The Not-So Austen Bookclub discussion

Just to gain a brief idea about out reading interests and the genres I can pick from for group readings and challenges! Genres, authors, examples of books, etc. When you walk into a bookstore and spend over an hour staring at the shelves (yes, you know you do it too!) and the lady at the front desk has to eventually ask you to leave because you are scaring the customers, what is it you are looking for?

Romance, mystery, strong female protagonists, good-looking guy character, chivalry, kick-ass action - this is your chance to help me pick the perfect read for you!

Non-stop fighting, a sprinkle of romance, heart-racing suspense, clever comendy, and a massive twist. :D

Ebony wrote: "Non-stop fighting, a sprinkle of romance, heart-racing suspense, clever comendy, and a massive twist. :D"

Sounds perfect!

i look for action, mystery, suspense and in some cases romance.

And Comedy like in Skulduggery Pleasant. LOLZ (i'll buy you a stick for christmas)

NOTE: only people who have read the S.P series will understand that.

Isabelle wrote: "i look for action, mystery, suspense and in some cases romance.

And Comedy like in Skulduggery Pleasant. LOLZ (i'll buy you a stick for christmas)

NOTE: only people who have read the S.P series ..."

I love that quote! My other fave quote is:
"I saved his life"
"Oh! So he's your boyfriend out of gratitude!"

I'm an S.P lover, what can I say!

Depends on the cover of the book! I know sounds crazy, but I expect certain things by having a look of the cover. ;)

Rimpy wrote: "Depends on the cover of the book! I know sounds crazy, but I expect certain things by having a look of the cover. ;)"

It doesn't sound crazy at all - I do it all the time!

i look at the ratings for it and at the cover and title and the back of the book. if it gets good ratings has a good title and the story sounds good , i normally love it.

Hehe..:D Great! So what do you expect from a book Booknut?

Rimpy wrote: "Hehe..:D Great! So what do you expect from a book Booknut?"

I look for books that have characters that interest me. I will NOT sit through a book where the character doesn't undergo any growth (emotional, mentally) or where the character is your typical stereotype. Though there may be exceptions, I really dislike how when reading some books you KNOW what's going to happen.

I look at: 1.) the cover 2.) the blurb and 3.) open up to a random page (not the end!) and read the writing style. I also read the prologue/beginning bit. If I get bored, odds are I won't keep reading. But as I said, sometimes I give the book a chance if I have a feeling it could get better!:D

The book must be interesting. Have suspense. A little bit of romance. (though, I would love one with a lot of romance!!) and the storyline has to grip me.

usually I judge a book on the blurb to find out if it is interesting or not.

Sometimes..... That tactic doesn't work.

Yup. Me too. For example, The Hunger Games. I'd heard of it and had the ebook but hadn't read it yet. I went to secondary school and everyone was gaga over it. So I read it and I LOVED IT!!! Yay!!! And you know why I didn't read it earlier? I only read the blurb.

Love Paranormal books, but anything YA will do for me :) You will always find books you like out of your comfort zone!

Louise wrote: "Heroines/heroes with a backbone. A relatively strong plot line and unique ideas. I've grown tired of reading the same old soppy make my eyes bleed romance. Come on guys, a love triangle does not ma..."

True! But I like to refer to them as love ANGLES.

'cause a love triangle in e.g. Hunger Games goes:

Gale-Katniss
Katniss-Peeta
Peeta-...

See?!!

ANGLES!!

Romance, comedy, a STRONG lead character, good plot, a little bit of mystery??? And it has to keep me entertained of course!

It has to be interesting, have a good plot line, good characters, and keep me reading.

Well, this is very tricky because I don't usually care about the genre of the book, only wether it is a good book or not.
However, I have to confess that I read more YA, paranormal and romance than I read the other genres.
About authors, I totally worship J.K.Rowling, Cassandra Clare, Colleen Houck, Julie Kagawa, J.R.R.Tolkien and Juliet Marillier.
Love them,love them, love them!!! :D
I am a die-hard fan of Harry Potter, The Lord Of The Rings, The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, Tiger Saga, among others ;)
I've recently read Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma and I have to say that the book changed my entire life. Excellent book!! Everyone should read it!
Tabitha is definitely an author that I will follow closely.
So, when I'm to choose a book I look for something that I know will make me further think about myself, my convictions, life in general.
A beautiful love story and a strong female protagonist is definitely a must.
I also have a thing with battle scarred, hardened heroes that act like bad boys just to hide their pain, like Jace Lightwood from TMI, Prince Ash from The Iron Fey series and Lucius Vladescu from Jessica's Guide To Dating On the Dark Side.
Also, the book has to have great secondary characters.
Concluding, I want the stories to be something new, like a breath of fresh air. I've grown tired of the same vampire/fallen angel dynamic.

Lucy wrote: "Well, this is very tricky because I don't usually care about the genre of the book, only wether it is a good book or not.
However, I have to confess that I read more YA, paranormal and romance than..."

I love all your choices!! Excellent taste in books!!

Booknut wrote: "Lucy wrote: "Well, this is very tricky because I don't usually care about the genre of the book, only wether it is a good book or not.
However, I have to confess that I read more YA, paranormal an..."

Thanks :D

it has to have an interesting plot and a strong protagonist! if the narrator of the book is boring and self-centered; i'm not gonna like it. i love YA, dystopian, and romance!
it also HAS to have some romance! i'll settle for a little but i always like more:) and if they're done correctly i LOVE love "angles" (thank you booknut!)

I love reading good writing, an original plot, powerful protagonists, romance, and a sexy guy for the romantic part. Genres I enjoy are romance, history, mystery, GOOD sci-fy, and fantasy. I also love fairy tale retellings.

A big thing that attracts me in the bookstore is a pretty cover. Yes, I know the don't judge a book by it's cover rule, and this method has failed me before, but the covers are just soo pretty! I'm also more likely to enjoy the book if the heroine is brunette.

It also needs to have a good ending point. Forget that one

as much as i try not to judge a book by it's cover, the cover is one of the main reasons you pick up a book from the shelf! so the cover needs to be interesting enough to grab my attention, and then the description or experts from the book come into play. i admit i'm drawn to the pretty, colorful covers with interesting designs/pictures on it! :)

A good twist on an old plot. That is why I liked 'Twilight.' The presentation of vampires and werewolves was fresh and interesting.

Booknut wrote: "Rimpy wrote: "Hehe..:D Great! So what do you expect from a book Booknut?"

I look for books that have characters that interest me. I will NOT sit through a book where the character doesn't undergo ..."

I do the exact same thing when I'm looking for a good book. I always flip to the front page first (if I get past page 5), then I'll look in the middle of the book, to check the style. Then after all the other stuff: cover and blurb, I'll decide whether to read it or not.
Happy reading!

I look 4:

Excitement
Adventure
High action
Humor and sarcasm
young characters(13, like that you know?), because they do the funniest things!

Reviews from people who've already read it, and then whether it's written in first or the preferred third person. Back cover, side flap synopsis.

I heavily favor historical fiction and fantasy, but with the advent of Goodreads, an interesting summary in any genre merits reading. Or interesting hearsay. I don't often look at reviews, but one from a source that I respect can make or break the chance of it being read. There's the occasional book that I read for being able to say I read it, but I try to minimize that.

I usually go with my feelings. If I'm feeling happy, I might not go for a dark plot. I would go for a comedy or something. If I'm feeling relaxed, I would go for a good fantasy. If I am worrying about something, I would go for a book that has a similar situation happening in it. So yeah, I go with my feelings.

Most of the time what I look for is a book that has the ability to draw me in within the first few chapters. Mostly that is Science Fiction or Fantasy and possibly mystery and suspense.

Julie wrote: "Most of the time what I look for is a book that has the ability to draw me in within the first few chapters. Mostly that is Science Fiction or Fantasy and possibly mystery and suspense."

The draw of a first chapter is so integral to a book being good or bad - because if the draw isn't strong enough sometimes you'll be put off reading it and won't be as likely to pick it up again.

Booknut wrote: "Julie wrote: "Most of the time what I look for is a book that has the ability to draw me in within the first few chapters. Mostly that is Science Fiction or Fantasy and possibly mystery and suspens..."

Exactly!

Ishanaz wrote: "I usually go with my feelings. If I'm feeling happy, I might not go for a dark plot. I would go for a comedy or something. If I'm feeling relaxed, I would go for a good fantasy. If I am worrying ab..."

I do this, as well. Sometimes I try to read a book and find it taking weeks just to get 20 pages choked down. I'll shove it away on a shelf for awhile and once it's collected a sufficient amount of dust, I'll feel guilty and pick it up again and find myself in the perfect mood to devour it in a matter of days.

Tiffani wrote: "Ishanaz wrote: "I usually go with my feelings. If I'm feeling happy, I might not go for a dark plot. I would go for a comedy or something. If I'm feeling relaxed, I would go for a good fantasy. If ..."

I do the same thing!

The Blurb and front cover of a book, can be the main deciding factors for a person as to whether they will read the book or not...which can be misleading at times, as i have read loads of fantastic novels that have had the most dull & plain looking covers and sparse blurbs.
x

Lucinda wrote: "The Blurb and front cover of a book, can be the main deciding factors for a person as to whether they will read the book or not...which can be misleading at times, as i have read loads of fantastic..."

True!

Sometimes, a bad cover can lead me to lose interest in even making it through the blurb. Usually, only on impulsive buy at cheap little thrift shops. I know, it sounds awful of me to literally "judge a book by its cover" -- but sometimes, I can't help myself!

I do it as well. It can't be helped:/

I look for young characters. I mean I feel like I could relate to them and they do a lot of funny stuffs.

Mostly, it's about friends going on a quest\adventure thing.(Never gets old...)

Oh, yeah. FANTASY! only two of my books aren't Fantasy.

Mostly, the main character starts ordinary or miserable, then they found out a secret or discover a secret world! and that's where adventure starts!

Want it with a BIG twist, something that you didn't expect. Good HUMOR. And perfect action and adventure and plot.
:D

Booknut wrote: "Julie wrote: "Most of the time what I look for is a book that has the ability to draw me in within the first few chapters. Mostly that is Science Fiction or Fantasy and possibly mystery and suspens..."

Couldn't agree more!

I look for good writing skills. I know it sounds stupid but I like books that are written so brilliantly and beautifully and have such a good plot that you can't put them down. Reasons as to why I love the following authors in order

J.K Rowling
Cassandra Clare
Michael Scott
Derek Landy
Sara Shepard
Cornelia Funke

I agree! Great writing makes the book so much better!!

Isabelle wrote: "I look for good writing skills. I know it sounds stupid but I like books that are written so brilliantly and beautifully and have such a good plot that you can't put them down. Reasons as to why I ..."

Yes! Good writing is definitely important!

I just look for something clean. I read all genres, although I don't particularily like paranormal, but as long as it is clean I'm cool with anything. Right now my mood for books is fantasy and Amish realistic/historical fiction.

I love books with Humour, a Good plot, Strong female proganists, Loveable romances, Characters who grow up, uniqueness, twists and turns and of course -- Lyrical writing that sweeps you of your feet! :D

Chelsea wrote: "I love books with Humour, a Good plot, Strong female proganists, Loveable romances, Characters who grow up, uniqueness, twists and turns and of course -- Lyrical writing that sweeps you of your fee..."

All sounds good to me:)

Chelsea wrote: "I love books with Humour, a Good plot, Strong female proganists, Loveable romances, Characters who grow up, uniqueness, twists and turns and of course -- Lyrical writing that sweeps you of your fee..."

Sounds perfect!!

When I used to read I used to look for happy endings. Now when I read I look for tragedy, pinch of romance, action and humour. That's my recipe to write books too :)