Friday 3 February 2012

Friday Hop Seize

Q: Define what characteristics your favorite books share. Do they all have a kick ass heroine or is the hot love interest the Alpha Male?

I like books with at least a hint of the fantastical and slightly unbelievable. I do like, as the question asks, a kiss-ass heroine too! It's no fun reading about a meak one slowly struggling through life; someone with attitude, perserverance and willpower is much more interesting for readers. I tend to also like my romance to be slow- and I prefer watching a long period of falling in love then seeing the struggles they face after it. Falling in love is many time more engaging, for me, and the moment of realisation gives me a warm tingle up my spine.

Most books I like also seem to be reasonably long. Something about dedicating a lot of time to a book, and being able to be completely drawn in, are some important qualities. Other little things I like are: a whimsical side character who is humorous, clever and mysterious; the gruff 'teacher' role who helps the protagonist (this is kind of high fantasy exclusive, I think); and I like the main characters slowly learning to control and direct their abilities or skills towards another purpose (I thinking fantasy again here!).


Book Appeal: When you're browsing goodreads, the library, or another blogger's reviews, what grabs your attention to make you want to read it? 

Well, of course, the book cover is the best thing to grab my attention, followed quickly by the title of the book. I think the title is how the author or publisher has thought best to define a book; so it almost sums up the essence of that book in a short phrase or even just one word. For me the author isn't overly important- though I'm persuaded to try something if it is an author I know and like.

When it comes to goodreads or blogs, I also tend to look at the rating- and if it isn't a blogger I'm familiar with I'll scan their past review for books we've both read and see if I agree with what they say their. Goodreads has that handy comparison feature which I tend to utilise in this case. If I don't have much time, I'll also scan their introductory and final paragraph, since they tend to be more of a book overview than other more case-specific paragraphs.

Sometimes, reviewers also compare the books they read with other ones (such as when I've seen Legend compared with Divergent). This has been something that I've seen while going to leave the page, but has stopped me because I think if I liked one, maybe I'll like the other.

9 comments:

  1. Hello Alex :) I respect guys who read and aren't afraid to say what they think about good romance, heroines and story lines.

    Definitely following ;)

    My #FF here

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  2. I don't thikn my books have much in common - other than a good story - I love an ecclectic mix of things, sometimes romance, mystery, horror! And the cover grabs my attention too, but sometimes it's the description, the ratings on Goodreads, or suggestion from someone who has similar tastes as me.

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  3. Hopping through.

    I actually haven't read enough in the fantasy genre. My experience begins with J.R.R. Tolkien and ends with George R.R. Martin. I'd probably get to reading more high fantasy if they weren't so ridiculously long as a rule. Jordan's Wheel of Time series is super intimidating.

    And yeah, of course a strong female lead is important. I think only a very small percent of readers can actually enjoy a pushover MC.

    Renae @ Respiring Thoughts

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  4. I absolutely love reading fantasy novels! Though I read contemporary and romance, fantasy is my main genre of interest. I love getting lost in worlds of the author's making.

    I have to agree though - it's definitely the cover and title that will draw me in to reading something.

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  5. I agree with you on how characters should fall in love. I'm so against insta-love. I want to actually see the progression realistically and with actual emotions involved. It definitely leaves me feeling much more satisfied and with a tingle up my spine too =)

    New Follower
    Kristan @ Lost Amongst the Shelves
    My FF

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  6. Hmm, interesting how most of the books you like are reasonably long. I've never thought about it, but I agree! Oh, and I like Goodreads's comparison function too. Definitely handy.

    I hope you'll drop by and enter my giveaway to win one of three ARCs! :)

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  7. When I posted my answer I kind of forgot about what impact a title can have. I tend to avoid cliched ones and those that don't really say anything about the story.

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  8. I agree with all that! Lots of people love those really strong heroines, because what fun is a MC who always cries or whines? New follower!

    http://eileenlisblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/follow-friday-13.html

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  9. New follower here from the blog hop! I love slow building romance too. Here's my FF if you'd like to follow back: http://theonceandfuturelibrarian.blogspot.com/2012/02/feature-and-follow-friday-5.html

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