A wee while ago I asked you as my followers what is your favourite book? I was a little sad to find out that only one of you replied which made me think about how many people come in here each day, week or month and who really is reading this blog. Anyway one nice follower who does follow my blog answered my question and said that she enjoys reading romance books. OK I am a woman, I guess that I am a bit of a romantic girl at heart but have I had the desire to read a romance book? Probably not? But then again I ask what type of romance books does she enjoy? I mean they could historical romance- think modern day writers such as Diana Gabaldon, Philippa Gregory or perhaps she likes the classic romantic writers such as Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austin. So this got me thinking.
What constitutes a good book?
A good book should be in my view, a book that can entertain, a book that may be able to teach me something new, a book that can enthuse me and a book that I can remember in years to come. I find that many books out there have a wonderful looking cover on them only to find that they lack substance or the blurb at the back does not match up to what I thought was going to be in the book so it gets read but it just sits there looking idle on my shelves until I decide to do a rare thing and cull it with some of the other books that have sat around for too long in my home.
Recently I took a book out of the library. I find many a great book there that I can read, take out and enjoy for a period of time. This particular book is more of a reference book than anything but it helped me to answer my question that I had looming in my head “What constitutes a good book?”. And in this book, 501 Must-Read Books helped me to appreciate why some books have become best sellers and what makes them popular with us all. Some are actually on my shelves and not because they are best sellers either. Often a book has come into my possession because I have read about it or that I have read the back of it to find out if it is something that I would enjoy and that is the thing if I enjoy the book then most other people will feel the same, which in return is then reviewed by the real reviewers of the world and then it becomes a best seller. But then there are some books out there that have never had the chance to shine and if by some miracle someone picks it up one day and thinks to themselves.. Hey this is great reading, news may spread and before you can blink, the book becomes famous maybe even after the author has died in some cases but the book becomes a sought after item, everyone is now wanting to get their hands on it just as they do when a best seller is made public and that dear folks is what I think may constitute a good book.
Thoughts?
The Bookaholic Bookworm 