Saturday, May 20, 2006

What I read

Twin has made the valid point that people who wander onto this site might want to know right off the bat exactly what sort of books I read and review here. So I'm going to explain and then link to this on my sidebar.

I read fiction, very occasionally I may post about non-fiction, but don't hold your breath. The genres I generally stick to are historical fiction, romance, women's fiction, mystery, fantasy, and young adult.

I like books that make me happy. The currently prevailing notion that "good" literature must be bleak and realistic and depressing drives me completely nuts. I read the newspaper. That's all the depressing I can take. Reading is my favorite hobby and I want to enjoy it. I don't want to finish a book and say, "yes, well, life's a bitch and this captures that so well." So screw the critics, I'll read what I like.

Requirements:
  1. Happy ending. Doesn't necessarily have to be girl+boy=living happily ever after, but it must a least have a satisfying conclusion.
  2. Generally I require a least some romance. Just a little will do. Doesn't have to be the whole point of the book.
  3. Likable characters. Smart characters.
  4. Originality. I hate cliched writing. I hate carbon-copy characters. Give me something fresh.
  5. Easy on the sap. Yes, I read romance. I love romance. That doesn't mean I want beds of roses and soul mates and cheesey lines. Blech.
  6. Easy on the gore. I don't like blood and guts.
  7. Easy on the scary. I'm a complete wuss about horror. Really just don't want to go there.
I'm sure I could think up more, but those are the deal-breakers. You may disagree with me, and that's okay. You should read whatever you like. But then you probably won't be too interested in my reviews. :)

3 comments:

julieree said...

hear, hear!!

Anjel said...

I TOTALLY agree. We should swap notes! :)

Try Jilly Cooper
Marian Keyes
Monica McInerney

Happy reading!

Anonymous said...

i personally think life is depressing enough so why read some thing that is depressing? reading takes me out of this world and into another more happy one. not that my life is depressing! i have a great life! but there are alot of things out there that can weigh you down such as the newspaper i try to avoid that myself. well i think ive said more than enough for today:)