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Misc... (Formally Welcome) > what is the best aspect of a book to you

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message 1: by Tamara (new)

Tamara A | 25 comments i like the fact that anyone around your country can engage in a conversation about the book u read without knowing you.


message 2: by Pauline (new)

Pauline Toohey (paulinelouise) | 2 comments Becoming deeply attached to a character.


message 3: by Tamara (new)

Tamara A | 25 comments yes i agree to u both


message 4: by Abigail (new)

Abigail Sharpe (abigailsharpe) Tamara, I love that sentiment.


message 5: by Robert (new)

Robert Spake (ManofYesterday) | 45 comments I like the feeling of being able to peer into someone else's soul.


message 6: by AlanCummingFan (new)

AlanCummingFan    (Morgona505) | 4 comments a really thick plot and deep characters with a huge aspect you need of them missing for mod=st of the book


message 7: by Rinelle (new)

Rinelle Grey (rinellegrey) | 38 comments Getting lost in it, and being able to step into a different world for a while. (preferably ones where I know everything will work out for the character/s in the end.)


message 8: by Tamara (new)

Tamara A | 25 comments it is nice when everything works out at the end in a book


message 9: by Abigail (new)

Abigail Sharpe (abigailsharpe) Hence the appeal of the Happily Ever After of a romance novel.


message 10: by Simon (new)

Simon Wheeler (simonhughwheeler) If you have a really good character that you feel like you've gotten to know as a friend. The plot is almost unimportant - I like to share the experiences with the character.


message 11: by Steven (new)

Steven (tbones) | 408 comments Oooo this is such a tough question Tamara :O) It depends on the book for me but every author has a unique style with how they write that attracks me to their work, and each one takes a certain mood that I am to read their stuff. I totally love a lot of dialog between characters but I really love books that mix genres and are willing to blend just the right amount of seriousness with some humor. Great characters make a book that much more memorable and if the author can really make you care about them, then when bad things happen it's that much more of a personal, emotional connection. I also enjoy authors that mix their style up so you never know what direction they are going to go in. Example is some authors you can tell part of the way into the book which characters will survive, others will write as if nobody is safe which keeps you on the edge, and if you fall in love with a character and they get axed, you will never forget that book.


message 12: by E.B. (new)

E.B. Brown (ebbrown) | 73 comments Abigail wrote: "Hence the appeal of the Happily Ever After of a romance novel."

Me too, I like HEA. Or at least happy for now.


message 13: by Oela (new)

Oela (readingroy) Tamara wrote: "i like the fact that anyone around your country can engage in a conversation about the book u read without knowing you."

i agree!
not just your country but anybody from any part of the world come closer just because you share the experience of reading one book.
it's almost magical.

characters are probably one thing that makes or breaks a book.
i believe a character sketch can make you love or dislike (hate being too strong a word!) a book/author.

cheers!


message 14: by Steven (new)

Steven (tbones) | 408 comments yeah well a romance novel would have to have a happy ever after ending I guess huh...but what if it didn't what would that do to you emotionally. How would you feel if right at the moment the girl was about to get jiggy with it with her Fabio guy, she got beamed aboard the Enterprise naked, giving Scotty a heart attacked, making Sulu turn into a straight guy, and Captain Kirk add to the list of alien chicks he's slept with...ok thats a bit much but think about it if there was no happy ending and it's a cliff hanger end you get a romance that might not end in divorce but a series and I've seen those go on for more than 15 books or more :o)


message 15: by Steven (new)

Steven (tbones) | 408 comments Oh and I've had 3 big cups of coffee so far :O)


message 16: by E.B. (new)

E.B. Brown (ebbrown) | 73 comments bahahaaa, you made me laugh! Good point. But I enjoy the everlasting love story as well...guess I'm easy to please :)


message 17: by Abigail (new)

Abigail Sharpe (abigailsharpe) You know, Steven, there are decaf brands on the market that taste just as good. :)


message 18: by Steven (new)

Steven (tbones) | 408 comments Abigail, Yeah but it's about the buzz and making you all laugh and think of the never ending possibilities for great stories :O) decaf is like whisky without the alcohol...why bother :O)
E.B. You like a good romantic story, something that is sweet and makes you smile, look up on YouTube or whichever is to your liking, The Paperman animated movie short. It was on the extras to the Rise of the Guardians movie as well. I think you will enjoy it.


message 19: by Abigail (new)

Abigail Sharpe (abigailsharpe) I LOVED that short. So sweet, and all without words. <3


message 20: by D.M. (new)

D.M. Cherubim (dmcherubim) | 14 comments Mind expansion, I think. And pure entertainment. And food for thought.

Not to mention humor, which can cure just about anything.


message 21: by Steven (new)

Steven (tbones) | 408 comments Abigail, I think that was the coolest thing about the short...no words. Plus I like computer animation but I do miss this type of animation and would like to see more like it.
D.M. Yes Humor, I love to have the humor in my stories. If you want some humor check out David Sedaris's Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. I laughed pretty hard at that book.


message 22: by D.M. (new)

D.M. Cherubim (dmcherubim) | 14 comments I will. Thank you Steven. I could use a good laugh this weekend.


message 23: by Steven (new)

Steven (tbones) | 408 comments :O) Oh another fun site to check for humor is the Tundra comic strip site. Unfortunately Tundra is only in our Sunday paper now but I saved the site so I can visit and read ones I've missed :O)


message 24: by Tom (new)

Tom Krug (thomas_krug) | 36 comments I'm a sucker for three-dimensional characters and twisting plots with a nugget of romance buried within. At the end of a story I like to be able to say, "Yeah! You took on the bad guys, beat their asses AND got the girl. Good on you, man."


message 25: by Steven (new)

Steven (tbones) | 408 comments So if the good guy beat some asses and got the girl and one paragraph later he's walking into the sunset with the girl, she suddenly gets swallowed up by a gigantic creature, and the author ends it there...will you be really quick to buy the next title to find out what happens to this guy mentally? Or is the girl dead or did she just bust out of this creature somehow...hmmmm ???


message 26: by Tamara (new)

Tamara A | 25 comments that's is one weird thought, but would buy the next copy


message 27: by Justin (new)

Justin (justinbienvenue) | 2274 comments I like that Goodreads has so much to offer and gives those who dont read much a new perspective on reading.


message 28: by Wade (new)

Wade Garret | 182 comments 1) Cover
2) Dialogue
3) Characters
4) A good middle


message 29: by Rinelle (new)

Rinelle Grey (rinellegrey) | 38 comments Steven wrote: "So if the good guy beat some asses and got the girl and one paragraph later he's walking into the sunset with the girl, she suddenly gets swallowed up by a gigantic creature, and the author ends it..."

If I knew the author and believed they could save the situation, I'd buy the next book, unfortunately, there are few authors like this! If there was no next book, I wouldn't read anything more by that author. Yes, I might remember the book forever, (like City of Angels! I hate that movie.) but not with any fondness!

Series that go on for several books and it takes ages for the characters to get together I have no problem with. All that romantic tension is great. So long as eventually you get the happy ending.


message 30: by KelseyKES (new)

KelseyKES | 4 comments 1)characters
i love characters who I can connect with and look up to.

2)an engaging storyline

3)no situations that defy what you rooted for. (ex. in love triangle situations , why did he die??


message 31: by Tom (new)

Tom Krug (thomas_krug) | 36 comments Steven wrote: "So if the good guy beat some asses and got the girl and one paragraph later he's walking into the sunset with the girl, she suddenly gets swallowed up by a gigantic creature, and the author ends it..."

Haha, I might buy it if he pulled that off well. Killing the love interest in one paragraph though--I don't know if it's possible to do that effectively...


message 32: by [deleted user] (new)

So, I'm an author, and I want to know what you guys think: I seem to have a fetish with killing off main characters - my latest series, "CrissCross", does this quite freely -- although ends on a happy note.

Well, it's not exactly happy, but it's like having a sunny day after weeks of nonstop rain.

What are your thoughts on things like this?


message 33: by ipsit (last edited Apr 30, 2013 01:52AM) (new)

ipsit (ipsit_13) | 1 comments There are many aspects in a book that stand out as already mentioned. To me, it is the tension and complication towards the climax,emotions that run higher and deeper,and I don't give a damn if the ending is happy or sad,as long as the writer does justice to the story and has an impact. The best parts are the ones that makes us feel -- whatever that feeling is, and it might even make us think, and it will resonate with us emotionally, whatever the emotion is.


message 34: by [deleted user] (new)

Thank you - that actually gives me a feeling of great pride - I believe I have done justice to all of this - especially if readers decide to read my accompanying short stories "Pixels" and "Oxxindustries" after completing the series.


message 35: by Tom (new)

Tom Krug (thomas_krug) | 36 comments Josiah wrote: "So, I'm an author, and I want to know what you guys think: I seem to have a fetish with killing off main characters - my latest series, "CrissCross", does this quite freely -- although ends on a ha..."

I know what you mean. The end of 1984 was the most stunning ending I've ever read. It was the sort of book you put down and just lie in bed for 15 minutes ruminating.


message 36: by [deleted user] (new)

Yes -- I agree about 1984. I'm not even going to try to liken "Puppets" to masterpieces such as that. But that is how I would describe my ending - as a day of sun after weeks of rainy days.

It kind of brings the series full circle - "closes the loop", so to speak. Brings is back to where we started in an ironic way. And no, I didn't spoil anything by saying that. It's in a way noone will expect.


message 37: by Steven (new)

Steven (tbones) | 408 comments T.K.
There's a title out there I have read where the author did this to me and he did it so well. I was in as much shock as the character in the book. In fact I had to go back and reread what happened to make sure I read it right :O) Not that I'm happy with the loss of a loved one and the thought of no happy ending but if the author is writing something and trying to make it as realistic as possible, well in life sometimes there are no happy endings, just extreme change that create these huge emotional moments. Of coarse with a sequel there is the possibility of a sunny day :O)
So Rinelle, what if the endings aren't always happy? What if they are a mix of both happy but some sad yet thought provoking moments, is that worth reading for you? By thought provoking, I mean a moment in the characters thoughts about their loss that makes them remember the happy times, giving them a moment to learn that maybe as bad as things went it could have been a life lesson learned.


message 38: by Steven (new)

Steven (tbones) | 408 comments Oh and just remember even though there's the loss of a favorite character, doesn't mean there can't be flashbacks to those times in sequels and such.


message 39: by Tamara (new)

Tamara A | 25 comments josiah, well i don't like when characters die off so maybe once in a while u sould give the book a good ending by keeping the main characters


message 40: by Sharon (new)

Sharon Michael I'm a character-driven reader, so vivid, individualistic characters are what usually is the most important aspect of a book. Consequently, I don't want those characters dead ...

At my age, I've already lost too many relatives and good friends in real life ... I read for entertainment and am definitely not entertained by 'losing' more interesting people, even if they are characters in a book.


message 41: by chucklesthescot (new)

chucklesthescot I love it when I find that real page-turner, the book that is impossible to put down. You just zoom along, lost in the story and feel a bit sad when the book comes to an end. Then you think 'I want to read that again NOW!'


message 42: by Mark (new)

Mark Chisnell (markchisnell) | 10 comments I just love a perfect ending... otherwise, you finish book feeling a bit unsettled, that the world is tilted on its axis...


message 43: by Darlene (new)

Darlene Jones (darlene_jones) | 153 comments A story that holds my interest and characters I can care about.


message 44: by Abby (new)

Abby Vandiver | 124 comments Hi everyone. I'll tell you the best aspect of my book, which is what I look for in all the books I read. I think that the best aspect to my book is that it a completely different concept than all other books that have stories similar to mine. I have yet to find a book that dealt with my subject matter.

Read mine for yourself and tell me if you don't agree. But if you want a well known author, try Glenn Cooper's The Seventh Son. First of its kind.


message 45: by Justin (new)

Justin (justinbienvenue) | 2274 comments The fact that you can escape into it when you wanna get away for a while. To get into a mindset where the only thing that matters at that time is what your reading


message 46: by Richard (new)

Richard Sutton (richardsutton) | 198 comments I always hope for a real sense of place in the fiction I read for complete immersion. The journey is almost as important as where it ends.


message 47: by Vardan (new)

Vardan Partamyan (vardanpartamyan) | 429 comments for me, the best aspect of the book is how it starts and grabs my attention from the beginning but the real goon for me is the third act of the book - that is the make or break part of me and the ending is the single most important aspect of the book for me. I will have to go back to one of my favorite books - The Stars My Destination. The novel is an all-around masterpiece but I still remember the hours/minutes/I don't know what that was the reading of the final third - completely engrossing, life-altering, revealing, exhilarating - all of that and more.

A different example - Stephen King's Tommyknockers started very slowly for me - I actually quit the book three times before finally deciding to get it over with and reading it through the end to encounter the single best ending by Stephen King - who, being the master of storytelling is, somehow, always letting me down with the ending but not this time - this time the ending was a real treat.


message 48: by [deleted user] (new)

I enjoy reading a book where there is constant dialogue/interaction between the characters. As well, detailed descriptions on each scene helps to further cultivate the plot and making it seem as if the reader is there in person. It is always a pleasure reading a book where you can close your eyes and picture each scene as if you're watching it on TV.

Wishing you all the best. Happy reading! :)


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