How I choose books to read

For me, it is quite a challenge to find books that are interesting to read. It is so because the moment I start on one, I will push myself to finish it no matter what. So it will be an awful experience if I find out halfway that the book does not meet up to my expectations. But finish it I will, unless it is really, really, really very, very, very bad.

So the trick I use is to first read the first page and if I find myself reading on, I will go for the whole chapter and then decide if this is a book I will invest time in. How then the author pitch the plot or premise in the first page and chapter, or even the first sentence is therefore very important to me. If he is able to keep me reading, he has that voice that I am looking for.

And as I have blogged before, I now use book recommendation tools in www.GoodReads.com and www.WhatShouldIReadNext.com. With that, I am currently reading this book by Brent Weeks, recommended by GoodReads.com.


The Way of Shadows
by Brent Weeks

I am very selective with books in the fantasy genre (same goes for science fiction). I tend to get lost in them because most are too abstract about things I am not familiar with but when they delve into the stories of the people, I am interested.

Brent Weeks's The Way of Shadows is a good read for me, but I did get lost in some places towards the end. I should be able to finish it tomorrow. I find myself already spending too much time in it.

pearlie