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!).
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.
