As a regular reader, all those shiny books on their shelves might be hard to resist, but still, most of us can say that we are at least a bit picky when it comes to them. Books in general aren’t cheap, so we’re justified. Time isn’t cheap either. We’re busier than ever and the time we invest in reading a book is precious.
Some people are more given to experimenting. I prefer to play it safe most of the time, and I know when a certain book is right up my alley. Of course, I also love being surprised by books that don’t seem like my cup of tea at first, but it doesn’t happen that often.
A beautiful cover
This is a given. I know that it shouldn’t be this way, but a badly designed cover is usually a red flag for me. This goes along with cheesy covers. It’s just an inner voice in me that scoffs at those covers. The content could be amazing, but it prevents me from giving them a chance. I know I might be missing out on some great stories because of this, but it’s a habit that has stuck.
A map inside
If I’m browsing the shelves at a bookstore, I open a book and find a map inside, chances are I’ll be intrigued. Fantasy books usually include maps of the world the story is set in. I just love reading and following the characters’ journeys while checking back with the map to make sure I know where they are. It’s a very helpful tool! And, they can be quite photo-worthy.
Hate to Love trope
Not all tropes are bad, and one of my favorites is when the characters meet, sparks fly and… they hate each other. I can’t even begin to explain how entertaining I find it. In contemporaries, historical, fantasy, and any combination of those genres, I love finding characters that at first dislike each other but little by little warm up.
When they synopsis hints or outright states this trope, I’m going be sailing that ship in no time.
Elemental magic
Any mention of elemental magic will pique my interest. I don’t know when it started, but it was definitely accentuated by Avatar: The Last Airbender. It’s just so… I’m fascinated by it and how the concept changes from story to story. It’s been used for ages for magic systems in books but I don’t think I’ll get tired of it any time soon.
Soulmates trope
This is a risky preference I have. I’m a sucker for a good couple of soulmates, but we already know how most of those go. Cue instalove. I want to see soulmates, but ones that also learn to love each other. Being soulmates don’t give authors a free pass to skip the falling in love part altogether. It’s just a nice touch, but the characters still need to go through the due process.
You usually can tell by the synopsis available if it’ll be one of those books. Anyway, I’ll probably stop reading if I make a mistake and then it gets too painful to continue.
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Sometimes, picking up a book happens just because of a hunch, and nothing specific I could pinpoint. Nothing at all, or a mix of several elements. Recommendations by friends can be very powerful motivators to read a book as well. By now I trust Ashley‘s recommendations of fantasy books so much.
I never bother denying that I judge books by their covers. I’m not even sorry! The hate to love and Soulmates tropes are hit or miss for me, but I agree that they can be great when done well.
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted this awesome thing…Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel – Tour Recap
I’m not ashamed to admit that some of my books are just pure cover buy lol. And I love stories with a good fighting scene and not just some ‘I’m an assassin and look at me I’m so badass and empowering’ but the plot and powerful fight look like a child play lol and no one dies from the good team because they’re oh so powerful. #lol
nurulrasya.com
Hooray for cover buys! And that kind of books are so frustrating! We want to see real stakes and real consequences to actions! Sometimes those characters that pride themselves in being so badass end up being such a letdown.