MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - poll: what are the first three things you look at in a book?

Frida Fantastic · 07-07-2011, 12:02 AM

I get most of my non-indie books through friend's recommendations, and I don't really look at much if it's coming from a friend I trust. For indie books that reached me without me knowing anything about the book itself...

1. Genre
2. Blurb
3. Sample (read at least 5 whole pages and skim if anything interesting happens after)

From those three, I try to infer when I'm probably in the "mood" for that book, with genre, pov character, tone, and setting being the main factors I look at. I like to switch it up. Even though I mostly read SF/F, I can't stand, say, reading two door-stopper epic fantasy books in a row. I also like to change up the tones--from light and humourous to serious and crapsack world, etc.

I also tend to a prefer a 50/50 gender POV ratio, which is hard to do in this genre, when everything's so dominated by male protagonists. I read books every week, and when I go for a month looking at fictional worlds through a man's eyes (regardless of the gender of the author), my next book would have a female protagonist.

So if you're an SF/F writer, I'm just one individual that's not necessarily representative of the SF/F reading audience, but I really wish there were more female protagonists in this genre. If you have a good one sitting in your mind, please write them. And don't feel the pressure to rewrite them as guys to appeal to a "wider" audience. There's enough white guys around in this genre. I need to sit in other character's brains. Reading about similar types of characters is like reading the same setting over and over again--it gets boring. I'm not sure what's the next time I'm gonna read space opera with a male dare-devil womanizing protagonist, or a epic fantasy with an angsty mage-type cloaked in black. I'm sure they can still be done well, they're turn-offs for me at this point.

Also, books with protagonists who are past their biological prime are interesting. Old people can be heroes too.

07-07-2011, 12:02 AM	#19
Frida Fantastic SF/F book blogger Posts: 270 Karma: 502030 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Vancouver, Canada Device: Kindle 3	I get most of my non-indie books through friend's recommendations, and I don't really look at much if it's coming from a friend I trust. For indie books that reached me without me knowing anything about the book itself... 1. Genre 2. Blurb 3. Sample (read at least 5 whole pages and skim if anything interesting happens after) From those three, I try to infer when I'm probably in the "mood" for that book, with genre, pov character, tone, and setting being the main factors I look at. I like to switch it up. Even though I mostly read SF/F, I can't stand, say, reading two door-stopper epic fantasy books in a row. I also like to change up the tones--from light and humourous to serious and crapsack world, etc. I also tend to a prefer a 50/50 gender POV ratio, which is hard to do in this genre, when everything's so dominated by male protagonists. I read books every week, and when I go for a month looking at fictional worlds through a man's eyes (regardless of the gender of the author), my next book would have a female protagonist. So if you're an SF/F writer, I'm just one individual that's not necessarily representative of the SF/F reading audience, but I really wish there were more female protagonists in this genre. If you have a good one sitting in your mind, please write them. And don't feel the pressure to rewrite them as guys to appeal to a "wider" audience. There's enough white guys around in this genre. I need to sit in other character's brains. Reading about similar types of characters is like reading the same setting over and over again--it gets boring. I'm not sure what's the next time I'm gonna read space opera with a male dare-devil womanizing protagonist, or a epic fantasy with an angsty mage-type cloaked in black. I'm sure they can still be done well, they're turn-offs for me at this point. Also, books with protagonists who are past their biological prime are interesting. Old people can be heroes too.