What Makes a Book Good?

I worked in the digital marketing department of one of the big five publishers for over six years, so like the rest of these ladies, I’ve read a lot of books. Like, a LOT a lot.

I’m a tough critic, but I’m far from being an editor! I’ve only read a handful of books that I really could not finish. And most of those involved a plot where girl is engaged, girl meets another boy, girl has overly sexualized affair with said boy, finance finds out…you get the idea. 

I rate my books on a scale of 1-5, with a score of five being one of the best books I’ve enjoyed, and a score of one meaning that I couldn’t finish the book. A score of five will be reserved for the best-of-the-best. Most good books will receive a score of four.

By genre:

 Women’s Fiction, Mystery/Thriller -

I want to read a book that has me thumbing the corners so much that by the last page, the width of the book has doubled in size from bent pages. A book that is so well planned and executed that tears pour from my eyes, or have me shouting “WHERE DID THAT COME FROM??!” – in a good way! A book that might have some purple prose, but written with a purpose.

Favorites: Shantaram (Roberts), The Dogs of Babel (Parkhurst), Winter Garden (Hannah), The Lock Artist (Hamilton), Andorra (Cameron).

Business - 

I do, actually, enjoy reading business books, and I have a shelf devoted to them at home. It boils down to two things: 

•         Does this book work for me, right now, with where I am in my career? Or do I need to be a C-level executive to put what I’ve learned to good use?

•         Does this book use too many business terms that nearly put me to sleep? I recently tried to read a book that came highly recommended by a senior executive, and couldn’t make it past the first ten pages. Business ≠ robot. I want to be invested in the knowledge the book provides, not feel like I’m sitting in a college lecture.

Favorites: Managing Oneself (Drucker), What to Ask the Person in the Mirror (Steven), Reaching Your Potential (Kaplan). Almost anything by Drucker, Lencioni, Goleman.

Cooking, Health & Fitness - 

I love food. I love running. I have to run because I love food so darn much. I try (and regularly fail) to be health-conscious, so I am always up for a good cookbook or running book that I can put to good use.

Favorites: The Juice Generation, Eat and Run (Jurek), Born to Run (McDougall), The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics (use the turkey recipe amended for your needs - it works flawlessly every single time).

Memoirs/Travel Memoirs - 

I love a good memoir. There isn’t much to say here aside from whether I deem the person worthy of writing a memoir (sorry, Lena Dunham!), but I love little nuggets and insight into the lives of people I admire.

Favorites include: After All (Moore), Eat, Pray, Love (Gilbert) 

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What Makes a Book Good?

Thank you so much for the warm welcome. I am honored and extremely excited to join you three at Girls Just Reading.

Let me get started by telling you a bit about myself. I am in my late thirties and live in Jersey. I work in beautiful New York City and read on my commute into the office. My love of reading began in high school with my senior year English class. We read Catcher in the Rye and it was the first time a book spoke to me. The very first time that I got something from what I was reading. After that, I started reading all the time.

I read with my heart. A book has to touch me. It doesn’t have to be a situation I can relate to, but the characters have to be relatable. I need to feel something when I read whether it be empathy, happiness or even anger. I’m not a happy ending kind of girl, I don’t always need one. I would rather read a story that is real than have a textbook happy ending written in. I prefer truth in fiction. (Oxymoron much?) I love stories about sisters, friends, everyday life in extraordinary circumstance. That is what makes a book good to me. I want to know the characters, I want feel what they feel. When the story ends, I want to know more. Not because the author left me hanging, but because these characters became friends of sorts and I want to know how the rest of their lives turn out.

Some of my favorite authors are Alice Hoffman, Jen Lancaster, Elizabeth Berg and Laurie Nataro. I read all kinds of books but my favorites are Chick Lit, Memoirs, and Romance (historical or contemporary) occasionally thrown in. For some reason I really don’t have an answer to, I usually only read books written by women. My absolute favorite book is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I am a re-reader. I’ll read something again if I absolutely love it.

My ratings are pretty basic. I try to keep them to strictly 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

1 – In plain English, this book was terrible. So bad, in fact, that I am mad at myself for reading it. I’m even madder at myself for buying it. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

2 – I didn’t like it or hate it. I’m pretty neutral about this book. I probably wouldn’t recommend it to anyone unless I knew that was a writing style I knew someone liked. This is the kind of book I hope came from the library.

3 – I liked this book. This book had something redeeming to it. I would recommend it to others, passing it on and not expecting it back.

4 – I really, really liked this book. There is something about the story that spoke to me. It is well written, the characters charming and believable to me. I would definitely recommend it, in fact, I’d probably let you borrow my copy, but I would want it back.

5 – The best book I’ve read this year. Fives for me are rare. Water for Elephants: A Novel is a five. The Time Traveler's Wife is a five. A five has everything I want in a story. A five is the kind of book I will read again and again, probably once a year. I won’t let you borrow this one, you’ll just have to go out and get one yourself because it’s worth it.

I have about 30 books in my TBR pile. I read about two or three books a month. Here is what you can expect from me in the next few months:

My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares
Sold by Patricia McCormick
A Little Bit Ruined by Patty Friedman
The Last Bridge by Teri Coyne
A Wish In Time by Laurel A. Bradley
Consequences by Penelope Lively
A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans
Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald.

I am looking forward to sharing my insights with all of you. I’ll have my first review for the novel The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno: A Novel by Ellen Bryson posted on Wednesday.

My NEW Rating System

Looking back over the history of our blog, I find that I'm a little soft when it comes to ratings. As I was having a dilema rating our next group book, I came to the decision that my ratings system needs further definition:

1. 1 - I intensely disliked the book



2. 2 - I disliked the book, and I won't read the author again



3. 3 - It was ok. I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it. I might give the author another chance.



4. 4 - I liked it.



5. 5 - LOVED it!!!

This gives me better structure for rating and still gives me wiggle room... in decimals.

What Makes a Book Good?

We've been blogging since August and this post from me is a little overdue. LOL I was reading Tiny Little Librarian's blog (see link on left hand side of blog under "Website's We Like") and it has spurred me on to post my own system to rating the books I read and to explain what those numbers mean in my "Final Take" area.

These are a few things I consider and ask myself when I'm making a rating/writing a review (In order of importance to me):

How did it make me feel? Did I not want the book to end? Did I find anything redeeming about any of the characters? Could I understand where the characters were coming from? Did I have emotional reactions to the storyline?

How does the book open? Did the first few lines or pages hook me? Was I intrigued by the initial plot presented? Did it make me want to read more?

How does the book end? Was I satisfied with the ending? Did it wrap up the plot? Did it close too quickly or end just in time? If I didn't like the ending did it still make sense in the context of the story?

How developed are the characters? Did they mature/grow during the course of the plot? Did they change at all? Can I identify with some characteristic of the main character or can I put myself in their shoes? Were how they changed/developed realistic or far-fetched?

How does it compare to some other books in the same genre? I try to look at other books I've read that are similar in nature and see how they compare good or bad to those others. If it's the same author I also take that into consideration, especially if it's a series.

How's the writing? Bad grammar? Plot holes? Research errors? Typos? I'm not as much of a stickler about this as Lisa is but grammar is huge for me. I think that things such as bad grammar and typos are up to the editor to find. Plot holes and research errors are author issues but also should be raised by the editor. I think if the book is a memoir than it really is up to the publishing house to do their due diligence to verify facts.

Did I learn something? It doesn't have to be anything earth shattering but maybe it caused me to think about a subject matter differently.

What do those numbered ratings mean?

5 - Can't imagine not having read it. It was pure enjoyment and I wouldn't change a thing. Will pressure others into reading it. Will probably read it again at somepoint.

4 - Loved it but probably would have changed a few things whether it be the ending or some of the characters.

3 - Wasn't bad/liked it. Not sorry I read it but definitely wouldn't read it again and depending on the author might or might not read another one of their's. Some significant plot or character issues.

2 - Who the heck told me to read this? Or what was I thinking when I picked this book up? Wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Major plot and/or character issues.

1 - Probably will never happen because I won't waste my time on it past the first 50 pages if it doesn't hook me. If it's an author I love, I might come back to it wondering if my life is getting in the way of enjoying a good book. (i.e. Jodi Picoult's Songs of the Humpback Whale)

You can also count on 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 from me because sometimes it's just necessary.

I hope this helps all of you who read our blog understand how I rate the books I read.

Related: What Makes A Book Good - Lisa
What Makes A Book Good - Jenn

What Makes A Book Good?

I tend to reread books because I'm a speed reader and as a child I would often finish books so quickly that my mother would threaten not to buy me any more, as it was seemingly a waste of her money. To appease her, I started re-reading the books.

To this day, that's how I justify buying a book in hardcover. Will I re-read it?

So my rating system is simple, especially when comparing apples to oranges (i.e. YA to Historical Fiction to Chick-lit):

Did I enjoy it enough to re-read it?

If it's below a 4, probably not.

What Makes A Book Good?

Reading is subjective as you all know already and by default so is rating a book. Usually, I already know what kind of rating a book is going to get while I am reading it, either because it's just so good or just plain crap. Below are the elements that drive my ratings philosophy.

How does the book open? A bad opening chapter never bodes well. It's rare that a book with bad beginning has redeemed itself in my eyes by having a decent ending. As a matter of fact I can't think of a single instance where this has been the case. If by the end of the first two or so chapters I'm not thinking "Alright I can dig this", things are not looking good.

How's the writing? I am a simple girl, I read for entertainment and enjoyment and I like simple, plain English. I dislike when authors talk down to me, over-complicate the story they are telling, go off in unnecessary tangents or write dialogue in ways that people don't speak. I refuse to continue reading Wicked or The Chronicles of Narnia for expressly that reason. The only author allowed to over-complicate the language is Shakespeare and since my school years are far behind me, you better believe I'm not sitting around reading Shakespeare for the fun of it. Not to mention he's not really writing much these days.

Is there bad grammar? Any plot holes or other inconsistencies? Research errors? Typos? These are the marks of a lazy writer and editing team. I am by no means a grammar snob or even ultra-anal because oftentimes I don't even notice (especially if the book is good), but whenever I do, I always find myself distracted and no longer interested. Simply because I no longer trust that the writer even knows what the heck they are talking about. If you can't take a minute or two to do your research or double check your spelling – you and I can't roll. Making the above mistakes is disrespectful to me as a reader. I am more forgiving of typos, unless there's more than one, then it points off for that.

Did I learn something? Most novels aren't known for being teaching aids, so I don't read them for that reason. However, I am an intelligent girl and I always enjoy learning something in a book. Any book. Even if it is something as simple as a new word to add to my vocabulary. The book that sends me running to the dictionary or to Wikipedia, once or twice, is alright with me.

How developed are the characters? I give different marks for character depth, based on the genre I am reading. I don't ever expect Stephanie Plum to be more than an indecisive, incompetent yet slightly lucky bounty hunter and for that reason I don't expect that I'll ever rate any book in that series higher than a 3 out of 5. If I'm reading something a little meatier, then I expect to care, relate and/or despise (with a passion) the appropriate characters.

How did it make me feel? This is easy. A book gets a good rating if it evokes some sort of heartfelt emotion. Did I laugh? Cry? Scream in surprise? Saddened that I have to leave the characters behind? Awed and speechless? These are all good things. On the other hand, if I ever get the urge to suck my teeth and throw the book across the room. Look out!

See? Not complicated at all.