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What do you look for in fiction?

Firefly

Troubadour
Argh.. You're right. I'd forgotten how much I hate bad dialogue.

And about those doorstoppers... I've been reading The Way of Kings right now, (Brandon Sanderson) and there really aren't any long stretches of straight information. There is a ton of exposition but it's never more than a few sentences or a short paragraph at a time. (At least not that I've noticed...) Granted, those are on practically every single page, so it still slows the things down, but the tension is strong enough that I feel he can get away with it.

People's opinions on long books can be frustrating. I think that it's at least partially a publisher thing; longer books are more expensive to print but don't make much more money. For readers, (At least in fantasy) I think they tend to not mind something super long, as long as it's something they already like. (From what I've observed, anyway.) They don't want to make a huge time commitment for something unknown, but they'll take as much as they can get from their favorite author.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
I'm in a Facebook group where this topic came up but in a slightly different form: the OP there said they specifically look for as long a book as possible.

This person was speaking particularly about Audible. Many others chimed in with the same sentiment: they were looking for number of hours per dollar spent. When I suggested this was a weird way to choose a book, they politely but firmly--and universally--disagreed.

Others spoke up who were print (or ebook) readers, saying they loved long books, series that go into double digits, all that. I was and am surprised, given the amount of noise I've heard elsewhere in exactly the opposite direction--toward quick reads, short works. While I remain puzzled at people who choose books like buying in bulk at the grocery store, I am heartened to hear that there is an audience for long books. Which, btw, pretty much implies lots of exposition as well. (they love getting "immersed in a world")
 
Overall, characterization. For me, characters don't have to be someone that I necessarily relate to (Although, I guess that depends on what you mean by relate. I suppose we all relate on some kind of human level). I am interested in the human condition, human psychology and different views of the world and philosophies.

If there's anything that causes me to put a piece of fiction down faster, it's lack of character development. I do not like boring characters or characters that you really don't know anything about. Even if you have the most exciting, epic, original plot, I will not continue to read if I am not interested in the characters.
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
I'm in a Facebook group where this topic came up but in a slightly different form: the OP there said they specifically look for as long a book as possible.
This person was speaking particularly about Audible. Many others chimed in with the same sentiment: they were looking for number of hours per dollar spent. When I suggested this was a weird way to choose a book, they politely but firmly--and universally--disagreed.
I will duck to avoid thrown objects, but I would say that some Audible Readers are not reading at all. They are consuming a product to fill up some down time - the daily commute, waiting to pick the kids up from Soccer, doing the decorating... That is why they want heft over pith. 6 hours of stuff is better than 3 hours of stuff if all you want is mildly entertaining and distracting stuff. I wonder if how many of them went back and re-listened to a book, like a print Reader may go back to a favourite story.
Others spoke up who were print (or ebook) readers, saying they loved long books, series that go into double digits, all that. I was and am surprised, given the amount of noise I've heard elsewhere in exactly the opposite direction--toward quick reads, short works. While I remain puzzled at people who choose books like buying in bulk at the grocery store, I am heartened to hear that there is an audience for long books. Which, btw, pretty much implies lots of exposition as well. (they love getting "immersed in a world")
 

Firefly

Troubadour
I will duck to avoid thrown objects, but I would say that some Audible Readers are not reading at all. They are consuming a product to fill up some down time - the daily commute, waiting to pick the kids up from Soccer, doing the decorating... That is why they want heft over pith. 6 hours of stuff is better than 3 hours of stuff if all you want is mildly entertaining and distracting stuff. I wonder if how many of them went back and re-listened to a book, like a print Reader may go back to a favourite story.
Hey, I re-listen to my audio books all the time! : ) Probably because I don't have very many of them. Audio books are expensive.
Honestly, though, I think you have a point. There isn't a time commitment for listening to an audio book the same way there is for print, because listeners ARE often listening to the books while doing something else they'd have to do anyway. The threshold for interesting-ness is a lot lower. But I wouldn't say it isn't "reading". Most of the people I know who listen to a lot of audio books are people who would read real books if they could, but just don't have a lot of time on their hands. Or have dyslexia and get headaches trying to read actual

letters for extended periods of time. (Dyslexia runs in my family so I know quite a few people for whom this is the case.)

Overall, characterization. For me, characters don't have to be someone that I necessarily relate to (Although, I guess that depends on what you mean by relate. I suppose we all relate on some kind of human level). I am interested in the human condition, human psychology and different views of the world and philosophies.

This. I didn't put this into my post because it isn't the reason I read per say, but I LOVE when novels are willing to get more philosophical and explore how people think.
 
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