Queereaders discussion
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What jumps out to you when picking a book?
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Hi Chris, still going through all the threads I missed during my hiatus and just saw this one. I definitely hate it when book blurbs have spoilers, though sometimes they do. Are you talking about physical bookstore browsing or e-books? And what genre because that makes a difference in how I pick too? I'm feel a little embarrassed by my ignorance, but what is KU?
Hi Greg-Kindle unlimited. I was weighing using that vehicle (I opted to try for 90 days and think, so far, it has been helpful)...so I mean in a digital environment. What hooks you and what's a "no, no"?
Mod
I mainly pick books on the basis of of recommendation from others and on reviews here on Goodreads and elsewhere. At this time most of the books I am reading are older ones I have yet to get to and old favorites I want to re-read.
I haven't read many e-books, but I do look at friends' reviews that have similar tastes. If there are samples of the story (if I recall Kindle has short samples you can see before purchase), I'd definitely check them out to see if the writing style was to my taste. I like vivid writing; I read a lot of fiction on the literary end, but I enjoy genre writing too.
As far as book blurbs, the main turnoff for me is something that sounds like it comes from a worldview that's grindingly gritty & hopeless. I like stuff people consider "depressing" often - sad or difficult subject matter isn't a turn off at all. It's an unrelentingly cynical world view that I run away from, stories where everyone is utterly unredeeming, especially if somehow the author thinks that automatically makes the book "deep".
Fantasy/sci-fi elements are a plus, quality writing is a plus, psychological/sociological realism, consistency & depth are a major plus, a little earnestness is a major plus, overtly political conservative propaganda is a major minus (think Ayn Rand), some complexity is a plus though light reads are fun too! I'm also a little turned off by books that seem like they're trying too hard to be hip.
Mod
I like well turned sentences and words that are new to me. I like exposition of points of view, philosophies, politics etc. Some call this 'preachy" and it can be. I like new ideas—something that has not occurred to me. I like a person's actions and thinking consistent with how (s)he is portrayed.
I dislike poor editing, self editing and lots of typos. These seem a problem with self-published books. Too many are seemly self-edited or edited by someone who is not very experienced.
Greg wrote: "I haven't read many e-books, but I do look at friends' reviews that have similar tastes. If there are samples of the story (if I recall Kindle has short samples you can see before purchase), I'd ..."
I TOTALLY feel you about the over dialogue. I come from a screenwriting background...and you can MAYBE get away with one 60 second speach in a movie, period. Most people talk in 2-3 sentence bursts, at most!
Jade wrote: "Bill wrote: "The series I'm reading now (Wheel of Time) have too much description. What every person is wearing every time that person is present is described in detail. I don't care about what peo..."Jade,
You raise an interesting point...so you feel like something in e-book format only might, by default, be amateurish and grammatically challenged? That's interesting! I, personally chose not to do a small unit run of print copies of my novel, but I wonder if others have a similar aversion because I present as a "digital only" author.
Any thoughts or insights you have here would be truly appreciated.
CH
Chris wrote: "I, personally chose not to do a small unit run of print copies of my novel, but I wonder if others have a similar aversion because I present as a "digital only" author...."I do usually prefer to read either in print or via audiobooks on my commute.
That's not so much because I feel that eBooks are more amateurish - it's just that I really prefer the feel of reading via paperback/hardback. My Kindle was very old though before I lost it. Maybe if I had a newer kindle or tablet I'd feel differently?
The problem with the old Kindle was: no cover art, spacing problems in the text, hard to flip back and forth to certain chapters if I wanted to go back and look at something, weird pagination, also text that was a little harder on the eyes.
Mod
I would not say this for e-books per se, but do think it more true of self-published books than print books or e-books from established publishers. Many self-published books I have read have problems with typos, clumsy sentences, etc. I'm sure most of this is due to the the lack of professional editing. Self-editing is not good. Using 'ordinary' people for editing is helpful, but not nearly as useful as professional editing. OTOH, I have read excellently produced self-published books (not knowing how they were edited).
I think it important your 1st book appear professional, otherwise many will ignore your subsequent work. I fear many self-publish their early efforts just so they can call themselves a published author.
I don't like e-books. I find them hard to read and hard on my eyes. I only get e-books if it the only format in existence or if I can get collections not otherwise available (eg a collection of 250 golden age SciFi short stories, mostly from pulps) or if I have favorite books I want to be searchable. If a book is available as an e-book and a print book, even if printed to order, I always get the print book. I tend to ignore books that are digital only.
I just published my first novel (and yes I'm still terrified, lol) on KU and I'm still trying to get all of the bells and whistles of settings/descriptions, etc. down.
As a high consumption KU reader for a long time I know what attracts ME to a new KU book...but I also realize I'm not the only opinion in the room.
Is it cover, title, reviews, word of mouth, a very specific description (how do you feel about potential spoilers)? What's your personal decision making criteria?
Anyhow...I'm learning so would really value some of my fellow readers' opinions.
Much love,
CH