What draws you to a book?

Recently I went to social media – Facebook and Instagram – and asked the burning question: What draws you to a book? I asked readers to pick from these answers:

• Great characters
• Setting
• Humor
• Something else

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A book has to have great characters

There are a couple of ways books are written: plot- or character-driven are the two most common. And having great characters was the answer I got most on my “survey.” A couple people even mentioned specifics – that the characters need to be flawed and realistic.

Because who wants to read a book about Jane Doe that is just like any old person in real life. However, we do want realism. It would be super cool if we all had skills like Katniss Everdeen, Sherlock Holmes, Mary Poppins, or James Bond.

Relatable flaws are good too. We want to see characters we feel like we would be friends with. Ones who struggle with the things we struggle with.

Setting is important

Believable settings are important to readers. There are several settings I really enjoy – anything that takes place in Scotland, the Gulf Coast area, Virginia, and Tennessee – because I’ve lived in those areas. Except Scotland, but I’m working on that!

We like to laugh

Next answer of what draws you to a book was humor. I love being surprised by humor in a book. I recently started reading the Andy Carpenter series. The author, David Rosenfelt, uses humor so effectively!

A lot of cozy mysteries include humor – one of my favorite things about them!

What draws you to a book besides those things?

Other answers I received were:

• the reader’s mood when they’re picking a book
• the book blurb
• escape – this is a biggie for me!
• interesting topic &/or category/genre
• great writing

It seems like great writing would be assumed, but you and I as readers know that if it has a realistic character, an amazing setting, and humor, but it doesn’t have great writing — well, it’ll go into our DNF pile!

What else would you add?

So, what draws you to a book? Is there anything else you would add to this list? I’d love to know in the comments!

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Hi, I’m Jen! I’ve been married 37 years, have 5 amazing kids and 2 adorable grandkids and one on the way. I homeschooled our three youngest children. I used to blog about homeschooling and taught Oral Communication as an adjunct instructor for over 5 years.

Jen Dodrill Writes is born of a passion of mine – to write a novel! When I’m not working, you’ll find me writing, spending time with my family, or curled up on the couch reading and drinking a mug of dark roast coffee. (Don’t forget to check out my mug shop – JDMugs!)