Monday, August 9, 2010

Musing Mondays: Decisive Factors

What element, if a book has it, will make you almost always read that book (and name a book –or books– that contain it)! ((for example: romantic reunions))

There's probably no one factor that guarantees I'll read a book. Lots of things grab my attention- books about France, books about Russia, books about Jewish subjects, or just unusual-looking or interesting-looking literary fiction, especially European. The last two are pretty nebulous and subjective, but it's one of those "I'll-know-it-when-I-see-it" things. Some recent examples include Five Women: Stories by Robert Musil; The Door, by Magda Szabo; Love Burns, by Edna Mazya. Booker Prize winners are a no-brainer and books by favorite authors as well.

Musing Mondays is hosted by Miz B at ShouldBeReading.wordpress.com.


Your regularly scheduled Graphic Novel Monday will return soon.

10 comments:

gautami tripathy said...

Books are so personal. It also depends on my mood, what I want to read, what I dont!

You can answer my question too, from my Musing Mondays post!

Zibilee said...

If a book is about the plague or about midwives, I am all over it. I also like books about the Tudor dynasty, though the amount of those has gotten out of hand lately. I do read lots of other types of books, but usually, those are the things that immediately grab me.

Natalie~Coffee and a Book Chick said...

I'm all over the place with the types of books that I read -- one second I'm into a Victorian novel, and then the next thing I'm reading Sophie Kinsella, and then I'm into a murder mystery. I'm incredibly schizophrenic with my reading tastes!! :)

caite said...

I admit, I am a sucker for just about any sort of mystery book...but I do love me a good serial killer. If I read about a book, and there is a serial killer mentioned, chances are I will read it.

It that strange? :-)

JaneGS said...

Bios of my favorite authors are about the only thing that will definitely trigger the impulse to acquire, especially if they are by bio authors that I've already liked and admired such as Peter Ackroyd or Claire Tomalin.

bermudaonion said...

I love books about France too. I can't think of any one element that makes a book a must read for me.

Anonymous said...

i have an aversion to really long reads (family and friends tease me about it) so page length is an element i know i consider. this quirk is complimenting my obsession with three-quarter sleeves nicely.

i like the modernists, and i am noticing an increasing attraction to Absurdist works. and then most anything featuring late 19th century to early-1900s London.

i am with gautami tripathy, that mood does have a lot of influence. as well as the Library request/hold system.

Anonymous said...

Holocaust history, whether factual, such as memoirs, or historical novels will do it for me. But, I also read modern literature, and I "will know it when I see it", or know ahead of time that I want a particular new release.

wisteria said...

This is such a huge question to me because my taste is so diverse. I think it is easier for me to say what I won't read ever...and that is horror and most science fiction. I do gravitate toward strong women themes and historical fiction, with an emphasis on the late 1800 to mid 1900's. I always reach for books about racial prejudice historical and fiction. Two examples: Mudbound and Sweetsmoke.

Tasha said...

I'm drawn to stories of troubled marriages - Revolutionary Road and The Painted Veil. Also stories whose characters suffer from anxiety or depression - The Bell Jar and Wonder Boys.