What makes a good book?
There are as many answers as there are people. From the formulaic to the fabulous, from the unique to the unspeakable, everyone has certain criteria for what makes a book a worthy read. Some of us are more eclectic than others, some are addicted to certain genres, to certain writers, or to certain styles.
In this week’s book diary, I’m inviting you to share what you makes you love a book.
Continued-
This is a different kind of theme for the book diary but its all good. I love to hear what people like to read and why they like to read it.
Ticking off my favorite authors, I look for common traits.
Salman Rushdie
Umberto Eco
Terry Pratchett
Stephen King
Alice Walker
Arthur C. Clarke
Greg Bear (a new-ish find for me)
Stephen Baxter
Robert Heinlein
Margaret Atwood
Peter Straub
What ties them together? Possibly scholarship. Possibly that they have something “different” to offer, weird and new ideas, twisted plots, exceptionally literate writing, and wordplay.
I look for a good story first. Judging a book by its cover isn’t supposed to be a good idea, but being a science fiction fan, sometimes you can get a good idea of what the story’s like by the cover. For instance, if it has a dragon, a unicorn, or a heavily armored buxom lady on the cover, I’m pretty likely to give the back a cursory glance just in case and put it back on the shelf. I don’t like fantasy (Pratchett excepted). Not crazy about shoot-em-up militaristic space opera. But I do love hard science fiction, like Stephen Baxter, Arthur Clarke, Asimov, and Greg Bear.
In horror, I’m very, very selective. I’ve been disappointed too many times, and tend to restrict myself to King and Straub. It’s got to be a good story, and the author has to make me believe it.
In general fiction, the author has to be literate, willing to take chances with the plot, and not leave anything hanging. I despise one-dimensional characters.
So what makes a book a book you want to read? What brings you back to an author over and over again?
And, as always, what have you read lately?
Still working on “cryptonomicon”.. started a new Greg Bear, finished off “It Can’t Happen Here”, finally. It’s a depressing ass book to read in this day and age.
Sorry this is posted so late, we lost track of time playing NTN trivia. And we didn’t even do well.
I loved Cryptonomicon and actually enjoyed it more the second time around. I trust you’ll be letting us know how you liked it?
I voted for the author being the most important factor, even though I’m more of a genre reader. I’m addicted to mysteries and will read almost any old book I get my hands on.
That said, my very favorite reads have been favorites because of the author’s writing or voice — Anne Tyler, Vonnegut, Hunter S. Thompson, J.D. Salinger — I don’t think my love of their books was at all plot-dependent. In fact, I liked some of them in spite of the plot.
so far, I’m liking it very well. It’s complex, which I like, thought provoking, which I like, and the plot, so far, is interesting, though I’m mostly still on background @250 pages in.
You say you don’t like fantasy, have you ever tried Raymond E Feist & Janny Wurts trilogy, Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire and Mistress of the Empire?
On hard scifi, I think I’ve recommended Nancy Kress before but if I have, she’s so good I think she’s worth mentioning again.
I read both scifi and fantasy but I’m much pickier about my fantasy reading than I am my scifi. Most high fantasy puts me off and seems to be tied to too many tropes and traditional attitudes. A lot of urban fantasies, though, are quite imaginative and deal with interesting ideas.
Since you like Pratchett, it’s a given that you like snark so you might want to try Doris Egan’s “The Complete Ivory” which is a single volume of three connected novels.
ok.
writes “doris egan” on book list.
Thanks.
I really love SF, in almost all of its forms (except for the heinous mid-70s “let’s make love with the aliens” crapola foisted on the world by the likes of Spider Robinson).
If you like more hard SF — may I suggest Charles Stross? He’s the author of Accelerando — a series of 9 short stories that will collected into a book later this year. He’s also written short stories with Cory Doctorow and his first full-length novel, Singularity Sky, was nominated for a Hugo a year ago. (or was it a Nebula?)
Stross is fascinated with the Singularity (jokingly referred to as “the Rapture of the Nerds”) and how the human race will change as it passes through it.
The man is still struggling with his word-smithy (he’s no Zelazny), but his ideas are fabulous and the execution of his stories are quite good.
Did read singularity sky-liked it, if I recall correctly. Pretty deep stuff. I think I got it out of the library back when I was allowed in there.
He’s got a sequel to it called “Iron Sunrise” which in some ways I like better than Singularity Sky and in some ways not — which is reasonable for a sequel.
Have you read Peter Watts Behemoth trilogy (well it’s a quadrology because he was forced to split the last book in two separate books)?
I have not read that “trilogy” — but it sounds intriguing (it seems we might appreciate similar books). I’ll have Mr. Xray see if they’re in the local library.
Danke!!
I just finished Olympos by Dan Simmons, the follow-up to the totally awesome Illium. I have to read Olympos again before I’ll make a final pronouncement on it.
Illium, for those who aren’t familiar with Simmons’ work, is a SF novel/doorstop based on the Iliad. Well, one major story thread is based on the Iliad. The other part takes place 4,000 years in the future from present day. Simmons has done this before. He based his Hugo- and Locus-winning novel Hyperion on the Canterbury Tales.
I keep hearing about Dan Simmons. I’m gonna have to look into that.
Oh yes yes yes.
The Hyperion series — four books in all — is a great read. I haven’t read much Simmons outside of his SF work (he writes a lot of horror — and that sensibility does bleed over into his SF, in a good way), so I can’t comment on it.
Some people really hate the last two books of the series — hell, I had my issues with them when I first read them.
but I went back and re-read all four this year — and they’re a surprisingly cohesive bit of work. I warn you, though. The tone shifts markedly between Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion, then again between FoH and Endymion. (Rise of Endymion is a natural extension of Endymion.) If you go into each book expecting that it’ll be like the last, you’re in for frustration.
Whether the subject matter is fiction or non-fiction, I find Truth to be the most compelling element in the books I enjoy. A good story, for me, most point to an essential human truth, even better if it is at first glance unseen. A winning non-fiction book must reveal a truth that is contrary to the conventional wisdom of the day.
My current favorite is of that variety:
The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced By War
by Andrew Bacevich
Enjoy it.
I find that I have definite moods that dictate what I enjoy reading. For one example, there are times I really feel like digging in and reading something that will challenge my knowledge and thinking and other times when I just want to escape. I also have moods when I want the soft touch of a good (usually female) writer and times when I want to read something edgier. Right now I’m reading “Life of Pi.” A little late to the party on that one – I wasn’t going to read it, but my book group picked it as a selection. I don’t like it, but I want to finish it to see how it ends. And on this weekend, I need to mention that I have read all of the Harry Potter books and loved them! But I usually like them when I’m on vacation and really in the mood for some escape.
read “life of pi” and for the most part, didn’t like it.
Idea was interesting but it was too obviously a parable and not to be taken literally though this particular aspect generated a ton of discussion.
I really liked “Life of Pi”. I thought it was a great story and very well-written. It’s certainly different, and very thought-provoking. Your opinion might change when you’ve finished it. Let us know!
My gosh.. I’ve been living overseas so long and you have no idea how jealous I am that all of you can get your hands on English-language books!
Just wanted to add my 2 cents that I read the Pi book and loved it. Put up a Diary on it when you’re finished and we’ll all discuss it here, since it seems a number of us have read it!
Pax
OK – so now I know I’ll finish Pi for sure and will let you know what I think.
I also forgot about one of my favorite genres in the previous post. I love reading women’s biographies – especially those from other cultures. Its a great way to learn “herstory.” Some of my favorite have been:
Sacred Willows by Duong Van Mai Elliot
Wild Swans by Jung Chang
Honor Lost by Norma Khouri
Cane River by Lalita Tademy
The Devil that Danced on the Water by Aminatta Forna
In Search of Fatima by Ghada Karmi
Thanks for this list — I read Wild Swans and was amazed by it. I haven’t read any of the others, so I feel like you just gave me a mini-goldmine.
One of the most surprisingly enjoyable autobiographies I’ve read is Agatha Christie’s. And your list reminds me of another category — oral histories or those mosaic type books where a bunch of people are interviewed.
I know some people find these to be rather tedious, but I enjoy them. One I’d recommend for everyone is the classic, Hard Times, by Studs Terkel. It seems like everyone has heard of that book, but few have actually read it.
Haven’t read Wild Swans myself but I know the same author wrote a rather brutal bio of Mao as well, which some reviews I read were critical of….
Pax
is “Leaving Mother Lake : a girlhood at the edge of the world” by Yang Erche Namu and Christine Mathieu. It’s about a very unusual “woman-run” culture in the mountains of the borderlands between China and Tibet.
I went online to read about “Leaving Mother Lake” and ordered it on the spot. It looks like exactly the kind of book I love. My book group picks our selections for the year next month – and it just might be one of the books I nominate. Of course I’ll give you all the credit for the find!!
You’re welcome. I thought it was a complex, well-written, and fascinating book. It should make an excellent book group choice.
Your list suits my mood! Thanks for taking the time. Just heard about The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Anyone know anything about it other than the review in the NY Times?
I read it and have mixed feelings.
The good: compelling story, good first person narrator, ultimate payoff, interesting historical insights.
The bad: compelling story is often buried under huge swaths of exposition, not enough of the first person narrator, clunky use of letters to tell story, way too many historical insights.
The thing I believe she did the best was to build a plausible modern day Victorian atmosphere.
That and more!
Basically, I went into it fearing feculent Dan Brown hackery.
Instead, it was a little bit more Umberto Eco. No, it doesn’t even aspire to Eco’s somewhat flawed erudition, but at least it wasn’t the warmed-over bullshit that characterizes tripe like the Da Vinci code.
All that said, The Historian needs a good editing. The writing is painfully flabby. And a bigger dose of horror.
Still, I like the idea of Vlad Tepes being the hell-spawn patron-saint of librarians everywhere.
to hear people share my dan brown feelings. i read angels and demons, and I was like, damn, that’s about five hours of my life I’m never getting back. It sucked. It wanted to be foucault’s pendulum for the 9th grade reader. What a load of crap. I’m not even interested in reading DVC, no matter how many folks are reading it.
for this list of book to check out.
Will you do a quick summary?
Yes! I’d also recommend Wild Swans! It gives a great, touching overview of recent Chinese history, without me ever feeling like it was anti-Chinese.
Since I will read nearly any type of book on any type of subject, I have to give the author full credit. But of course I have to be attracted to their style, their subject matter, and often, even their attitudes.
For example, I have long since stopped reading John Updike and Phillip Roth. I don’t care what the quality of their writing is because I am not willing to put up with their attitudes toward women. And since there are an abundance of very good books to read instead, I can’t see any compelling reason to do so.
But that’s the great thing about reading. There are so many good books that no matter what your tastes are, you can always find something enjoyable to read.
To decide what books to read I spend a lot of time reading reviews from a variety of sources. I have found a few reviewers whose opinions I trust and I’ve also learned how “to read a review” to suss out whether a book is likely to appeal to me.
I’m currently reading but not very far into Amitav Ghosh’s Hungry Tide. I liked the writing and ideas in Glass Palace but found it unsatisfying because I felt he tried to do too much in it and ended up compressing too much story and too many characters into too few pages. One reason I decided to read his new book was because the reviews made it clear that this time the novel was much contained.
I hate Michael Crighton because of his treatment of female characters. I won’t pick up another book by him ever. Drawing characters in broad strokes, unless they’re incidental characters or there for effect is very off-putting to me.
There are an unfortunately large number of writers that I don’t read because of their portrayal of women characters or because they construct worlds in which women are either absent or irrelevant. Perhaps it’s chauvinistic of me but it keeps my blood pressure down (and I don’t hold to it absolutely).
I stopped reading one beautifully written novel, Soul Mountain, because the author doesn’t seem to like women and he was just too darn narcississtic.
I just don’t have the time for that in my life.
Same applies, in my opinion, to Paul Theroux and John Updike, who must really hate women. Or maybe they’re afraid of them.
I think that is such a personal question: what makes a good book.
For me, it has be many things: intellectually interesting, emotionally honest, genuinely authentic, assumes the reader is intelligent.
And lately, though this was not the case before, I must LIKE or RESPECT the characters, or at least one character, in some way else forget it.
My time is limited. I want to enjoy life, especially the books I read.
If a book doesn’t contain at least one character worthy of being liked or respected, I generally will end up disliking it. For instance, I’m thinking of A Clockwork Orange, where every character is either a thug or a mealy-mouthed liberal whose hypocrisy is eventually revealed. I saw the movie when I was younger and was impressed by its stark vision of the world; I read the book when I was older and realized I didn’t believe what Burgess was saying about human nature because he seemed to only focus on its distortions.
I like, for example, Ursula K. Le Guin’s books because they do contain people whose good-heartedness resonates even after the last page. And Anne Tyler’s (though I’ve only read Breathing Lessons) — even the characters that make me grumble with frustration are attempting to accomplish something positive (short-sighted though they may be).
I find my reading is somewhat cyclical — for a couple of weeks I’ll be hungry for fiction, followed by a couple of weeks of nonfiction of one sort or another. With regard to nonfiction, it’s a combination of subject matter and style. I love history and like a pretty wide range of other topics, and I’m always open to an engaging treatment of a subject I’ve never thought much about (my current library list includes a book I stumbled across accidentally, The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison) — but it must be well-written.
In fiction, it’s a matter of style and character. I’ve read novels by brilliant writers whose characters struck me as universally unsympathetic, and they left me cold; alternatively, I’ve “met” characters I liked enormously who were trapped in uninspiring, thinly written books that I had to force myself to finish. My two favorite writers are Austen and Woolf, both masterful stylists (in their very different ways) and both progenitors of some of the fictional characters I’ve loved most.
I’m currently reading Who Murdered Chaucer by Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame, though it should be noted that the book is straight history, not humor), and taking the occasional dip into So You Think You Know Jane Austen by John Sutherland and Dierdre Le Faye.
is a very nice thing to have in a book. Hence my love of Pratchett, I guess.
Although I voted for heroin just to be weird. I’m like that. And I’ve never touched the stuff. 😀
Closely related elements. Both valued here. Humor may be subtly different from wit and is also an important book value to me.
By example and quickly and dirtily: — I think of Alexander McCall Smith as a master of gentle humor, while I think of P.G. Woodhouse as more of a wit. Both can be whimsical. Rushdie is a literary master of wit, I think. Eco, of humor. Neither seem particularly whimsical to me. Anyone else willing to weigh in on this differentiation?
Still, nearly every good novel should contain humor, no? A necessary element of humanity.
One of the things i love most about eco and rushdie, despite their enormous, swaggering literacy, they somehow manage to not take themselves too seriously, and they make sure you know they’re human.
Have you read “haroun and the sea of stories”? One of my all-time favorite books. Talk about your whimsy!
Oh “pop-up” books!
I have found you have to be careful with those. At first the gimmickery can be very entertaining, however, if the story isn’t good or the characters very likeable or there is nothing really to engage the mind or heart, they end up sitting around collecting dust.
well…pop-up comes to mind, but there’s no gimmickery….LMAO
I hope all understand, the original comment was purely fun ; )
I’m thrilled to get book recommendations from y’all. I will generally read anything I can get my hands on. For me, I’ve got to like the author, not so much the characters. I’ll have favorites that I cannot resist, it doesn’t matter what the critics say. By now I’ve read everything by John Steinbeck and Mark Twain, and probably will again in the future. That’s the top tier of my list – along with F. Scott.
Right now to feed my conspiracy fondness, I’m reading The DaVinci Code; along with a very old western published in 1929 about horses and manly courage. Setting aside my usual nonfiction habit for a summer break.
Interesting question, I have to have some emotional connection to at least one of the characters, I have to care or it’s simply not interesting to me. In non-fiction I’ll read on almost any topic but history is a favorite, in fiction I love urban fantasy most but I’ll try just about anything. If I’m in a really escapist mood I read manga-the perfect escape, lovely art and fun plots.
I’m also a big fan of books that cross genres-Glen Cook has a series of fantasy/ detective books, the Garret files that I love. Gumshoe Gorilla by Keith Hartman is another genre crosser that I liked a great deal, a detective story set in a dark future that has some great characters and thought provoking themes. And if you like urban fantasy I’m thinking you’re probably read all the Borderland series, but I enjoyed them so much I have to mention them anyway.
I’ve recently read and loved Cold Mountain, Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer.
Actually I listened to both of these on tape read by the author, which added a warmth and a southern feel to both of these wonderful novels.
Sometimes I want to read something that’s just applesauce for the brain. The other day, sat down and read a Robert Parker Spenser novel.
Witty, clever dialogue, nice mystery. But beyond the surface genre, the books are brilliantly and tightly written. You can learn a lot about how to set a scene by reading Parker.
I’m currently reading my way through Elizabeth George’s literary mysteries. They’re set in England, use the same five core characters, and are very densely plotted and written. I’d read several some years back, but decided to go through from the beginning because I’m interested in how she handles the arc of character development over not just a single story but over a long time line.
Often, I find that there is more and more interesting character development in genre books than in so-called “literary” novels, which of late have a depressing tendency to feature unsympathetic and uninteresting characters, as well as the requisite unhappy ending.
I don’t do discussion groups because I’ve done so much book reviewing professionally.
Character development is especially good in genre series books. The authors, knowing that they can develop their characters across the have several books, seem to really think through how the characters would grow and change as a result of their background, their experiences and their relationships. In fact, I think that following the changing dynamic of relationships between characters in series books is large part of what attracts me to them.
Agreed. Frequently, those characters are more three-dimensional. Few things more dreary than a character that doesn’t grow, change, learn something in the course of the book, or several books.
But it’s not just thinking through character growth, there’s intense pre-writing work in learning who the characters are and plotting what they’re up to.
And then they take matters into their own hands. Wrote a scene some time back in which a character was called into the manager’s office. When she got there, someone else opened the door for her, took over the conversation. I had no idea he was going to show up until he did.
I remember reading an article years ago about a woman who wrote children’s books. She said one time a bunch of elves showed up. “No elves in this book,” she told them. They said, “There are now!” LOL
that’s one thing I love about pratchett-his recurring characters change and grow and develop-none so profoundly as sam vimes, but they all do to a degree, even rincewind. and even granny weatherwax.
I typically read for enjoyment/amusement/mental candy, if you will. Love good mysteries; Agatha Christie, P.D.Wodehouse, etc. Robert B. Parker {Spenser Series], Tony Hillerman is a special treat because of his knowlege and insights into the Hopi and Navajo cultures. The late H.S.T. has been a favorite and will be sorely missed. Tom Robbins is another one high up on the list…off the wall, laugh out loud, wacked out dude…he should share whatever drugs he uses. I’m currently reading his latest Villa Incognito and it is another jem on the scale of Skinny Legs and All.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…Jack N.-The Shining.
Peace
Oh wow! I didn’t know Tom Robbins had another book out – thanks!
that what makes a good book is merely that it be one I haven’t yet read. Just finished Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure and was transfixed by his ability to capture the yearning within a human soul for personal growth via education. The book read like a continuous pain in the heart for aspirations frustrated by the social restrictions of 19th C. England. Powerful character study.
Also finished Updike’s latest, Villages and didn’t find it particularly misogynistic. He’s an author deeply interested in the evolution of the self-involved male’s psyche; a man’s journey through life. It feels autobiographical; apparently he works out the “kinks” of his own personality in his novels — something I think male authors do more of than female ditto. Surely, though, we can name female authors who have the same interest in the female psyche to the “detriment” of male characters in their books. I find Updike provides me a window into the life of someone whom I could never be. That’s a book value I appreciate.
Personal confession: I’m appalled by the holes in my “well-readness.” What books do you feel guilty about not having read?
Appalling, eh?
One day…
If you’ve seen any of the Shakespeare plays, you’ve “read” him the way he inteneded. Reading plays is not the best way to experience them, so you don’t really need to feel bad about this. In fact, I’d say that any play is always much better appreciated as a reading experience after it’s been seen.
I find him way too self-absorbed and to little relevant.
My father, on the other hand, thinks he’s great. So I figure it’s a WWII generation thing.
BTW, one of the best recent SF writers in my opinion is Vernor Vinge. Anyone else out there read “A Deepness in the Sky”?
Yes, I read that, and the sequel, the title of which escapes me just now. Very good stuff. Very deep.
Though I love all sorts of books, I guess my favorites are from those authors who have a wonderful cadence to their writing, or who just write in a beautiful, yet thoughtful and slow way. I’m not so big on plots. So:
Goethe – especially Sorrows of Young Werther
J.M.G Le Clézio – contemporary French writer; wow! I’m sure even his grocery lists are beautiful
Judith Hermann – wonderful new star on the German scene
Christa Wolf – East German writer; especially her The Quest for Christa T.
Toni Morrison – way more intense then the others on my list, but still, I love her cadence
Virginia Woolf – I guess my love of rhythym in literature started here, when I did my senior paper on To the Lighthouse in high school.
I’m off for Mexico for about half a year, so I won’t be replying to these book diaries for a while, but thanks again, JLongs! And good luck!