Welcome to Bookie Brunch!
Founder: Sasha Soren (Random Magic)
Come join the discussion!
*Every Sunday*
*Every Sunday*
Your host this week:
Yiota & Nina from Splash of our Worlds
Guests:
Ashley at The Bookish Brunette (@BookBrunette)
Phanee at Funny Wool (@funnywool)
blackplume at Blackplume (@blackplumetwits)
Yiota & Nina from Splash of our Worlds
Guests:
Ashley at The Bookish Brunette (@BookBrunette)
Phanee at Funny Wool (@funnywool)
blackplume at Blackplume (@blackplumetwits)
Question Under Discussion
What's the most important part of a book for you, characters or plot?
Related topics to consider: Will you consider buying a book, because you liked the character even though you disliked the plot, and the opposite?
Yiota (host) @ Splash of our Worlds
>Hmmmm....i'm not sure how i can choose between them but i think characters might have a priority for me. A not good created plot sometimes can get used to or for curiosity and only i would not give up. But if i really dislike a character i don't think i can go on reading. The plot evolves around the characters and if they don't make the right to click to me, i would not care of the story or anything else. Something like life. We don't always like the "plot" but we are not giving up, on characters on the other hand....
>I would buy a book if i like a plot (by like i mean LOVE,ADORE,OBSESSED,MAGNIFICENT not just like) but i don't like the character but not the opposite. In a book, you can't dislike everyone. Someone will be there to like and let you follow the story you like so much. But if i can't connect to the story at all, i will probably fall asleep,so no character will save it.
And there are also times, the author do changes on second books,etc. So something i might disliked, it's "fixed". Again this apply to plot. I'm really mean with the characters. I don't remember ever giving someone a second chance. Especially if the person is the protagonist.
Nina (host) @ Splash of our Worlds
>It all has to do with the books I've read before buying the book. It has to do with the plot mostly, but if I read in the summary that it's about ex. a girl who meets a vampire guy and falls for him, and I have read vampire literature not long time ago, then I guess I'll pass or put it in my to-be-bought-and-read-someday list.
>Again, it has to do with the prevoius books I've read, but there have been times when I bought a book because the plot was really interesting, even thought I knew that the lead character will piss me off for some reason and, as for the other part of the question, I still choose books from the same series, because I like just one of the characters and not all of them ex. in The Southern Vampire Mysteries I like Eric more than I like Sookie and the whole book is from her point of view, and I only keep reading them for him.
Ashley @ Bookish Brunette
>To me, they are both EQUALLY important! If I despise the characters, then it doesn't matter how AWESOME the plot was- because I can't get past how much I hate the characters. And vice-versa... Even if I adore a character(s), it won't make the story-line and/or plot any better, if it is a disaster!
>No. I have to have the whole package... all or nothing. If anything was just 'meh' for me, then why waste my money when I could spend it on a different book that might rock my world? Now, say the first book in a series showed promise... then I would probably buy the second book if I disliked a character or the plot in the first.
Phannee @ Funny Wool
>When I am reading books, I find that both the characters and the plot are equally important. Sometimes, a plot can be really good; it might be a very original idea, or, even if it isn’t completely original, you can see that it has approached the matter at hand in a completely different way to others. The same applies to characters. Regardless of the plot, you can have characters who just barely scratch the surface (meaning that they don’t really stand out as something different) and you can also have characters that express themselves in a unique way; they have a voice, so to speak.
So, you see, both plot and characters are essential to a story. What if a story sounded so good plot-wise and when you got round to reading it, you found that the characters in it were so bland that the plot completely lost its appeal? It works the other way too; you might have a storyline where the only thing worth mentioning is the characters. The story actually flows through them; it is worth reading only because the characters make it worth reading – they have something different and meaningful to say, which you might not have encountered in other novels with similar plots. Both a good plot with bad characters and a bad plot with good characters make for an “incomplete” story. You need both to make it work.
>As for whether I would buy a book because I liked the character but not the plot or the opposite, I think it would depend. If I had had the chance to read a book as a review copy or I had borrowed it from someone and it turned out I hadn’t liked either the plot or the characters, I don’t think I would bother buying a copy of my own. But, if I had read the first book in a series and I didn’t like the plot/characters, then I probably would buy the second one, as I really don’t like leaving series unfinished. Even if I didn’t like either the plot or the characters, I would probably still try the second book out. I wouldn’t rush to get it as soon as it is published, but I would probably try to read it sometime in the future. (Which I don’t think many people do... Maybe I’m just weird.)
blackplume @ Blackplume
>Do I really need to choose only one? Both are important to me. I think they are both essentials to make a great book. You wouldn't have a good book without a good plot and you wouldn't have a story without the character. Choosing only one is really hard. Most of the time I go first with the plot because that's what really drives the story. A strong plot makes the characters more define and stronger. But there are books that I read because of the characters which usually in book series. When I get attached to the characters the plot doesn't bother me much. I delve into them mo matter what happens.
>In general, I buy books that piqued my interest. If the book is new to me or the author is unknown the story is my main concern in buying. But if the book is part of a series I already read, I still got this tendency to finished what I started even I don't like much the story. I'm always curious what happens next to the the characters I get attached to. So I guess I buy books because I want to read it whether it is for the story or the characters.
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GIVEAWAY
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Hardcover. 480 pages.
Rules:
>To win this cute travel book, please leave email info and thoughtful or interesting comment below.
>A winner will be picked at random. If host and guests agree that a
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>International
>Deadline: Sept.21st, 2011 - 12 midnight EDT
Brought by: Sasha Soren (Random Magic)
Watch the trailer for Random Magic or browse this book
in regards to a series, i go with --> character. if i fall in LOVE with a character i'll follow them into whatever plots they get themselves into. i.e. harry potter
ReplyDeletea major draw to buy the next book in a series in regards to characters would be to find out how love triangles or couples resolve their love interest situations. the question always being do they finally get together?
Frickin' awesome guests this week!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I need the characters to be awesome. If they have no depth, nothing interesting going on, no backstory, then not matter how great and unique and interesting the plot is, I'm not going to enjoy the story at all because you can't sympathise with flat characters. I've read stories recently with pretty bland, very un-unique plots as well that usually might have me tearing my hair out but the characters have been great and the writing style had me laughing and craving more. Of course, everything combined makes a 4 or 5 star rating for me, but yeah. Good writing is as imperative for me as good characters.
Once Upon A Time
Both character and plot are incredibly important to me. However, I have been known to quit books with good plots / world-building because I couldn't stand the main character. If I really like a character, I can suffer through a mediocre plot in the hopes that will get better or just because I like the character THAT much. But even if a plot or premise for a book is suberb, a horrible main character will make me quit the book, or refuse to read further in a series.
ReplyDeleteAwesome question this week! BB always get me thinkin :-)
Both draw on each other, an example of a hated character & yet a fantastic work of literature would be HH from Lolita, character's despicable yet the plots,storylines a great work, also a lot of Japanese literature, writers like Oe, or Mishima have characters you will find it hard to find a redeeming quality & yet the tales are brilliant, if you turn it around & the characters wonderful & yet the plots dire, are you going to keep reading? To me Dickens's has fantastic characters totally dislike his books, find the plots convoluted & boring.
ReplyDeletePS to you Dickens fans, It's ok I'm writing this from the Tower Of London, where I'm in prison for High Treason.
Both the plot and the characters are important, the best book are those with both strong characters and an intriguing plot. However, as the characters are who drive the plot, I might give a slight priority to the characters, especially when it comes to a series. I would follow (and had done so) the characters I like even through not so good plots, bot not the other way around. When I come to like a character I just want to read more about him/her.
ReplyDeleteWhew, this is a hard question. I want both, the books I love have interesting characters and great plot. But if I have to pick one of two, I would pick plot. I could still survive good plot with annoying characters but I couldn't force myself to continue reading book with interesting character if the story is weak and lousy, it's such a waste!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the characters for me. If I can't like the character, I am not going to like the book no matter how wonderful the plot is. I can live with a little silliness or unbelievability in the plot so long as the characters are interesting enough.
ReplyDeleteIf I liked a character but not the plot of the book, I would probably borrow the sequel but not buy it. If I didn't like the character but the plot was good, I might consider borrowing it to see if the character improves.
Interesting question! If I cannot connect with the characters, I cannot enjoy the book. It will fall flat for me, even if the plot is superb. Now, that doesn't mean that I have to LIKE the characters - I'm not saying that at all. I want to love or hate the characters. Give them depth! I need to be able to connect with them, so don't make them infallible. Make them human, faults and all. Even if the plot sucked, I can still enjoy the book if I loved the characters - both heroes and villains!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!
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