The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion
How is a good book defined?
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Supreeth
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Apr 26, 2013 04:52AM
I've been thinking about this a long time... How do you define a good book? Is a book good if it's a page turner? How would one differentiate O'Henry from Jeffery Archer then? Is a good book one which 'makes one empathize with the character'? I cried while reading Jane Eyre, I cried while reading Harry Potter? If the same story were told, would a writer with an extensive vocabulary be better appreciated than one with a limited range of words? What makes an Ursula Le Guin different from a George R R Martin? How does a reader begin to discriminate?
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Enjoyment factor is a big one and i have to relate to something within the book. I know its a good book when I have to step back and go whoa this isn't real
I believe that I it is different for every book and everyone. A good book to me is something that makes you want to turn the page but also makes you feel. like Harry Potter I rarely cry for a book but I did on that one
I d say its a book that you really want to finish so fast to know what happens but you want to relish every moment if it like dutch chocolate icecream ..so you decide to go slow U would know that you ve read a goid book if it lingers in your mind long after you finished it
That's exactly how I feel you said I perfectly for me
I think there's a couple of ways to define it. Some books I can appreciate are well-written and are well-respected.For me personally I'd define a really good book as one that stays with me long after I've read it. One that makes me see things in a different light. The books I like best are ones I see myself in, when I'm reading them I think, 'wow, they think the same way I do!'.
I think the best way to put it is just a book that stays with you and resonates in some way, whether it's because of story, characters, plot, or the writing. If it sticks in your mind after you've finished it, then it's done it's job right.
I enjoyed reading Game of Thrones, but I wouldn't dare pitch GRRM against others in the genre, like Tolkien or JOR. Am I just being a snob here? I mean, I loved GOT, those characters are beautiful, I talk about Arya Stark way more than I do about Frodo Baggins. Yet, I just cannot bring myself to place ASOIAF in the same position as LOTR. It's just very confusing...
GREAT QUESTION! For me the story has to interest me first and foremost - for example same Author wrote Birdsong that made me sob where Charlotte Grey was just ok. Characters have to be real enough that you shout 'NO' if something happens you really don't like - Hedwig in Harry Potter is an Owl for goodness sake, I had to close the book for 10 minutes to get over that bit of book 7! Not going to far with back story or description - really did we need to know Fontines friends names, histories, lovers and so on to understand that Cosette was a love child in Les Miserables? Suspense, drama, love, hope, joy, despair, violence, forgiveness, misery whatever else you can think of as long as its written well and with honesty is ok with me - oh and Dragons and talking dogs too.
Nicola wrote: "GREAT QUESTION! For me the story has to interest me first and foremost - for example same Author wrote Birdsong that made me sob where Charlotte Grey was just ok. Characters have to be real enough ..."So, given a choice between two books, one of which is popular, and the other more critically acclaimed, which one would you choose?
Books that win awards can be like films that win oscars - pretentious nonesense. I chose books by reading the synopsis on the back and thinking 'what happens next?' obviously sometimes you pick up a bestselling book because it's a bestseller or an award winning one and they can be good or bad. I love going into second hand book shops and letting my instinct guide me.
As far as LOTR vs GOT goes, for me it's a style and language thing. GOT is more modern and for me flows better and is easier to read, LOTR is older and more complex. Neither is better or worse than the othee just different, like a tale from Grandpa vs TV.
I define books with characters who I can relate to, who get me emotionally involved and get me thinking.I also like books that are easy to read, with a gripping, believable plot. A good example of a book that does always follow this is the Game of Thrones series. I honestly think GRRM has written ingenious characters, but sometimes the books are so difficult to read that he just loses me.
A good book for me, and I am seriously eclectic in tastes and styles but a good book is something that makes me want to come back to it to read. A story and characters that I can like, a page turner.It is the little details that do it, make the people and the situation real.
It doesn't matter of it is Shakespere or EL James or anything in between.
If you are talking poetry then it is the love of language that you get from the poet that does it for me. Either effervesing in description or paired back- just to get the feel of their rhytham of speech.
An engaging plot, preferably one in which you couldn't put the book down and relatable characters. To a small degree, I also like books that teaches life lessons, as long as they're not so preachy.
I would say the book has to make you want to come back for more again and again and not want to put the it down. I also feel the characters should invoke some form of emotional attachment like love or hate for example.
A good book leaves you thinking about it long after the pages end, and makes you feel really strongly about it and the characters. A good book is one you cannot forget and one you could talk about for hours.
It's subjective, of course, but for me, a good book is one that still engages me on the second or third read, and one that rings true.The characters need to be engaging; seemingly real people that one can care about.
Another valid point is that the author needs to mastered the talent of word usage as a tool of evocation. The sense of the reader 'being there' is all-important.
I like a book that twists my insides. A book that makes me bite my nails reading obsessively. And leaves me stunned and needing someone to read it so I can talk to someone about it!!I love a great story! I don't worry much about typos and grammar flaws because auto correct is evil. It happens to even the Already established successful with a publisher writers so it's bound to happen with a self publishing author. If I NEED to know what happens next it's a good read!
I am also a sucker for great characters with background and depth and good interactions.
To me a good book would always be the one with a happy ending,i.e.it should give hope to the reader that everything turns alright at the end.Also an engaging plot with interesting characters are also desired by me, so that I can turn time and again to read it just for enjoyment
I think a good book can be defined by the relationship the reader has with it, some books will not provoke a response whilst others will reach out into the reader's very soul.
I love a book with depth, both of story and characters. A great book is one I want read through again so I can get to that next level of story, the in-jokes and the little hints that I missed the first time around.
Two factors Good characters and good writing. It also should to leave me wanting more. Does not have to be serious or deep, although that is a plus, but it needs to draw me in and hold me. Have read romances that fit the bill.
i call it a good book when i cant stop reading the story till the end cause i felt into it
You can't. You just have to read it and tell whoever else to read it. once you two have expierenced every chapter there is an shared understanding and knowledge of how good the book is.like the hunger games. us fans never have to define how good the book is to each other.
For me, it's all about the ability to leave me breathless. I have to truly enjoy a book, it has to excite me, stun me, wow me & leave me dying for more.
I believe a good book is one that captures the reader's heart and makes you want to be or live in the world of a certain book. Oh what I would give to argue with Mr. Darcy, fly with Harry Potter, be enraptured by DELIRIUM, shoot a bow with Katniss or sit among the back of a gold dragon on Pern
what about this: the time spand of how long you think...scratch that...dream about the book once you finish it. i have been dwelling on harry potter for years.
Brittany wrote: "I believe a good book is one that captures the reader's heart and makes you want to be or live in the world of a certain book. Oh what I would give to argue with Mr. Darcy, fly with Harry Potter, b..."Yes, no doubt about it. To go into a book and see the people, actually interact with them and sit along side them as the story plays out. I agree about Mr. Darcy!!! And the times of F. Scott Fitzgerald!!! Dashielle Hammett!!! And I would love to meet some of these detectives from old fiction.
And when it comes to some non-fiction, especially history, I would love to meet some of the people from the past; Elizabeth I, Eleanor of Acquitaine, Cleopatra and many others. Probably would rather be invisible because some of these people had really bad tempers!!!! It would not take much to tick them off.
Also Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files and Simon Green's The Nightside. Interesting to visit through reading.
While we can all travel in the real and physical world, reading allows travel anywhere and any time. It can also help reduce stress and let us see other realities when that is what we need.
It's a hard question. I'm going to try to say what I like in books which likely to appear in every book I like.It doesn't matter for me if it's paranormal or contemporary, I need real emotions from the characters. I need to see background motivation for their deeds, their words. I want them to stay in characters, see authentic dialogues from them. I like when there's no black and white, and the main character has flaws, as well as the antagonist has redeeming qualities or at least understandable and not only shallow reasons.
I like a nice pace, not too fast, not too slow, but a page turner. I like if the writing style is appropriate for the type of the book - I don't like it when a chick lit or average crime story book wants to show itself to be high literature just by using superfluous and pretentious phrases, when it's not.
For me, I don't have to identify with any characters to read a good book, but in that case, the book should say something deep about society, relationships or human nature.
A good book is one that you think about and toss over in your brain and are glad you read and can't wait for the next in the series, if there is one, even after your done reading it. Oh wait.....that would be a great book!
For me, it's the quality of the language as a start, structure (plot, characters etc) follows, then how themes are explored.
