If you would pick up a book to read what elements in the book would you look for?

Answer 1

Depends on what genre it is. Mainly I pick up murder mysteries - so I want a good first sentence that will pull me straight into the story and hold me there until the very last period.

But if it's a classic - I really wouldn't expect a killer first sentence, but I would look more at the authors prose - the literary techniques used - maybe figure out different ways to interpret the text.

Overall in a novel - I look at character development. The structure (if it's coherent or not). The plot. And it's ability to capture reality - if it's not the fantasy genre, and still completely farfetched I lose interest.

Answer 2

When reading for pleasure: Believable, sympathetic characters. A well-rendered setting. An interesting plot. Moments of humor. Beautiful prose. A bigger message outside the confines of the narrative.

When reading in a scholarly way, all of the above plus: Symbolism. Allusions to other works. Characterization. Foreshadowing. Motifs. Theme. Diction.

Answer 3

Okay, I'm going to take your question to mean what "parts" of the book do I look at first.

I like to read a lot of non-fiction. If I haven't heard of the author, I read the jacket cover to see if he/she has experience in the same area as the topic of the book or any previous publications. I also scan the table of contents as well as the index to see if the particularly topic I'm looking for has been covered in the book. Lastly, because I love books, I usually take a peek to see if it is a first edition.

Answer 4

Originality / Personality - I hate reading books full of cliches and other over-used and familiar phases. After all, we already know there is nothing new under the sun; however, I have wondered why other writers can't seem to be courageous enough to re-introduce discarded thoughts and creative enough to find new ways to articulate old ones.

Answer 5

If it was written in English to start with.