What It Takes to Make a Book Worth Reading

By Contributor

March 11, 2011

What makes a book great? BookFreak's gonna break it down for you. –Sparkitors

I was just mentally listing all the reasons every copy of Twilight should be pulped and recycled into more copies of Harry Potter books. Of course, the list got out of hand, so I tried to group all my reasons into a few unshakable points of literary necessity. Here are my requirements for a good book:

1. The "What'll Happen Next?" Factor. Do depressive old vampires writing lullabies and going to high school a million times make you wonder what the heck will happen next? Or are ancient, bloody secrets slowly coming to light through the tenacity of three young wizards more effective at setting up suspense? You tell me.

2. The Crushing of Dreams. Your characters can't get/have everything they want. They must undergo major losses and tragic life-changing events—and no "and then he woke up." Bad things happen to people, and Life. Doesn't. Care about your best-laid plans.

3. STUFF HAPPENS. When I say "stuff," I don't mean "face stroking." I mean the uttering of unforgivable curses, the loss of the people you love, the near-fatal jealousies of your best friend! Even though it's fiction and takes place in an imaginary world, the conflict needs to be believable. The readers aren't stupid, they want a good story. And apart from having an amazing plot, there should be a fantastic beginning that really captures the reader's interest, and an exhilarating end that gets you thinking and wondering.

4. The Big Reveal. There should be a gradual and steady buildup in the suspense of the story. No infodumps: facts and details should be given out bit by bit, so that the reader isn't drowning in detail and utterly bored by the time you get around to telling them that, say, the principal is the killer, or the professor is the half-blood prince.

5. Characters That Could Actually Exist. I'm not saying you can't write a believable version of a nonexistent creature, like a vampire or a wizard. I'm saying that each character, whether she's a magical talking camel or an ordinary high-school student, should mature throughout the series and have a stable and fully developed personality. There should be something in each character that the readers can relate to, because nobody's just pure evil or pure perfection. Not even *shudder* Bella Swan.

6. Life Lessons. Not the Hallmark kind. Courage, loyalty, family values, friendship, love, humility, humor—every great book I've read has shown these traits, just not in a shallow or sentimental way.

7. The Author Should Respect His/Her Readers. By actually putting some thought into the plot, subplots, the personalities of characters, objects, events, EVERYTHING! You don't make a hit series by penning down whatever floats into your brain, unless your name rhymes with Schmefanie Schmeyer and you add enough sighing and murmuring to lull your readers into submission.

What are your requirements for a good book?