Complete, How to Know When a Book is Good

Reading is never a waste. In fact, reading can do much for your mind. Sitting on the couch, digging into your favorite romance can be like watching the sun set. Sitting up, your eyes tensed, and reading a horror novel can make all the hairs on your arm stand up. Or just reading the works of Ernest Hemingway can make you question the way the world works, and our role in it. That is the power of a book. But how do you know when a book is good?

Looking at the Clock

Even good books will make you look at the clock often. However, when you are looking at the clock and page number all the time, maybe this book isn’t up your alley. Maybe this history of medieval times is a bit tame for you. Or the literary novel of a divorce too boring. When you start and stop all the time, giving up on the book, it may be time to open a new one.

Understanding the Power of a Book

When a book is good, though, it can make the time go by faster as you turn the page. There is a certain power to a good book: it can have the beat of poetry, the conflicts of an old western, maybe even enough action to out do even Hollywood. When you start looking at all the pieces of a book, and your reaction to them, you come to understand the basic reason you like it—this book has power.

Picking the Same Author Again

The next stage of all this is when you start grabbing the same author off the bookshelf more and more. Maybe you have a collection of Ray Bradbury novels; you started with one and could never stop. Maybe the histories by Civil War historian Shelby Foote are just too good not to buy. And when you start buying these authors on impulse, you will know the books are good.

Experiencing the Scenes

Another useful step good writers do is allow their readers to see the scenes. For a writer to write a scene, often he or she has to see it. It’s the author’s job to make you see it too. It’s more than about just horror, scares, or sex scenes. Any scene can have a power provided it lets you see what’s going on.

Waiting for the End

This is a two sided coin: sometimes you will be waiting for the ending and it will be good; other times you will be waiting for the ending so you can begin the next book. A good book takes you along a journey to the end, and maybe surprises you. A dull book just goes from scene to scene with no real purpose, and has a weak ending.

Building a Library of Favorites

Lastly, a book that reaches your bookshelf, your favorite book shelf, not all the dusty hard covers, will often tell you the book did something to you.

Tip

Don’t just a book by an interesting cover. Judge it by the content of the words. Read a few of the pages to get a feel for the story.

A good book will be passed around to friends, each with his or her own comments on how good it was. Develop your own opinion to share.

Warning

Reviews tell you what to like. But can anyone know exactly what you like? Consider reviews important, but not the final say on whether a book is good.

Article by Jacob Malewitz

Author, The Writer Who Smiles, Now Available from Booklocker

http://www.booklocker.com/books/3288.html

Writer A Writer’s Eye, A Reader’s Eye, A Comic Eye, Chasing Heaven, Story And Script