A Reader's Quirks #2: Five Steps to Reading a Novel

I'm back with the second installment of my random feature about the who, what, where, when and why of reading, where I talk about my own relationship with books/genres/authors, and ask my visitors to do the same if they feel so inclined. This could have been easily turned into a meme, but there's a reason why it didn't...I still don't see myself as an established enough blogger to host yet another meme. Even those with an impressive number of followers aren't necessarily overwhelmed with participation, so I'm not going there just yet. This doesn't mean "A Reader's Quirks" won't be promoted to meme status one day, should it be the case. It's all up to you, really :).

ARQ logo by digital artist Lissa

A quick reminder...everyone can comment on my blog, though this means for me to fight spam endlessly. But it matters to me that anyone can join the conversation. As for CAPTCHA...everyone hates it...so I'm trying not to follow that path. At least till I can manage my spam ;).

This time I'm going to share my...

FIVE STEPS TO READING A NOVEL

Because yes, there are a few different approaches. Lots of people fall in love with an enticing cover first thing. Lots stick to their favourite genre(s) and tend to read most of the novels that fall within it (or them). Lots are pulled by the most popular books. A smaller number, I guess, go by word of mouth (as in, advice from trusted friends/bloggers). Me? I'm a pain in the ass ;D.* Before a book comes my way, it usually has to endure a series of trials and pass them all with flying colours. Because yes, I have to spend my money on it.

* [I learned my lesson a couple of years ago - never buy on impulse. It often ends with less-than-3-star books for me].

 

So looking forward to this one!

STEP 1: CLEVER TITLE (hinting at something up my alley)

Most of the books I've read (or I'm positively sure I want to read) started their journey with a clever, alluring title. I would browse through Goodreads (or other sites occasionally) and read titles like Anna Dressed in Blood, Deadgirl, Touching the Surface, How to Say Goodbye in Robot, Lucid, Man in the Empty Suit, Soul Beach, The Lost Girl, All Our Yesterdays...Some of them seemed to allude to my favourite genres/themes (like Afterlife or Time Travel); others were simply...evocative. Very few of them have turned out to be misleading.

...and to this one too

STEP 2: INTERESTING BLURB (promising a treat)

Of course, once the title did its job of drawing me, it's up to the blurb to make me stay. Thought-provoking sci-fi, new takes on the afterlife, not-overused multiverse plots, characters who don't fit in...But if I only read something that goes like “lonely girl endowed with powers falls for new, mysterious schoolmate who holds the key to her diversity” or such, I flee. Same for love triangles (though I can tolerate a small amount of them if need be) and lurve-driven plots. [...]





STEP 3: EARLY REVIEWS (a.k.a. digging for negative impressions)

Weak world-building? No thanks

And now, thanks to the lucky fellow bloggers/reviewers who managed to get their hand on a early copy, I want to know more. At this stage, I may have put my would-be future read either in my TR (To Read) list or in my NS (Not Sure) list, depending on the level of convincement the blurb was able to exert on me. (The TR list is not necessarily a safe house though, because I've been known to erase books from it too, though I must admit it's a rare occurrence). Now, what I need is...a valid reason why I shouldn't read my book. So I browse through the 1 and 2 star reviews on Goodreads, and I try to match my reading requirements with those of the most merciless reviewers. If they were put off by something that I wouldn't find annoying or pivotal, I move on to the good and glowing reviews, and try to understand what generated that amount of hype - or to see through it...

Excerpt won me over completely

STEP 4: SATISFACTORY EXCERPT (either engaging prose or exciting teaser or interesting characters...or all)
 
My would-be future read is close to release date at last. And I relentlessly stalk Amazon - or the author's site - begging for an excerpt that can nail down my choice. At this stage, it's not often that I cross a book from my list - also because early reviewers have already addressed any writing issue of said book - but it did happen a few times, simply because the style didn't work for me. Mostly, I only want to savour my future book while I'm waiting for it to be released ;).

Too love-driven? Not for me

STEP 5: MORE REVIEWS (if confirmation is required)

If my would-be read is still on the fence at this point, it doesn't necessarily mean a dark fate. I only need more reviews (yes! gimme more!). Or I only need the right one, for good or for bad. Because - aside from having to spend my money on the book - I need to commit to it. So I continue to relentlessly stalk Goodreads (ever tried that useful device? in your menu you enter Explore, then click on People > Recent Reviews > Recent Reviews of My Books, and then scroll down the page...that's what I do every day. Yes, I'm obsessed) for new takes on the novel. And sometimes I finally decide it's not up to my standards - which, of course, doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. Just not my thing.

Thank goodness I didn't miss this gem!

 ...BUT...WHAT ABOUT COVERS?

According to Wikipedia, between 5 and 8% of men and less than 1% of women are colour-blind.
I am totally cover-blind.
Not that I don't appreciate a good one...but when it comes to choosing my next read, a book could even come in a black package with a white title - or the reverse.
Now, my penchant for clever titles and absolute distrust of cute covers almost cost me one of the best stories I've ever read. Sweethearts (my review here) - I don't know how I made it past the title and the cover. I can't for the life of me remember how I managed to get as far as the blurb. Maybe the book was in some interesting-sounding list. The Sweethearts incident did teach me not to necessarily dismiss a book because of its title and cover - though I still suspect it is the exception that proves the rule...


Now, you. Yes, you. I'm curious about what makes you tick when it comes to a book. If you buy/read on impulse, or put your would-be future books through a filtering process. You're welcome to link to any significant review or post of yours that is somehow related to this one. C'mon. Told you, I'm curious...

For more Reader's Quirks click here.
Like to talk books? You might also be interested in this post. Comments are welcome!