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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

three is the magic number

If I am going to invest my time and hard-earned cash on a book it is going to need three things in order to make me happy:

1. characters to love - I always put this first because if I don't like somebody I'm probably not going to follow them.
2. better than average writing - it doesn't have to be perfect or amazing or better than author x. It does have to have been edited properly.
3. an interesting plot - or better yet, surprise me. Here are a five books I've read recently which met my demands: The Marbury Lens, Ship Breaker, A Wise man's Fear, Matched, and Struts and Frets.

What books have you read recently that met or surpassed your requirements for a 'good book'?

6 comments:

  1. Morning. For me it's all about the first page. Gotta grab me. I don't read back covers, reviews or anything else, just that first page.

    If by the end, I don't want to turn to page two, then back on the shelf it goes.

    Hope you have a great day. I have one more day of work and then it's staycation time. I'll be off for 12 days in a row. Woohoo!

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  2. When I go to a bookshop - the book cover grabs my attention first! Then the blurb, then the first sentence. Also if I've read about it somewhere!

    Afrika Reich, Remix and currently the sci-fi anthology I;m reading! Yay! take care
    x

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  3. Two things hook me: the first couple of pages and the setting, and not necessarily in that order. I'll buy a weak book if the setting is strong.

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  4. I agree, characters are directly linked to my liking of a novel. I also enjoy character driven plots; I get caught up in the evolution or deevolution of character. One I finished recently for the second time was Barbara Kingsolver's Bean Trees. I loved it so much I passed it on to a friend, and she loved it.

    I have the Marbury Lens, but haven't read it yet. I need to get my butt in gear!

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  5. Happy, I'm envious of you staycation!

    Old Kitty, yes; it has to have an enticing cover.

    Kittie, I can enjoy a weak book if I like the characters enough.

    Laura, I love Barbara Kingsolver; she writes amazing characters.

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  6. 12 days. Was supposed to be 10 but then they didn't schedule me for the 2 before. Woohoo.

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