I mean in your reading, ladies! Com’on . . . 🙂
Big thanks to Lila for having me by to help celebrate the release of THE PRINCESS IN HIS BED. It’s going to be another sexy romp, and I can’t wait!
So, tell me, how long will you keep reading a book that isn’t grabbing you? (Bev, owner of The Season, gave me this idea when she did a blog on the topic. The Season is a terrific site & blog that features upcoming historical–and contemporary & paranormal–romances.)
So, how long will you read?
It was an interesting question. I started paying closer attention to not only how far I got, but why. What was surprising was how long I kept reading even when I felt there was something missing. It’s not an all-or-nothing proposition. It’s much more nuanced than that, and that’s true for all readers.
Obviously, the elements that buy read-time vary from reader to reader, so I’ll just talk about the things that do it for me, as a reader.
I quickly realized it had nothing to with a favorite author or not. I give new-to-me authors the same amount of read-time as my favorites: it’s all about the story in my hand.
Well-written, funny prose will carry me pretty far into a book, even if nothing is happening (i.e. the pace is slow). But ‘well-written’ alone is insufficient—if it’s a slower-moving, more introspective piece, then I definitely need to be surprised at regular intervals and generally amused. ‘Shocked’ won’t do it. “Horrified’, ’worried’, or ‘outraged’ won’t do the job, because I don’t think these elements can happen frequently enough to grab my attention without going into overload. I need to be smiling, or laughing, or charmed. In other words, the narrator has to be someone I’d want to spend all that time with.
Witty dialogue and highly-charged hero/heroine energy, with anticipatory sexual tension, yea, that’ll almost always get me at least as far as the middle of a book. What can I say? I’m a cheap date. 🙂
I like books that don’t takes themselves too seriously.
Given a choice between over-written (or overwrought) or cleaner, more simple prose, I keep reading ‘simple’ writing a lot longer than ‘overdone.’
I like when a story sets me up to care about a particular character’s current ‘problems’, before they go into extensive world-building. I generally prefer the world-building to be inextricably intertwined with what the characters are doing right there and then. (Caveat: That’s for a romance. In straight historical fiction, I like bigger world-building, but of course, at some point, I still need to care deeply about characters.)
I like unpredictable. (Again, there’s the ‘surprise’ element. It’s really key!) If I can predict exactly what’s coming, I set it down. I don’t mean ‘predictable’ as to whether the boy gets the girl or not, because clearly, in a romance, we know the answer. I mean that if I make a prediction about how some small event will play out within a scene, who will say what, what emotional angst will get played on, etc., and I’m right, well, that kinda stinks. Reading stories is the one time I don’t want to be right. 🙂 I want my stories to surprise me with how they get to the thing I already know will happen.
Excellent writing and witty, surprising characters gets around these problems of predictability, because that’s where the surprises come in: HOW they get through the predictable features of the genre.
In my recent release, THE IRISH WARRIOR, the hero and heroine are doing the unexpected from the moment they step onto the ‘stage.’ The heroine is an accountant-minded wool merchant who come to Ireland to save her faltering business, and gets a lot more than she bargained for. The hero is an alpha warrior with a sense of humor and serious Irish charm. In this case, though, the wool merchant frees the warrior from prison, they take off across Ireland, running from the bad guys, hunting down dangerous military secrets, and falling in love. Did I mention it’s super-sexy? Super. Sexy. 🙂
QUESTIONS: How about you? What makes you keep reading, even if other elements are lacking? What makes you stop reading, even if all the supposedly ‘good stuff’ is there?
One commenter will win a copy of their choice of my latest release THE IRISH WARRIOR , or my debut release, THE CONQUEROR (May, ‘09) both sexy, sweeping medieval adventures. My next, DEFIANT (http://www.kriskennedy.net/) , from Pocket Books, comes out April 26, 2011!
Kris Kennedy writes sexy, adventure-filled medieval romances. Visit the website
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To win Kris’s giveaway you must:
1. Answer Kris’s question(s) below in your comment.
2. You MUST be a follower/subscriber of Lila DiPasqua’s blog (through Google Friend Connect).
* Winner will be announced on SUNDAY–selected from a random commenter on this post.
NOTE: The more you comment on the posts during the month-long PRINCESS October Blog Party, the more points you earn toward winning a signed copy of the next in the sexy Fiery Tales series, THE PRINCESS IN HIS BED…plus SIGNED copies of Nora Roberts’ BLACK HILLS and Eloisa James’ A DUKE OF HER OWN! *Must* be a follower/subscriber (through GFC) to this blog to be eligible to win!
Ways to increase your odds of winning are found at the very bottom of this blog.
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Hi Kris
With books that are sometime missing the key element that keep me intrested i usually try to keep reading just to see if they do get any better which a lot of the times isn’t the case as if i’m not intrested within the 1st few chapters i doubt that i would ever get into that book as it is the first few chapters that usually hook me.
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Hi Kris,I’ve heard so many wonderful things about The Irish Warrior! There aren’t enough Irish heroes IMO 🙂 To answer your question: It’s easier to relate it to a “romance” that I recently read…All I Ever Wanted by Kristin Higgins. I had never read any of her books before but it was a Smart Bitches summer pick so I decided to read it. It was amusing and I loved the characters. Both of those kept me turning the pages, and overall I really enjoyed the book despite my feelings that it wasn’t very much of a romance (come to find… Read more »
Hi Kris! Great post. I’ve got to say, there are few books out that I have set down. I tend to force myself to get through it, with the hope it gets better. There’s one author (thriller genre) that I just can’t get into until halfway through the book. His characters are flat, to me, but by the halfway point, I just want to find out what happens (it’s Dan Brown-esque plot, so there’s history and intrigue that keep me going). If, however, the book reads like poetry and everything’s a metaphor, I’ll put it down pretty quick. I have… Read more »
Hi, Kris! Your question becomes more and more relevant for me as I continue to expand my reading horizons outside of my comfort zone! I have walked out on a few movies, and one concert, but I always finish my books. Some of them have been very difficult to finish, but I always make it to “The End”. What I look for in all my reads is well-developed, involving characters and a detailed, interesting story line. Some reads are lighter than others, and quick easy reads are sometimes just the ticket. However, poor editing can ruin the enjoyment of even… Read more »
I suppose since I’m unpublished I keep looking for why? I mean the author must have some redeeming quality, they are published and I didn’t make the cut. What can I learn from them. So its hope, its curiosity on how they are going to pull it out of the bag. It may take more than one sitting, some tears but I will finish it. Just to prove I did. An Irish Warrior is getting quite the buzz. I will be picking up a copy. If nothing else to see how those left in the old country rose to greatness.… Read more »
Good post, Kris, and an interesting question. Answering is easier if I go back to my Christine Feehan book: I didn’t think vampires would get my attention but the first sentence of Dark Prince had me caring for the hero and that caring plus a wonderful heroine pulled me through the story. So, well rounded characters with a lot to lose struggling for their HEA keeps me glued to the pages. As strange as it is, even if I don’t like a book I’ll always flip to the end because I have to know what happened. An accountant-minded wool merchant… Read more »
*waves* to Kris! Thanks for being here! Great post. 🙂 Hi ladies! I’ve so enjoyed reading your comments. As an author, I find them interesting and important to digest. As a reader, I try to finish every book I start. With deadlines and such, I don’t have much spare time and when I reach for a book, I want to be yanked in. If I’m having a hard time with the book, I’ll set it aside and return to it later. I feel very much the same way Nan does. The book was published. Someone saw something special in it.… Read more »
@ everyone—I just got an email from Kris. She’s been trying to sign in and chat with you, but blogger is being difficult. We’ll get this sorted out.
In the meantime, keep the comments coming! 🙂
Okay, let’s see if this works . . . New browser . . . . Elizabeth & Noelle~ So interesting–you girls are at oppoosite ends of the how-far-will-you-read continuum. I fall somewhere in between–if I’m not grabbed right away by at my ‘must-have’ elements (competent writing & surprising, engaging characters), I start skipping ahead. I usually get to the last page, but I may do it by skipping 250 or 300 of the intervening pages. 🙂 Noelle~ I know what you mean. I don’t mind long sentences per se, but if they’re going to be long, they need to carry… Read more »
Yay! It came through . . . didn’t it? Others are seeing it too, right? 🙂 Booklover~Ah, I know precisely what you mean about getting enough of the good stuff in a story that you’re willing to pass up your top love, romance. It’s interesting . . . I wonder if the typical reader of other genres does that as well? Forgo the mystery, say, b/c the storytelling is rocking-good in so many other ways. Or tolerate the absence of ‘thriller’ elements if the characters sing… It’d be an interesting study, who does cross-genre reading, and who stays within their… Read more »
Virginia C~
I like how you phrased that: “a detailed storyline.” It’s the world-building, isn’t it? And of course, those engaging characters. 🙂
You’re completely right about editing, and all the other little things that go into building the story world. Reading is an immersive activity. Storytelling, to be successful, has to totally engage the reader’s mind and heart. If anything between the book covers make her *aware* that she’s reading, the magic is gone, at least for that moment.
Thanks so much for saying hi!
Carolyn~ Why hello there, you flip-to-the-end kindred spirit, you. 🙂 I’ve had the exact same thing happen to me: Fallen for books after I’d told myself, “Oh, I don’t like *this* kind of story.” 🙂 Oh no? LOL. All it takes is the right storyteller, and we can fall in love. And I’m not surprised it was the heroine who drew you in to Feehan’s awesome stories. I can, and have, read entire books that had a very boring or weak (to me) plot, but I *loved* the characters. Plot definitely matters–stakes–and I admit, I write stories with big, high… Read more »
Hi Nan!
(Sorry-looks like my earlier reply to you didn’t come through.)
One of the best craft books I read on the subject of figuring out how those published authors keep readers reading, how they grab/hook us, is Donald Maass’s Fire in Fiction, as well as his Writing The Breakout Novel Workbook (the book by the same title is also great, of course.) I re-read it regularly.
I hope you love IRISH! Hope you get a strong feel of the Old Country, and get ‘hooked’ over and over while you read. 🙂
Great post Kris, For me as the reader I absolutely hate not finishing a book especially if I paid for it. In the past I would just do my hardest to push through. Now, since I read so many and my TBR pile is so large, I just can’t do it. I find that if I’m at least a quarter of the way through and I’m just not liking it I will skip to a random page in the middle and see if I like what’s happening. From there I decide if I want to keep going or not. I… Read more »
GREAT question! I think for me, the characters need to be “relatable”. I need to feel a sort of connection to the characters. They need to be real. Also, if a book is a choice from my book club, I tend to stick with it longer so that I can at least discuss a portion of the book with the other members. If it’s a book I’ve picked up and I’m not “feelin’ it” I put it aside for a time when I have nothing to read (like that’ll ever happen). Life is too short to waste time on a… Read more »
Danielle~
See, you’re a better woman than I. 🙂 But I do exactly what you do, i.e. skip to the middle, rather than just set it down nearer the start. I always think “Maybe it picks up later.” And sometimes it does! 🙂
Thank-you for coming by and saying hi!
i think maybe i’m not even sure i’ve stopped reading a book one time. Maybe. I usually push threw and hope it gets better. sometimes it does sometimes i finish and think eh??? lol It’s a thing i guess to finish what i start. The difference is that if i’m not that into it it takes forever to get to the end. I’ve actually only read a handful of books i know i’d never recommend to someone else.
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Kathy~ LOL–yes! If I set it down thinking “Well, maybe later,” there probably isn’t going to be a later. It’s almost like the story has its chance, now another story gets its turn. 🙂 That said, if I’m not being grabbed, I do skip ahead, & give the story another chance. I’ll do that 2 or 3 times, so any particular story probably gets about 4 chances with me. I agree about book club books. But I’ve started saying that I stopped reading at such-and-such a point, and for such-and-such a reason. That seems as useful a conversation as any… Read more »
Hi Kris, good to see you here!
I rely a lot on reviews and feedback before I start any book, especially if the author is new to me. When I started reading romances, I read everything… but not anymore. If the characters are boring and the story stays flat, I either rush through the chapters and get right to the end or I just stop reading it.
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Great post. What keeps me reading is good chemistry between hero and heroine, stories that draw me in and affect me emotionally and good world building. To get me to stop reading is if the story’s focus shifts from the relationship between the characters to other elements.
Modokker~
I know what you mean, how it can sometimes feel like it takes a long time to finish a book that isn’t lighting your fire. Isn’t it great, then, when they books we love are such easy reads? They just pull you along, and you’re flipping pages, and before you know it, the book is over! Course, that’s a downside, too. LOL
Thanks for saying hi!
Mrsshukra~
I’m a review reader too. 🙂 And I read a TON of excerpts. That’s how I decide if the writing will work for me. To find out of the story will, I usually have to wait until I settle in and start reading.
Flat stories and flat characters–yep. Things need to change in the story, don’t they? People AND events. It seems obvious, but those ‘turning points’ are what keep us interested, so they’re quite fundamental.
Thanks for stopping by & sharing your thoughts!
Crystal~
Oh, yes, good chemistry is a great thing to add into the conversation! Excellent point. It certainly includes sensual tension (I’m a sucker for a hot, well-written story ), but it encompasses much more than that.
Thanks for saying hi and chiming in! 🙂
Hi Kris, great post! I am a fan of any type of historical romance espescially the more sensual ones. I don’t care what timeline or country they are set in as long as the hero and heroine have a great conflict. I have to be able to fall in love with the hero along with the heroine, afterall, it is supposed be my (the readers) escape from reality for a few hours. I lose interest very quickly if the author’s style is prone to being too wordy in descriptions or any type of purple prose. I like my stories to… Read more »
I give a book until the mid-way point before I throw in the towel. What can keep me going is witty dialogue between h/h, steamy scenes, and fun/intriguing secondary characters. What stops me dead in my tracks is the hidden baby theme. I abhor that theme and will toss the book on page one if that theme shows up. Ick-ick!
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There are very few books I’ve put down without finishing, call it my curosity to know how it all ends or comes together, or me wanting to give the author atleast a chance or trying it one time. So even if I find a book lacking, I’ll press on. I always try to find atleast one item to compliment the book/author on. Afterall, it is someone’s baby.
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I usually do finish a book I’ve started, but I may only skim and skip over any parts that seem boring. I find that this is easier to do with a paper book than an ebook.
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If I’m having a hard time getting into a book, I will usaually read for several chapters. If it still isn’t working for me, I’ll usually skip to the last chapter and see what happened.
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Kris – Your question took me a moment to digest before I could reply because I always finish a book I pick up. When I was in grade school my family used to kid me about always reading and at the time my favorite book was The Secret Garden. In high school my favorite was The Diaglogues of Socretes. Okay so the other girls on the cheerleading team thought I was a little crazy – I loved reading everything. Today I read romance and I started when my boys were in small and I was working nights. I began reading… Read more »
Wow, you all are very loyal readers! And I mean loyal to the story–you stick with it. I’m impressed and, as an author, appreciative. 🙂 Carina~You’re so right! This idea came up a few posts above–it’s really important that the reader feels things are changing in the plot line and the characters. We authors work really hard to make sure that’s happening, b/c you know, even the writing bogs down when we forget it. 🙂 Joder~ Me too! I love great hero/heroine interactions, the witty, subtext-filled, highly charged encounters with all that sensual tension. Yay! 🙂 In fact, those are… Read more »
Pam S~
You’re such a sweetie! Looking for things to compliment in the book. I’m touched. But I’m guessing this also increases your enjoyment, so it carries its own benefits. 🙂
Sheree & mbreakfiled~
Yep, you girls are like me. We give it a chance, but skip ahead if losing interest. I interpret this as giving the book a couple more chances to engage us. 🙂
Whoops mbreakfield–sorry for the typo on your name in the last post!
I have always made it a point to finish every book that I have started. Some books definitely were harder to finish than others, though. The things that keep me reading are: great chemistry between the characters, twists and turns in the story, great dialogue, and witty or funny characters. The things that tempt me to give up or that get on my nerves usually involve the stupidity of the characters. I like for characters to have common sense and be at least a little relatable. I want to understand their motivation for acting the ways that they do, and… Read more »
Jeanne~
LOL–the great irony of a good book–you read it before you go to sleep, since it’s the only time in the day, but then it’s so good, you can’t set it down to go to sleep! 🙂
What devotion so many of your show to books–it’s really wonderful to read about. Thank-you!
Raven99~
I think a lot of romance readers experience this same thing: plot excitement isn’t as vital as exciting characters. It’s not that you have to toss out one to get the other, but we can read a lot further if the character light our fires. 🙂
HI LILA! IF YOU GET DOWN HERE, THE BOOK MUST HOOK ME IN THE FIRST CHAPTER TO READ ALL THE WAY!
Wonderful blog post; I enjoyed reading it!
A book needs to have intrigue in order for me to keep reading it. Conversely, if all the action and drama is given away within the first few chapters, I’m not going to want to finish it!
Have a lovely rest of the week 🙂
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I will keep reading a slow story if I am anticipating something good is coming up but the one thing that has me putting down a book is when the characters act differently than they have been portrayed. I follow on GFC.
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no need to enter me in this drawing — I have both your books in my TBR pile 🙂 I hate to not finish a book. I can probably count on one hand the number of books that I haven’t read all the way through. Generally if there’s a combo of the h/h don’t appeal to me, the writing or storyline doesn’t work for me for some reason (not quite what the cover sold) or the story is too slow or jumbled that I’m not enjoying it is when I consider if I should give up or not. Then I… Read more »
Hello, Kris. Great to “see” you. Love your books! Give me a sexy story set in Ireland and I’m happy <(*.*)>
The one thing that keeps me reading is some emotional tie with the characters. Like or dislike, I have to feel “something” for them by the end of chapter one.
I will keep reading unless the characters continue to be flat. There needs to be a connection between me and the characters. I have to feel like the characters are working towards a big ending.
Thanks for the giveaway
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I think a good example of what kept me reading was “Wild Irish Rose” by Lisa Anne Verge. The prose was so purple that I cringed a little, but the story had me hooked. There were so many twists and turns I just had to find out what happened next. I guess what I’m trying to say is if the story keeps me on my toes I will keep reading. However, what I have found with a lot of historical romances I have read recently is that nothing really happens and the prose is also purple, and I will usually… Read more »
I really hate to not finish a book even if I’m not really enjoying it, so I have only quit a book maybe 2-3 times before. Often I keep reading because I like the characters and hope the story gets better.
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Hi Kris!! I’m ashamed to say I’ve not read your work before, so all the better for me to win one lol 😛 They sound fantastic though! As for your questions, I would usually keep reading because of my investment in the characters, if they’re well written I would keep going despite a boring or been-there-read-that predictable plot. Conversely if the plot is good even if I dislike hero or heroine (except maybe when I don’t like both!) then I would keep going to see what happens. What makes me stop reading…well I’m one of those people that will finish… Read more »
I am an avid reader. I’ll even read the Cornflakes box while eating breakfast…hehe!!!
Anyways, if the characters grab me, I’ll keep reading.
If the plot is exciting, I’ll keep reading.
Hot sex alone will not keep me reading.
If a book is seriously lacking in any of the above, I probably won’t get past a third of the book. Luckily, that hasn’t happened yet…lol!!
Valerie
in Germany
Gamistress66~
Yay! I’m in the TBR! *Both* books–I’m quite honored. Thanks for taking a chance, and I hope you love them.
Seems like so many of us do that, don’t we? Give any single book 2 or 3 or 4 chances. If we’re not grabbed by the second or third chapter, we slip ahead. And if that new part doesn’t grab us, we skip ahead again. Those are new chances for the story to pick up and make us love it.
Thanks so much for saying hi, esp. when you didn’t even want to win the book. 🙂
Victoria~ Hi there! You’re terrific for stopping in to say you loved the books, and yes, I mean, an Irish warrior? What’s not to like?? 😉 What you describe, that ‘feeling something’ by the end of Chapter One, is what I can ‘characters worth reading about.’ We authors have to craft characters readers want to spent 350-400 pages with. That’s a lot of time–the characters have to engage your emotion and interest, or what’s the point? This isn’t a math class–this is fiction. Drama. That means emotions. 🙂 Thanks so much for saying hi, Victoria! The next book is coming… Read more »
Wow, seriously, you ladies are wonderful. I’m glad so many people want to try my books, and are willing to check out a new author. But mostly, I’m impressed with how much you all love your books, and your devotion to reading. As an author, I have to say, thanks for giving stories so many chances to impress! 🙂 And Valerie in Germany – if you don’t win, this summer I sold German right to THE CONQUEROR, so it’ll be over there soon! And I must admit, when we were over there for my husband’s work, he did tuck a… Read more »
Hi Kris and Lila,I thought I had already posted :). I absolutely loved The Irish Warrior. I still have to read THE Conqueror.I try to read every book I start as long as the hero and heroine and secondary characters keep me on my toes with expectations I’m okay. Witty dialogue and emotion keep me going. If I have to I’ll skim a few pages. So far I’ve been lucky in that I love the books I read :)But I won’t quit on an Author because of one book that doesn’t keep me up reading through the night.:)I’m a GFC… Read more »
I’m also a newsletter subscriber for Lila.
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