Answer these questions for me!
Posted by admin on January 29th, 2010 filed in Books, GeneralHello! Um, hello? Helloooooo? Anyone out there?
I haven’t been a very good blogger lately, have I? I’m still here. I took a trip up to PA and then Bert did some maintenance on my computer. My poor, frazzled husband reminded me that these things are supposed to be done every month, not once every 2 years and 3 months. I am hoping he’ll just do it for me. The big thing taking up my time is that pesky job I got. It has me exhausted, since I go to bed around 10:30, wake up several times with the kids, and then get up for work between 4:45 and 5:00am. When I’m not at work, I still seem to devote all my mental power to thinking about the job. I’d love to tell you about it, but I signed a thing about non-disclosure and privacy, and I don’t want to get dooced. Progress on the book has ground to a halt since I started working. I am assuming the kids are still getting meals as normal while I am not here, since they aren’t starving or complaining too much. I stay in touch with my house husband with text messaging.
It has come to my attention that not everyone reads the same way I do. For me, analyzing how a book as written is half the point, with the other half being the story. After talking to people about books we have both read, I am usually surprised at what a different experience we had of a book. Did you know that not everyone can tell you if a book was written in first or third person after they have read it? I always notice things like foreshadowing, themes, and other structural points. Repetition bothers me. Descriptions must be done masterfully. I pay attention to all this stuff and can often remember where to find the quotes in literature as if I needed to write a paper on the books.
So tell me about how you read. Are you aware of any critical thinking you are doing about the book as you are reading it? I mean, for you, is part of reading a book sitting there and actively thinking about how the book was written? Or do you just read it to get the story (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I am just curious.)? Do you remember which books were first person and which were third? Do you remember the style of the book (like lots of lengthy description, or was it short action sentences? Did most of the book deal with characters and emotions, or was it all events and reactions?)? How do you pick which books you read?
January 30th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
I’m usually not too aware of critical thinking if I’m reading for pleasure. Unless I am not really enjoying the book. Then I think about everything that’s wrong with it. Usually I recall which are written in first person and which third, and the style of the book.
I tend to read quickly, and prefer dialog and action to long descriptions, which I skim. I often find myself turning back to (re)read some bit of description I’ve missed that is important to the plot. Sometimes I think I should keep a notepad for stuff like “Xavier is a young, dark-haired Frenchman who smokes cigarettes, bla bla bla” because I will forget details like that rather quickly, as I concentrate on what the characters are talking about/doing (forcing me to turn back when it becomes important). God bless authors who keep those kinds of notes for me, like George R.R. Martin — never would’ve made it through them without the character appendices at the back!
My criteria for picking books are, in order of priority: (a) I have enjoyed the author’s work before; (b) friends or family have recommended it to me/given it to me as a gift; and (c) while browsing a bookstore or someone’s bookshelf, I read the inside flap/back of the paperback, and it sounded interesting.
January 31st, 2010 at 7:07 am
Thank you!
I like your criteria for picking a book. I agree with your methods and use them. Also, since I order a lot of books, I have found a few good ones through the “customers who bought this book also liked this” section on Amazon.
I hate that I am sometimes influenced by book covers, since I know that they might not reflect what is in the book at all. How many times has the character on the cover had the wrong color hair or some other detail inconsistent with what is in the book? I love the book covers for the Twilight series (lots of red and white and black objects) and I have the first two sitting there, RIGHT THERE, waiting for me to read them. Usually I try to stay away from Things About Which There Is Hype, but I’ll give these a shot after I’m done writing my book.
So once you’ve started following an author, what will make you unfollow? Besides just not liking their work enough to pay for another book, I think bad copy editors do me in. Copy editors (I think) are the ones who go through the finished book and check things for consistency and too much repetition. For example, I think it was the Nocturne City series, first book. At the end the character loses the gun, goes in wishing she had a gun, suddenly the gun’s there as though she never lost it and she feels confidence because of it. What? Unfollow! The Lies of Locke Lamora was actually a great book with interesting characters, but I had to read the words “masticated pulp” twice within a few pages. Really! How do people not catch these things before the book hits the shelves?
Okay, those examples might not be enough to really make me unfollow an author, but I do notice. I’m willing to suspend a lot of disbelief to accept all the things that happen in stories, but authors and editors need to not be sloppy about mechanical things that need to be corrected.
January 31st, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Well, often I am a terrible reader, galloping through a book at top speed, totally caught up in the story and missing out on important details and plot subtleties, or even names of some characters. I willingly give myself over to “suspension of disbelief” when the story is good, and don’t think about the structure of the story. Like Aloysius though, if it is a stinker, I start noticing all the specific things that contribute to it stinking.
Tim and I both read “The Ruins” at the same time and we were amazed at the total overuse of the word “implacable.” It appeared dozens of times in the story, which I did notice was rather poorly written. Neat idea, lazy execution.
I laughed at your post. You read like the author you are! You are a craftsman appraising another’s work. It got me thinking what it must be like to eat out as a chef. You could never just eat food. You’d always be thinking about how the food was prepared.
So usually, I don’t think too much about those things, though I can remember style and which person it was written in, and often very specifically the things I most enjoyed about a book. If a book is particularly bad or good, then I notice the style much more acutely. For example, the first time I read “Confederacy of Dunces,” about a chapter in I flipped to find out who wrote it and was devastated to find out he had committed suicide and there would indeed be no other books to go get. That book remains one of my favorite in terms of use of vocabulary. I think that is something I really appreciate in writing, the use of words to describe things.
The only thing I am more miserable at than picking out a book to read, is picking out a movie to watch. Tim and I used to spend an hour at the video store aimlessly looking around. I’d do the same thing at the book store. And it is hard to ignore covers I agree!
I never would have picked out Confederacy of Dunces based on the cover alone, but it had won the Pulitzer, so that is why I picked it up that first time, at a friends of the library book sale here in town.
Friends recommendations have helped a lot in the past to choose a book. Choosing a book is a big deal, and that was one of my favorite subjects in the book I read last semester for my first class. Libraries and librarians are increasingly offering a service called “readers advisory” where they help patrons choose books to read for pleasure.
Amazon is doing just that sort of thing, and it is a great idea. Netflix does it too for movies.
I think you just described my dream job. I want to become a copy editor!!!!
January 31st, 2010 at 9:18 pm
1)Are you aware of any critical thinking you are doing about the book as you are reading it? Yes, even with books i enjoyed I am actively thinking about word choices (using the same word over and over again really stands out to me) I also think about how it could have been written differently or better.
Do you remember which books were first person and which were third? Yes, the books that switch from 1st person to 3rd person depending on whether we are dealing with the main character or a secondary character make me kinda dizzy!
Do you remember the style of the book? Definitely, with some authors you can even detect the styles that have influenced them.
How do you pick which books you read? When I was younger I honestly choose by page number. I got to go to the library very infrequently and almost never go to purchase books, but was a voracious reader. Now I choose by the description on the back of the book, or if it is written by an author that I have enjoyed before. I will also read anything recommended to me by friends. The cover of the book only plays a part if I am looking for part of a series that I have already read.
So once you’ve started following an author, what will make you unfollow?
There is not alot that would make me “unfollow” but there are several things that cause enough apathy to make me stop looking for that author’s books. The big one is never finishing a series of books planned. I have been waiting for Melanie Rawn to finish the Exiles trilogy for over 10 years. She has written other books in the meantime but never came back to the series.
January 31st, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Ok. Here are some of my thoughts. I really dont analyze the book I am reading, and prefer to kinda let it wash over me. Does that make sense. Suspension of disbelief, and just plain trying to enjoy myself.
As for third and first person, I am shocked to realize, that I dont remember, even books I like, or have read a couple times, which they are. There are exceptions. I know A Clockwork Orange and 1984 are 3rd person just because I remember the first line in the book.
I loved The Lies of Locke Lamora, and Old Mans War, both were like being ride. No time to get bored. It was clear what their influences were, but that is ok.
I wish I read more than I do, and honestly I prefer non-fiction when I do read. But I will read any book that Stacey tells me to. She is unfailing in knowing what I will like.
I can be like “Here, read this for me, tell me if I should bother.” since she also reads a lot faster.
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:19 am
Hahahah, I wish I had a minion to pre-screen the books for me!
So once you’ve started following an author, what will make you unfollow?
- They write one or a few good books, get famous, and churn out piles of crap novels. (Like Stephen King. Although I still get his books as gifts. Argh.)
- I grow out of them. (Like Mercedes Lackey.)
- Author dies but franchise doesn’t. (Like Frank Herbert.)
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:52 am
Are you calling me a minion? Also living authors can torpedo a series too. I loved Ender’s Game and its sequel (to a lesser extent). The books that have followed though just aren’t as engaging.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:57 am
Check out this online reader’s advisory
http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/search
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:16 am
Squee! I am happily overwhelmed by your responses!
Have you ever read an author’s blog and then bought their books because you liked what you got from them for free? I have.
What could an unknown author do to get your attention and convince you to buy her book?
February 3rd, 2010 at 12:23 pm
It is really cool how authors and artists can put themselves out there via blogs, webpages, Etsy, etc, these days.
I think the unknown author needs to find their audience somehow, and present themselves in a place where those people will “find” them. The wrong venue can be heartbreaking.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:41 am
What could an unknown author do to get your attention and convince you to buy her book?
I’m not sure. All our media feeds are pretty saturated. Write a really good book! Somehow I ‘discover’ a new author or two every year (usually by browsing a store or book shelf).
February 6th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Tim just found this on FARK! They are books… but…. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!
http://www.eharlequin.com/store.html?cid=600
February 9th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
I realized my feedback probably isn’t the most helpful here after answering the questions. I’m addicted to reading and my trust has to be really abused before I stop reading an authors work. It’s when my first thought after finishing a book is a wish for that part of my life back. Then I’ll normally stop after the 2.
Stories I will rave about have great pacing, good descriptions that don’t bog down, believable characters and a new perspective.
Things that will make me rant are tired plot lines, whining (by author or characters) and overuse of the thesaurus function. It’s not opulent or crimson all the time. Get over it. I also believe in the no more than 5 new words are allowed per book. It looks like a pen, acts like a pen so why are you calling it a Frindle.
As for critiquing I do it passively while reading. Then I will actively think about as I’m describing it. Poor Mark has sat through many rants or raves from me. Only a few books have had a great enough effect on me to get me to stop and think in the middle.
Foreshadowing must be done subtly if I realize it’s there before I get to the event it irks me. I usually don’t notice if its first or third person unless it is done badly or is integral to the plot. Though I read enough action fiction, sometimes a 3rd person view in a traditionally 1st person story will get my attention.
I pick books by genre, price, length, cover art, back blurb, recommendations, and copyright date. If I happen to be working at a bookstore then I also will go down a shelf. Oh, how I miss checking out books!
The biggest hurdles to new authors in getting me to purchase their book are price, availability and marketing. The limited printings usually put the price above the $15 I will spend. If you love it how can you get the next one? Do they have company to order from or is it the household’s basement? I have had to track too many authors through multiple publishers because of bankruptcy and discontinuing it. I want ease at least until I’m hooked. Really market the book, make it stand out. Do something neat with the cover art. I don’t even have to like it as long as it gets my attention like Charlaine Harris’ Sookie series. Very different cover art makes you stop and notice. Another book with unusual visuals was The Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kid. I bought this one because of the outside.
Don’t go to a bookstore and sit passively for a signing. Do a panel or something and have your book available. I try to avoid author booths so they don’t try to pressure me into buying. I will stay for a discussion of proper use of the comma in the 1900’s and look at the book while waiting.
Just my 2 cents
February 10th, 2010 at 6:08 am
Thank you so much for all the comments!
Nascar romance? I could have gone my entire life without knowing about that and I would have died a happy woman. But of course I immediately showed the link to Bert and told a lot of people about it.
Sad thing about the cover art is that the author has no control over it. For me, that’s both good and bad. I would want some say in it, but I’m not a visual artist. Even if I did come up with something in my mind, I could never get it onto the paper the right way.
I wish I had more time for the blogging. I would like to type about my thoughts on the first person and genre fiction in particular.