What do you like in a book?

Question

What do you like about a book?

the ending? beginning? suspense?

what is it that makes you just want to flip the page so eagerly?

please tell me

im writing my own story.

Answer 1

The romance<333 (but not super gushy sugar-sweet romance. More realistic ones)

But it has to have a good plot as well. I tend to go for the fantasy type genre so they usually have interesting/imaginative plotlines.Also, character relations make books very interesting, like a best friend's betrayal or something like that.

Also, you need a character that is interesting, that someone is either going to root for or hope will die (well, maybe no that extreme...) No one wants a bland character that someone forces you to read about or "like".

Anyway, always always always think of your audience. That is key when writing a story. Your not going to write the same thing for an 8 year old girl as you are for a 17 year old male. Or a 12 year old girl. etc etc.  

Answer 2

I like it when the big ending comes about twenty pages before the last page. For example, you spend the whole book wishing two people would get together, and when they finally do on the last page, you don't get to see how it works out for them. Or when someone is chased and threatened the entire book, but they blow the villains brains out on the last page, you don't get to see them back in their normal life. I like the last chapter to be slightly post-climactic so I can lay it down with a relieved sigh and not with a big BUT... BUT... huh?

I suppose it is the suspense that keeps me turning pages, but I like it when the author throws me a bone once in a while so I can try to solve it myself instead of solving the whole thing for me all at once.

Answer 3

I love the suspense that makes you not want to put the book down. And also how a book can totally make a character be so real to you. The whole story being something you would want in your life but it probably won't. That is what pulls you to the book in the first place. It is like a satisfying substitute. Books are just awesome!!

Answer 4

i would say thew suspence. Like,...And i finally figured out the reason, or , he came charging at me, or, just something for you to actually start laughing out loud in real life or to cry, stuff like that i absolutly love

Answer 5

Unless the book is "Suspense" genre, suspence is just an element of story telling.  Here's my opinions:

FIRST: Character is most important, for me.  I want someone I can sympathize with, despise, admire and watch grow (or fail).  If the character is a cardboard cut-out protagonist (hero; main character) or antagonist (villain; or an obstacle for the protagonist) I'll lose interest.  Also, if they are cliche (I've read about them with different names), chances are it'll kill it for me.  A good character will carry me through the slow parts and keep me reading to find out what happens to him/her.  One of the main differences between books and movies is that in a book, you can get into a character's head...deep.

SECOND: Milieu.  I want to be there.  Whether it's fantasy, science fiction, historical or contemporary, I want to believe I'm there.  I want to understand a bit about the culture (whether it's different because it's in the future or  past, or because other countries have different customs than my own.  If the plants and animals are different, I want to know.  If the kinds of food are different, I want to know.  However, you don't have to describe spaghetti, unless it has blue spiked meatballs.

THIRD: Idea or Event (Plot).  Although it's d**n-near impossible to come up with something totally original, I'd like to see a less obvious re-telling.  Mix elements to create a different story around the same theme.  Give time-limits (by tonight or the bomb goes off) to mysteries and crucibles (trapping natural antagonists together to give them a rougher time) to Suspense/Thrillers.  Do anything to keep it from being a straight forward (linear) story.  Explore arguments and different lines of thinking, purposely do something different when a character is faced with a cliche situation.

Reasearch is important.  Know as much about what your writing about as you can:  Don't write about Generation Ships without a theory of how they are fueled, or spacecraft that can travel almost instantly (without a scientific theory to base it on).  Don't write "You ain't got the sand" in a Fuedal Japanese novel; or "let me bum a smoke" in a predominantly English story.  The fans of the genre or inhabitants of said milieu will call you on it.  Bernard Cornwell (a respected action/historical fition author) has received mail about a particular type of flower growing in an area impossible for it to be found.

I hope this helps.

Answer 6

I love a book that takes you out of the world and makes you experience a whole new one! But i don't mean like fantasy but i mean take me out of the dull boring world with all MY problems! I love books where its not predictable and you just want to finish it but i also love books where you dont want to finish it because then you would be giving up that world! sorry if i sound like im ranting!!!!