I am, first and foremost, a reader. I think all writers are. With the first book in my recent trilogy out for reviews, I've been thinking a lot about the kind of reader I am. I'm not picky, I'm loyal to my favorite authors and...
I read for the story.
We all do, right? Wrong. Some people live to find plot holes. Others love the technical stuff--sentence structure, punctuation, and pacing. While others want a character driven story. You might want all of the above. I'm mostly interested in the story. Sure I fall in love with characters, but my favorite kind of story sucks in me into the entire world. I want to fall in love with all of it. I rarely pay attention to typos and punctuation. Nor do I care abut plot holes (unless I can drive my SUV through them). I'm a forgiving reader, which would make me a horrible reviewer. I can count on one hand the number of books I've been unable to finish.
When I read, it's for the experience of the story. Of course, when I critique, it's a different matter (and another topic). I have a hard time rating books when I'm reading for pure enjoyment. If I can't give it 4 or 5 stars, I don't leave a review.
I simply want to read a book and be entertained, horrified, educated, or enchanted.
Books are magical. I don't want to ruin the magic by focusing on typos or dangling modifiers. That takes away all the fun. And by magical I mean the most moving, sweet, funny, scary, educational or powerful book you have on your shelves. We all experience the magic in different ways. It might be the characters, the writer's technical proficiency or something else.
What is the most magical book you've ever read and why?
2 comments:
I have many reasons for reading, but most often it is escape. I think it's why I loved the gargoyle so much...who could possibly have thought of a hot gargoyle???
Favorite story: The Blind Assassin.
So many carefully woven elements and so lyrically written.
I've never read that one, but just added it to my TBR pile. :)
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