Top 10 Things I Look for in a Book
- Jenna Moreci
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
HelloOoOo everybody!
Today's video was requested by one of my glorious patrons from over on Patreon, Fiona. Fiona is a paranormal fiction writer, as well as a total sweetheart. Seriously, this woman is a delight. She wanted to know all about my personal reading preferences. So, per her request, I am listing the top ten things I look for when picking out my next read.
Quick disclaimer: All the items I'm about to list must be written well in order for me to enjoy them, obviously. If the book isn't good, it doesn't matter if it has any of these qualities. It's like spraying perfume on dog shit. Still dog shit.
Anywho, you guys know that I am partial to fantasy and sci-fi. However, I read all kinds of genres and take all sorts of recommendations. And these ten things will make me much more inclined to pick up a book.
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to also subscribe to my YouTube channel for more writing tips, sarcasm, and of course, more of Princess Butters!
Number 1: Death
We’re starting with the good stuff. To be clear, a lot of writers, especially newbie writers, think that killing off characters is edgy and cool. But killing off characters has been around for a long time. It's pretty regular, and killing off characters just to be edgy isn't appealing. Every action in a novel requires a purpose, including the death of a character. So when a writer tells me, “You'll love this book, people die!” It doesn't really mean anything to me.
What I like are novels that have overall darker themes or symbolism around death. I like stories that study suffering. I like stories that dissect the afterlife or lack thereof. I like the macabre. Regardless of whether or not characters actually die, a darker, more deadly atmosphere is really appealing to me.
Number 2: Healthy Romance
No one should be surprised by this. I can certainly enjoy a book that doesn't feature romance, but it is not going to be a favorite. I prefer stories where the plot is half action-adventure, half romance, which is why I write in this format. That said, books with this setup are few and far between, so I'll settle for reading an adventure with a romantic subplot.
Unfortunately, you can't just say, “I want a book with a romantic subplot,” because someone is going to recommend some creepy, abusive stalker crap, and call it a love story. I don't wanna read about fairies sexually assaulting each other. Please stop recommending these books to me.
If I'm gonna get invested in a love story, it has to be a healthy one. The couple should like one another, they should respect each other, and there should be consent. This is the bare minimum necessities for a healthy relationship, and the fact that it's so rare in fiction that I have to clarify all this is depressing.
Number 3: A Happy Ending
Look, I get that while reading, for instance, a horror novel, you should probably expect a grim ending. But that's why I don't read horror novels. I read to escape and to feel good. And while I love violence in books, I wanna walk away feeling satisfied. I wanna feel like all the struggle the characters went through was worth it in the end. And there are some genres where a happily ever after is quite literally a genre requirement. If you're writing a romance where the couple dies at the end, that's not a romance, that's a tragedy—label it appropriately. Lots of people like depressing endings, and that's fine, I'm just not one of them. Life is already depressing enough. I'm not trying to willingly make myself feel shitty.
Number 4: High Stakes
I really struggle to get into stories where it feels like there's nothing substantial to lose. Will she get the job? Will he find himself? Will I give a shit? If I wanted to spend hours discussing job promotions or a new crush, I could just talk to my friends. I read books to enter different worlds, to survive battles, or to protect kingdoms. I wanna be on the edge of my seat, dammit.
That's not to say that there shouldn't be smaller stakes in the mix for a sense of normalcy. But at the end of the day, I'm not here for normal. And as someone whose fiancé literally almost died, I struggle to care about dilemmas that seem relatively minor. We all have different definitions of hardship, and you're entitled to your own, but my bar is set very high.
Number 5: Smart Women
A lot of fictional chicks are stupid. They're either written for the male gaze, or they're written for some kind of damsel-in-distress wish fulfillment, or they're just written by a stupid author. I really enjoy stories that feature intelligent women, women who think for themselves, who have opinions, who make decisions. That's not to say they don't fuck up every once in a while, because they should fuck up. Everyone does. I'm just not gonna waste my time with a book that has me constantly thinking, “If she only had a brain…”
Number 6: Nice Men
I'm really tired of reading about arrogant pieces of shit. If the character is written by a heterosexual male, he's an arrogant piece of shit because it's cool. If a character is written by a heterosexual female, he's an arrogant piece of shit because it's sexy. I'd argue that if you think arrogance is cool, you might love yourself a little too much. And if you think arrogance is sexy, you probably hate yourself a little too much.
If a book features a nice, respectful, well-adjusted leading man who doesn't have an eggshell ego, I'm interested, I'm intrigued, I wanna know more. It's kind of sad that the bar is so low that a nice male character feels like an anomaly, but the world is trash, so what can you do?
Number 7: Adults
A lot of people are gonna get their panties in a twist over this, so let me make one thing clear. I am not coming for the young adult category. No one is. Young adult literally dominates the industry right now. I also have nothing against teenagers. I was a teenager myself once; it sucked.
But that's actually my point, I didn't like being a teenager when I was a teenager. I didn't like the drama, I didn't like the inexperience, I didn't like the hormones, and I don't like it any more now that I'm an adult. I just prefer reading about grown-ups. I can relate to them better. It’s not that deep. I also enjoy saucy content every once in a while, and I feel really fucking creepy when I have to read a sex scene between teenagers. Ugh.
Number 8: Adult Content
Honestly, this one comes down to realism. If a book features adults, adult shit is gonna happen. If the stakes are high, shit’s gonna get messy. People fight, they have sex, they die, they curse. And sterilizing your novel of all this just makes it feel fake. Even if you don't cuss, you can't honestly tell me that most people would have a “clean” reaction to say…murder. Someone is chasing you with a knife, and you yell, “Oh, Fiddlesticks! Darn it, not again!” I just wanna believe your characters, that's all.
Number 9: Diversity
This is not so much something I seek out in my reading material; it's just that when a novel lacks diversity, I notice it in a very negative way. The real world is a mix of sexualities, body types, skin tones, gender expressions, abilities, disabilities, mental capacities—I could go on. If a book only features one type of person and there's no plot-specific reason for it, that is going to serve as a negative distraction, because it is not remotely realistic. Even if the world is completely fictional, a homogenous society needs to serve some kind of intention. Because advanced species are almost never a monolith. Unless the author is shooting for diversity kudos points and failing miserably, a diverse cast usually means a realistic, interesting, unique, and memorable cast of characters. And that's what I'm here for.
Number 10: Dark Hair
This is a weird one, but hear me out. Growing up, whenever I read books, the leading lady was always a white girl with blonde or red hair. This trend was noticeable enough that when I finally read a book where the leading lady had dark hair, it instantly became my favorite, because she was the only brunette I'd ever read about.
Most of the time, when a female character was introduced as having dark hair, she was either really ugly or the villain. Of course, she was. Because of this, if a leading lady has brown or black hair, I am instantly excited. I've got nothing against lighter hair; my man has it, I'm a fan. But when it comes to fictional ladies, I prefer the dark side.
So that's all I've got for you today!
There you have it. Those are the ten things that I look for in books. If you recommend a novel to me and it has any of this stuff, I hear you, I see you, and I wanna read all the things.
A huge thank you to Fiona for requesting this topic and for supporting me over on Patreon. If you'd like the chance to have a video dedicated to you, or if you want access to tons of other awards, check me out on Patreon. We've got an exclusive writing group over on Discord, patrons get early access to my videos, and we have a good time. Come check us out!
Follow Me!
Buy My Books!
CHECK OUT THE SAVIOR’S CHAMPION:
CHECK OUT THE SAVIOR'S SISTER:
Comments