08-16-2020, 11:20 AM | #46 |
Grand Sorcerer
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So good "you can't put it down."
So scary "you have to have the lights on." "Guaranteed to scare you." "Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel." I'll decide if I want to put it down, and I'll decide to turn the lights on or off, and I'll decide if something is scary to me, and I'll decide what the best novel is - FOR ME. And then I'll read it. And if it's boring, I'll toss it out the window, but only after I've de-registered my ebook reader. "I'm just saying." Last edited by Dr. Drib; 08-16-2020 at 11:26 AM. |
08-16-2020, 11:29 AM | #47 | |
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08-16-2020, 11:30 AM | #48 |
Illiterate newbie
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Bestseller
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08-16-2020, 12:31 PM | #49 |
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08-16-2020, 05:21 PM | #50 |
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08-16-2020, 05:25 PM | #51 |
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I agree that advertising it as some award winning book is a good turn off.
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08-16-2020, 05:31 PM | #52 |
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08-16-2020, 05:54 PM | #53 |
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I guess you guys take descriptions more seriously than I do. I look to them as a source of information to help me decide if a book interests me but I know most descriptions are hype and not to be treated as honest descriptions. I'm bothered by certain kinds of blatant dishonesty such as "perfect for readers of ___", as I said, but even then I might get past that and find that the book interests me.
I'm more influenced by what I learn about the book than I am by it's description. If I don't find anything useful in the description I might stop reading it and look at reviews or other information sources. But I don't worry too much about it. There are a LOT more good books than I'll be able to read in a lifetime so missing a few isn't a problem as long as I find enough, and I do. Barry |
08-16-2020, 06:13 PM | #54 |
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I'll read the description to see if the story is about something I might be interested in, but I reserve judgement until I open up the book at a random page and read some dialogue. Nothing in the description is going to overturn any strong impression I get from that.
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08-16-2020, 07:40 PM | #55 | |
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08-16-2020, 09:47 PM | #56 |
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If I see the word "serial" I will run away as fast as I can. Similar reaction if it says "part 1" or anything to that effect. I don't buy books that the author can't bother to finish. There are too many good books out there to bother with detritus like that.
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08-16-2020, 10:25 PM | #57 | ||
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Reviews are nice, but then I also often suspect they are friends of the author or people with low standards. Books that look like absolute garbage to me get rave reviews. Don't get me wrong. Reviews aren't worthless. But if a book has too many of my pet peeves, it likely isn't for me. |
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08-16-2020, 10:29 PM | #58 |
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08-17-2020, 12:36 AM | #59 |
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"Paranormal," "Thriller," "Technothriller."
I mostly read history, science fiction, speculative fiction, sometimes historical fiction, sometimes make exceptions for fantasy and superhero when people specifically recommend the book. With ancient history, I try to check population estimates. This can give a clue whether the author tries to address these issues, throws out impressive-sounding but unlikely numbers, or ignores these issues. |
08-17-2020, 07:56 AM | #60 |
o saeclum infacetum
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I pulled up a review of a highly rated Goodreads book that sounded positively dire to me, and here are some of the trigger words and phrases in the blurb:
There are more, but you catch the drift. Some of these would make the all-time list, notably “soulmate” and “spiritual insight,” but others, less specific, still add up to not being able to hit the back button fast enough. And mostly because the author or whoever was responsible for this drivel tips her hand. I don’t mind a soulmate or spiritual insight in theory, but if you’ve got to label it, you’ve got serious problems. You clearly don’t trust your narrative to do the job. |
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