Pronunciation: 'buk
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English bOc; akin to Old High German buoh book, Gothic boka letter
Date: before 12th century
1 a : a set of written sheets of skin or paper or tablets of wood or ivory b : a set of written, printed, or blank sheets bound together into a volume c : a long written or printed literary composition d : a major division of a treatise or literary work e : a record of a business's financial transactions or financial condition — often used in plural <the books show a profit>
The Book Hath no Ending.
A repeat in topic is in order today. Although this time, I would like to propose a research and accumulate information perspective. For my questioning curiosity, with a side benefit of being relevant to my current side endeavor, I realized what a beautiful resource I have in, well, to be blunt, YOU.
As a lover of my mainstay dictionary, anytime I'm pondering something, a quick check to the dictionary is my first stop. Today's check resulted in 29 matches for book.
Now, out of those 29 matches, a few could be discarded. Who knew there was such things as book louse? Thankfully, I have yet to open a book infested with these tiny little creatures, I'm afraid something traumatic like that would alter my reading pleasure for life. I would hate to be forced to don a full body suit everytime I opened my books, bugs should know better then to disturb such a pleasure escape. I'm getting alittle irritated with bugs lately, they really need to learn their place in society!
There were plenty of other books.......phrase, picture, talking, telephone, trade, comic, and of course, the black book. Although the dictionary doesn't describe a black book as a plethora of phone numbers for your dating pleasure, it simply says it's a list of people you've black listed. Where's the fun in that? Hmmm, I'm rambling, back on topic............
My curiosity today, leans towards the idea of "What makes a bad book, a good book, a great book and the best-selling label of a fantastic book?"
I know thats quite a subjective question, considering everyone has different tastes in books. That list is another I won't bore people with, but I can't help but reason, that all books have a few common denominators. So what are those common threads? What type of book makes you curl up in a corner and hide, so that no one can bother you while you finish a 400 page novel in a day?
I consider myself a pretty well rounded reader. If it's well written, I'll read it. I'm not a literary snob in the sense that I only read 500 page saga's, written by the best masterminds in the world that have been dead for 30 years. Nope, I read just about anything I can get my hands on. For example, the last weekend I was up at my cabin, I took the kids down to the local town <population like 100> for some ice cream. While I was waiting for our order I grabbed a book off the sitting area book rack. Before I knew it, <10 minutes total> I was asking the lady at the counter if I could buy it. She told me to just return it when I was done. The book, "The Wedding" by Julie Garwood. Romance at it's finest. 400 pages of sinfully good delight. Finished in a day of basking on my porch, with the finest view I've ever found. No profound thought shattering moments to be found in this book, no mind boggling strain on the brain, just simple old good fun. I appreciate fun.
So what makes a person return to the same Authors over and over? If I find another Julie Garwood, I'd probably buy it because I enjoyed that book so much. When a person is searching for the next book to read, and your walking though the library or Barnes and Noble, what makes you stop and pick a book up?
I will admit one thing for me personally, a cover makes a lot of difference for me when I'm blindly looking for a new book. Since I don't stick to one specific genre, it's like walking in the dark feeling for a touch of texture. A book cover is typically what catches my eye first, then the back cover, if it makes it past those first two tests, I'll read the first chapter........if it makes it past those 3 tests, I'll buy it.
So what are your book buying tests? In the name of research, I must also ask, what makes for a BAD book? I pose all these questions today, to the brightest readers around, journal land fanatics like me :o) Gathering an array of opinions, seems like a good idea at this juncture of time. So yes, I'm on a self guided adventure, yet, in this forum, I have the opportunity to receive additional input that is most appreciated!
I love a bright and curious mind, and if you're reading this, bravo, indeed!
17 comments:
I'm a big one for returning to the same authors and reading everything that they've written. I'm also a cover person; an interesting title, cover art that gets me curious about the content, blurbs from authors whose works I respect, an interesting summation of the story can all get me hooked. I read a lot based on recommendations from friends. Now for what makes a bad book, first off, if it bores me, good-bye! I don't mean boring as in technical or dry, but predictable, undeveloped. If the plot or writing is cliche ridden, it's bad. That's about it for a book being bad. Not liking a book is not the same thing.
I've read every book in my house. I have a whole library of them. I'm not a snob either. I'll read anything that sounds interesting.
What makes a book "good" is when you can read it without actually seeing the words. When you're so involved in the story, that you forget there's a book there, you don't see the written words, but actually see what is happening unfold in your mind's eye. A book is good when you forget you're reading it.
Ari
I read constantly, from the cereal box backs at the breakfast table when I was a kid, to the morning paper cover to cover these days. I take a book everywhere with me, mostly because these days, everywhere you go involves a wait. I read a few sentences while I'm waiting for the light to change, and can generally make several paragraphs when I'm stuck in rush hour traffic and have to wait several cycles to get thru the intersection. I read history, science fiction, thrillers, astronomy, biographies and light stuff, depending on my mood. I've had up to 7 books going at a time (right now I have 3), because sometimes the authors lose track of their story and fill it with blather that isn't much fun to read, but I don't want to give up on the book, so I read until I get tired of it, and switch to another, then come back when I feel like wading through some more of the same old blather, until I finally get to the point where the author found his voice again. This is especially true of early works b y authors who have gone on to write very good books. Also sometimes in history books, the details overwhelm the narrative, and it becomes a slogging match, me against the tables and facts and diagrams. Stephen Ambrose books were the exception, always an interesting take on the historical narrative, but he is the exception. I love to read biographies, to find out about the people who populate the history books, what their lives were like, how they came to be who they were. I generally open a book to the first page and read the opening paragraphs. If the writer has grabbed my attention by then, I buy the book. Otherwise, there has to be some other reason for me to take a chance. I have thousands of books, and don't keep the thrillers anymore. I trade them in on new ones. Books have always been a tradition in my family. I hope it is a tradition I have passed on to my own sons. Bruce
My perceptions have changed. I used to be into suspenseful thrillers, mostly "guy" books such as Grisham, King, and Clancy.
But for the last 10 or 15 years, I have been big into self help books. Anything that I believe has valid principles and will help improve my life at work or home. I am drawn to books that help with my weaknesses, such as organization, self esteem, and interpersonal communication. I pick authors who I have either read before OR have read about through another source.
The type of books that turn me off are "feel good" or superficial self help books. I want books rooted in psychology, organizational behavior, or other sciences.
Chris
http://journals.aol.com/swibirun/Inanethoughtsandinsaneramblings
Book buying tests:
I'll read almost anything in any field of interest that I have, as well as anything (of any age group) in genre's that I've loved since a child. A fine example would be the Lloyd Alexander novels about the Black Cauldron. If those two criteria are not present, book jackets must grab my attention, or perhaps a preface by an author I know.
As for a bad book? I don't know about that....I believe all books are good books, but I may not enjoy their topic. The written word is sacred - it is our repository of thought and memory. It is the medium of passing our culture through time and of learning, as best we can, about truth. So perhaps, it's not so much as a bad book, but rather a book I do not enjoy or find relevent to my life (at that particular moment).
Peace and Love,
Charley
http://journals.aol.com/cdittric77/Courage
Had a great comment, but being on dial up, my son picked up the phone and proceeded to place a call, causing me to lose it. :( The gist of it was that, I too, choose books based on the same 3 'tests'. As far as what I read, romance-for light reading, mystery/thriller-for the mental work out, deep/prophetic-when I'm in a spiritual mind set, and fantasy/sci-fi for most any time. As for a 'bad book', for me it's too much detail about inane things that are nearly irrelevant to the story.
Tammy
thanks for visiting my journal...I am an avid reader as well..right now I'm in the middle of the Da Vinci Code series...have you read it? I'm sure you have....its a great read.....~Andrew
I read almost everything. I just LOVE to read. If the first two or three paragraphs interest me then it's a done deal, I'll read the whole thing. I also have a group of favorite authors, but my taste is very eclectic and reading is my passion. Pennie
I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy, and it can be difficult to find good material because there is so much dreck out there, especially in those genres. I usually look for recommendations from people who have read and enjoyed some of the same books as I, and when I find an author I like, I, too, will read as much of their work as I can.
I agree with an earlier comment about getting lost in the narrative. One mark of a bad book is one in which the hand of the writer is too apparent. Cliched phrases or situations, clumsy dialogue, or too much dialogue, or using dialogue to much for exposition are all things that will pull me out of the narrative.
One mark of a good book, for me, is one in which I discover new meaning and insight upon subsequent readings. An author of which I am quite enamored is Guy Gavriel Kay. His books can be read on several different levels. As a story teller, he is a master, and his books sweep me along with them, but they also explore many different themes, and a slower, more in depth rereading of them is always rewarding. For more on Guy Kay, read this old post of mine: http://journals.aol.ca/plittle/AuroraWalkingVacation/entries/1031
-Paul
By the way, which book is it that 'hath no ending?'
;)
-Paul
I am just a conoseuir of words. Newspapers, magazines, scientific journals and novels. Anything I can get my hands on...Okay now to answer you.... I will buy a book on the recommendation of another person, when I know they have similar tastes or they know mine...I will buy a book just because someone mentioned it and I want to try something new or different. I read one SHaron Kay Penman and now I am hooked...on the recomendation of a friend. When I am in a book store such as B&N...I do the cover test, the inside jacket and the first chapter as well, then i walk around perusing others, all the way thinking about this one. I am a freak for bargain bin specials...the obscure, one hit wonders. I won't buy a book if it doesnt give me a feeling...cant explain it..yet if it just doesnt feel right I put it back. If I really want it..it will gnaw at me and I will be like a possesed woman and back in a few days...lol. A bad book? None are bad....just doesnt interest me or keep my interest. There are plenty of books I have attempted to read but just couldnt get through the first three chapters and now they sit and collect dust. These books were Best sellers, highly recommended too! I am sure the story picked up speed but it just didnt do it for me to struggle through to get to the meat of it. I have such an eclectic reading style. It is a mood thang...Depends on what catches my eye and the feel of the cover....sigh
Thanks now I gotta go to the Bookstore! Gee Rebecca!!! ;)
Jodi
I read all kinds of things depending on the mood I am in. I am always reading medical articles or research stories, some history, psyche/ self help type stuff.. but when I really am in the mood to read a GOOD book. It has to be either something light and funny with a little drama or romance or a good mystery/drama. I don't like authors who are too detailed with their descriptions, or have too many charachters that I can't keep up with, or drag out a section too long with boring fluff, or try to impress me with their command of the English language by using a long string of words that I have to look up in a dictionary. The first chapter has to interest me or I find it hard to push myself through WAITING for it to get better.
I will usually try a book that someone recommends or maybe one that I have a read a review of. If I am in a book store I look at the bestsellers, and then check out the bargain bin. The book cover definitely will catch my eye make me look at it... Bright colors with writing that you can READ!! I hate small print in curly cue script that is hard to read. I read the front and back and then flip through a few chapters reading a few paragraphs to see if I can tell what kind of flow/or writing style there is and if it goes good I will give it a try. I LOVE Janet Evanovich/Stephanie Plum series... they are hilarious, little mystery, and some romance. Her other books before she started the Plum series I don't like though.
I just finished reading a series of books by an author Jamaica Kincaid. I was introduced to her writings with my Humanities class this last term and I could not put her books down once I got started. She writed about growing up in Antigua and how she felt emotionally abandoned by her mother. I find her works to carry over to any generation because she writes about mother-daughter conflicts in such a way that I feel anyone can relate.
Great entry!
Marsha
...I'm not going to leave a comment the length of a typical journal entry. I'm simply going to give a book suggestion. "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman. Yes. I'm a sci-fi/fantasy fan. Yes. Mr. Gaiman is close friends with Tori Amos.
...nuff said...TERRY
book buying test?..good question..never thought of that..ummm...I just grab whatever catch my eyes..usually the title does it. I'll flip open the pages and usually I'll know if it's something I'll find enjoyable to read. Also, if I'm looking for a particular genre (like self-help book) I go for what is recommended by others.
What makes a bad book? If after a page or two I put it down because I'm bored with it..nothing gets me going...the story isn't moving.
Gem ;-)
http://journals.aol.com/libragem007/JournallyYours
sometimes I read the last page first,because I hate to spend my time something if I'm not going to like the ending
marti
http://journals.aol.com/sunnyside46/MidlifeMusings
the style of the suthor is so very crucial in myeyes because you know if they bore me to death before i can finish the firs two pages, how will I make it to the end? Are they original in cocnept? and if it is an informational book, am I getting up to speed, are they truly informing?
nat
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