Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Spill: What's so great about your favorite novel?

This article in The Guardian has given me an idea for a poll:


In general, what do you love best about your favorite novel?
The characters.
The setting (time and place).
The plot.
The dialogue.
The emotion: humor, horror, mystery, etc.
Language and descriptions.
Something else.
  




After you take the survey, pop down to the Comments and tell us more. What are your favorite novels and why?

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9 comments:

Brenda Coulter said...

This feels a little weird, being the first to comment on my own post, but it has just occurred to me that the nature of this blog may skew the poll results toward "characters."

I'm a romance writer, so it stands to reason that a large percentage of NRJW readers are romance fans. And romance novels are character-driven books....

Amy A. said...

I was gonna say! 78% said characters?

I'll click back later and see the results after more voters have chimed in.

Anonymous said...

My favorite books are the ones I will read and read over again. Two modern favorites include "Every Storm" and "The Hawk and Jewel" by lori wick. I do not like her most recent novels. So its not all her works like it is with Dee Henderson who is my favorite author. Brittanie

Bonnie S. Calhoun said...

I'm not the least bit literary...All my favorites are plot driven....action, adventure, and mayhem mwhahaha!

But I do love your books Brenda...but you're the only character-driven tombs that I have read in the last 25 years...LOL!

Robin Bayne said...

I voted for "emotion," but that really must come from the "characters." Good poll.

Have a safe and pleasant holiday!

Sunshine said...

Well, outside of academic reading, the only thing I read is romance (how's that for ironic?). As such, characters are def my fav part. But at the same time, the other options are just as valid!

Katie Hart - Pinterest Manager said...

Well, I would generally say characters, but my favorite novels happen to be written by a guy named C.S. Lewis, and since I love Narnia, I chose setting.

Brenda Coulter said...

Yep, "characters" wins by a landslide. Thanks for voting and commenting, everyone. (And thanks for the love, Bonnie.)

Anonymous said...

I look for books that have good plots and well developed characters, but nothing compares to brilliantly chosen words strung together at just the right pace by an expert writer. I would read a book with a weak plot and characters I didn't sympathize with if the writing took my breath away.