Comments on: What Makes a Good Novel

By: Ronnica

Ronnica — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:58:41 +0000

Anonymous: If you want to know who I am, feel free to read “About the Historian” above. I’m not sure why my readers care about my opinions, but apparently they do and they like to give their own. While it’s true that I’m not a professional reader or a “novelest”, I feel like I have a good idea of what *I* like to read (which is all this post is asserting). I’m not involved in the literary world, other than as a reader.

Thanks for your opinion.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:39:37 +0000

who are you and who gives a crap about your opinions. you are not a professional, you are not a scholar, you are not a novelest. You have no talent and you created this webpage to make yourself feel important and like you’re involved in the literary world.

By: Ari

Ari — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:57:09 +0000

Very true.

Now regarding the comment on the My Sister’s Keeper book above.. I agree BUT if you read a lot of Jodi Picoult books, her endings become very predictable. Which gets annoying.

By: Ronnica

Ronnica — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:52:39 +0000

Amanda: I was thinking Steinbeck on #7, too! I vowed off his writing after reading The Grapes of Wrath, but glad I broke it, because East of Eden was worth reading.

I don’t read as an escape, or not primarily so. I’m okay with harsh reality–as long as it’s not just meant to shock and awe. A greater awareness of the world around me is always a good thing.

Pam: I’ll be working that up for a future post, probably next week. There’ll be some hard choices!

Liz: I don’t NEED a story to grab me right away as I’ll push through, but it sure helps. I do agree that I want to feel along with the character…if a book moves me to tears, it’s done an excellent job (on the other hand, it’s way too easy for a movie to make me cry).

Joy: I read a lot of books that aren’t plot-driven, but if it is, I like to be surprised. Hunger Games is a good example of that.

I hope your daughter doesn’t read it because she relates to Scarlet! Can’t stand the character, but I love how her selfishness is never changed throughout the book though she goes through some tough times.

By: joy in the Burbs

joy in the Burbs — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:17:23 +0000

I like a some suspense and a surprise ending. I hate when endings are predictable. I think My Sister’s Keeper was a good book because the ending was not what I expected at all.
My 14 year old has read GWTW about 4 times.

By: Rebecca is Thrilled by the Thought

Rebecca is Thrilled by the Thought — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:12:12 +0000

This is a great list. I love #2. “It should seem like the book was birthed whole.” That’s a great way to put it.

And I love #4. I love a book that makes me feel like I know the characters. I want to talk about them during my reading and after I finish.

By: GZOE

GZOE — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:49:45 +0000

I like a good mystery and it needs to grab my interest right off…or, I too, put the book back. I also after I get into it…always read the last two or three pages…Why? I don’t know, I just do, and then forget about it until I get there. To think…I really didn’t start reading until I was 42.

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:33:23 +0000

I need a story to grab my attention immediately and hold it through the first 100 pages, or I’ll quit. I don’t have hours to sit and read, so I need it to be interesting enough that once I set it down I will want to pick it back up the next day. I think that’s why I tend to gravitate more toward mysteries because they create a desire in me to see the mystery solved.

I also need to feel the emotions of the characters, or I just don’t care. I was recently starting a book, and the main character had a flashback to receiving a phone call that his young son had been killed. It was more of a statement and zero emotion. Um…I just can’t identify with that, so I stopped reading.

By: Pam

Pam — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:47:53 +0000

This is a wonderful list. I completely agree with you about too much description, as well. Now you’ve got me curious. What were your favorite reads of 2009?

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:36:17 +0000

Amen to #7 (*ahem* John Steinbeck). For some writers, if I were their editor, I would slash and burn 3/4 of their work. It’s just not necessary to be verbose; in fact, it is detrimental to the work. That’s partly why Ernest Hemingway is my all-time favorite author–he told it like it is, but didn’t mince his words. That’s what makes a good book for me.

Additionally (and this is reflective of my preference in literature genres), I don’t like harsh reality when I read (perhaps a little naive, head-in-the-sand, but it’s true). Generally speaking, I read to escape (although I have been known to read for knowledge or inspiration, as in memoirs, Bible, etc.). I don’t like to be doused with in-your-face realities of the “real world”–I get enough of that with my life history, work, the news, and charities we support.

For example, if there is a part in a novel where an assault is taking place (I’m thinking specifically of texts like “Kite Runner”) I cannot read it. I will not read it (although, interestingly, that book was the exception to that rule…but I don’t think I could handle reading it again). And if it hits too close to home, I’m out. I will just read the last few pages to see how things turn out and put the book back.

Give me my fantasy/classic literature any day ;-)