Gini: Debbie and I discussed what creates a less than stellar book versus one that’s fantastic. A latest writing fad is the “Jump Around”. It starts by launching one character and one place or situation to grab the reader’s attention producing a solid opener. Now the jump. This may be between character, times, or places.
When well-formulated, it works as knowing the present guides to learning the past that now generates a predictable future. Sometimes, though, there are too much jumps to grasp the plot and I become lost to the point of the story.
A second technique that bugs me is false facts. Authors research and editors scan for potential errors, but sometimes the mistake glares angrily and my mind discounts everything else in the book. Identifying wrong places on a map, misnaming a city or street, referring to ethnicities as if they are interchangeable, or blithering on by introducing a topic or scene that connects to zilch. After such, I disregard verifiable details just because the falsification has distracted me.
Finally, I detest tidy endings. My reader friends always wonder if I find a book “Too Tidy”. While a good mystery needs to be a bit neat as with Dick Francis, too neat is disturbing. For example, Agatha Christie tosses in red herrings, and then rejects them in a fashion that can insult the reader’s intelligence. Believe me, life is not tidy – why should a book assume that I need a gift-wrapped finale?
A fantastic book comes well-researched, whether non-fiction or fiction, based on certifiable evidence. I want to learn and that includes a firm foundation. I prefer long books that provide references so I feel satisfied about the truth.
I also seek valuable phrases and sentences that lead to thought-provoking moments, inducing thinking that’s good for my expanding my brain. Examples: Watson’s “toxicity of sympathy” or Guelzo’s reference to the Civil War as “the theater of national agony” or Whitehead describing those held at Nickel drifting into “their private recesses of mischief.” I LOVE RICH, ENTICING VOCABULARY.
Debbie: When Gini suggested this topic, I jumped on it, thinking it would be easy, but let me tell you, a good book is subjective. The end. I have a feeling that Gini is not going to let me get away with ‘the end’, but it’s true and I certainly am no expert on what makes a good book for YOU.
Gini mentions the “jump around’ technique, a dual timeline story.
I agree it needs to be well done, but I can overlook a lot if the author pulls it together at the end. Especially if it’s a nice, tidy ending. Okay, that is just a fun jab at Gini, but tidy endings don’t bother me at all, in fact most of the time they are satisfying for the opposite reason Gini states. Life is not always kind or fair or tidy, so it’s nice when a book is. It emotionally satisfies my soul.
My favorite go-to non-fiction is nostalgic memoirs or foodie books. These contain the characteristics of a ‘feel good’ book. Memoirs are nothing if not subjective as you cannot support them with facts. Gini likes certifiable evidence, I like memories.
Having said that I love the emotion, tidy endings, entertainment of books, subjective as it might be. Is now the time to let you know that I love dark books? Give me a good severed head that washes up on the beach and I’m in! Police procedurals, thrillers, suspense, courtroom drama? I’m settling in for a comfy evening.
What do I think makes a good book? The plot that draws me into the story; characters move a good plot forward. Plus, I have to like something about the main character. Even if they are unlikeable or unreliable, there needs to be something, however small, I can root for. The language can’t be too confusing. I need language or words I can relate to.
My friend and I are both voracious readers, but while she loves the knowledge and words, I love the emotion - and I can overlook a lot more plot holes.
If it’s a good story, I can take almost any road the author leads me on to the end. I get caught up in the feeling, that’s for sure. More often than you might think though, the two of us can come together over the love of a good book.