Tuesday, 18 April 2017

Things That Make Me Really Want to Read a Book

I'm super picky when it comes to choosing books to read or even adding them on my TBR. 'This blurb sounds good' isn't really enough for me - it's more of a starting point. From there I have a mental checklist of a bunch of other things that will make me want to read the book even more. If it checks off at least 2 or 3 of these things, I will then add it to my TBR. I know it sounds crazy to be so fussy, but I can't deal with long lists or the fear that a book will disappoint me!

1. KICK ASS BLURB. preferably with a unique and exciting concept that doesn't sound like 1000 other books I have read before.

2.  STUNNING COVER. I'm talking illustrations, typography, the works. I am petty when it comes to books and appearance is everything. If I don't like a cover? I'm getting that book from the library.

3. DIVERSITY! Particularly intersectional and #ownvoices. Not only is it super important for people to see themselves in fiction, but I feel like it shows the author thought beyond having an interesting sounding story and is giving it more levels rather than sticking in the typical stock hero (which tends to get bland).

4. FANTASY. The genre is my weakness. If I see a fantasy book with a synopsis that doesn't sound recycled + cover love + intersectional diversity, you can guarantee I'll be reading it.

5. AN EXPERIENCE I'VE SHARED/CAN RELATE TO. Kind of related to point 4, but these books always feel so much more real to me. It doesn't even have to be in a diversity sense - I just want to connect with the characters and their lives (like Fangirl).

6. AN AWESOME DREAMY/THINGS-AREN'T-WHAT-THEY-SEEM VIBE. My true weakness. Also pretty much a summary of The Raven Cycle. 

7. WRITTEN BY V.E./VICTORIA SCHWAB. I haven't read The Archived or The Near Witch yet but I literally have s Schwab weakness. Even if the synopsis doesn't appeal to me, you can bet I'm going to be reading it.

8. VILLAINS. YA doesn't have enough solid villains. I want to be fascinated by them! It's why Vicious worked so well with me

9. STRONG SQUAD DYNAMIC. Six of Crows and The Raven Cycle are prefect examples of this. I'm total trash for a group of characters who somehow become a weird but cool family.

10. A KILLER OPENING SENTENCE. Although I'm not sure anything can top the way The Knife of Never Letting Go opens.


What things make you desperately want to read a book?

Posted by at
Labels:

8 comments:

  1. Lori18 April 2017 at 12:50

    I love so many of these too. I love diversity and fantasy. Stunning covers are great too. Wonderful list!
    My Top Ten

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amber18 April 2017 at 16:52

    Yas to a kick ass blurb. Words can be so important. If it doesn't capture me, I'll usually put the book back on the shelf. Same with the cover. If the cover is ugly, BYE. I'm horrible haha. I never thought of a killer opening sentence but it's so true!

    Amber @ Escape Life in the Pages

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Helia (Rose Quartz Reads)19 April 2017 at 16:39

      Blurbs are such a priority! They're the number one thing I check. Also you're not horrible because I'm exactly the same! I have a huge case of book cover bias. As for killer opening sentences, this isn't always the case but sometimes I read the first line of a book and think 'wow now I need to keep reading' and I wish more books did that for me.

      Delete
  3. Susan18 April 2017 at 18:12

    Funny enough, I had a really hard time getting into THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO at first. I read the first few pages a couple of times before I continued on. The voice is just so different, but man, what an awesome book and series! It's one of my all-time favorites.

    Happy TTT!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Helia (Rose Quartz Reads)19 April 2017 at 16:41

      I know what you mean. It's a very different layout and voice and it did feel weird for me at the start too. But what hooked me to start was that I'd never picked up a book to find the opening page being a dog insisting to his master that he needed a poo! I agree - it's a fantastic series. Thanks!

      Delete
  4. iloveheartlandX18 April 2017 at 19:12

    Great list!
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/top-ten-tuesday-103/

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)