not the story is where they fall down for me. I end up not caring about the characters or I feel their situation is really hokey and just completely beyond my suspension of disbelief.

And it's not like I'm all that hard to please. I've read hundreds of these books and I've loved some of them with really out there sorts of plots and characters.

I see others who love some of the books I think are really bad and wonder if I'm just wrong.

One of the reasons I like this group so much is that even if I don't particularly care for the book, there hasn't been one I'd classify as badly written. (Well..with the exception of the one with Dinoboy...)

Do the rest of you find that you have to wade through a lot of crap to find the good stuff? If you don't, how do you pick things that aren't bad?

[Jute]

Okay so I meant to post this in a different folder and I somehow messed up....

[Leah]

I try to read reviews of the books I'm choosing before I decide to read it. Though it can be tricky because sometimes people have spoilers in their reviews, I find it to be somewhat helpful. I also don't pick books out that are under 3.25 stars, I feel that enough people have rated he book unreadable so I don't bother unless I'm LOOKING for a bad book.

[jillz]

I don't think you are way off the mark. Most of the VF books aren't great or even good literature. The genre is hugely popular right now and a lot of stuff is getting published. Sometimes they are fun mind candy and sometimes they are pretty dreadful. Don't feel swayed because "everyone" else seems to like it. If you don't, it's ok! There are lots of authors/series being tossed about now as suggestions for future picks and I don't like most of them. I've read a lot of VF books and I've come to know what I like and what I don't. Everyone has different tastes and different expectations. I've really loved a few of the club picks (Grimspace, Grave Witch and The Iron Duke), liked most of the rest and hated a couple (Gabriel's Ghost, Daughter of the Blood). Don't worry if you don't like something.

[jillz]

On how i choose what to read: I read the blurb of the book and see if any friends have rated/reviewed it that have similar tastes to me. I tend to avoid reviews because all of the 5 star ones are the ones you read first and are usually gushing about how great the book is. With people being paid to leave reviews on the Internet these days or with authors writing fake adoring reviews, I don't trust many reviews these days from strangers! If I do choose to read reviews, I usually read a smattering of the 1 & 2 star reviews to see exactly why people didn't like the book. If the major consensus is something that really bothers me in a book, I won't read it. If I am unsure, I read a sample on my Kindle app and then make a decision for myself.

[Caitlin]

I only ever pay attention to bad reviews for anything because everyone is paying for good reviews for any product out there.

[Lauren]

As someone new to the group, though I previously followed the discussions, I do take a look at the books plot summary and some of the feedback... if it's anything I think I'll be interested I pick up a copy. before joining I watched the discussions and picked them up after checking out a sample.
Just like anything I try and make an informed decision and move foreward... I'm also surprised how many things are available at the library...