QOTD Saturday July 2

I'll branch off the topic of writing today.

QUESTION: What are some important things for you when you're reading a book? What do you look for? What are you sensitive to? What makes you love a book? Or hate it?

I look for a good story that makes me want to keep reading. If it does that, in whatever way, whether that be characters, plot, idea, whatever it does well, then I'll finish it. Usually it's just a fun story, but if it actually gave me things to think about or affected me emotionally, that'll make me love it.

If a book is patronizing, I hate it. XD Whether it's being patronising to me, or to other people, blatantly patronising, or just subtly dumbing things down, or whatever else, just...no. Don't ever do that. Seriously. It's basically a result of the author assuming his readers are all idiots, which is not a good attitude to have.

So I didn't answer this immediately because I couldn't think of HOW to answer... André pretty much summed it up.

*points up* What he said.

Also, I dislike copies. You know, where it may be well-written, but it's like an author stole the cookie-cutter from some other author, bent the edges a little so it looked a tiny bit different, and then proceeded to use it. And sometimes, the book is so amazing I can get past that. But it has to be SO. AMAZING.
I know that repeats are unavoidable in writing, but everyone thinks differently, so everyone should use their own personal imagination to create a totally unique aspect that is all their own. They can do it; some are just too lazy to.

While I'm not a literary writer (or reader, really), I love it when I find books that care as much about language as they do plot and characterization. For example, a few years back, I stumbled on Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. In the first three pages, his character talks about what happens the first time a reader falls in love with a book. I've seen other authors attempt to tackle that, but none I've found were more lyrical, more honest and raw, or more beautifully structured than the way Zafon did it. Paulo Coelho is another author I've recently discovered with the gift to make the language as beautiful as the story.