NOW CLOSED Tell us what makes a book 'un-put-downable' and be in with a chance of winning a £100 Figleaves voucher

[TheOtherHelenMumsnet]

The folks at Random House, the publisher, have got a new book coming out
that they think is going to take the country by storm and get everyone
talking about it. It's called Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James. You may
have heard about it or read it (it's been a massive hit in the US already),
or this may be the first you've heard of it. Either way, Random House would
like to find out what makes a book a riveting read - there's a few
questions below to get you started but please add any other comments you
have as well.

Everyone who adds their comments to this thread will be entered into a
prize draw where one winner will get a £100 voucher for
Figleaves.

Here are the questions:

Every now and then, a book comes along that gets everybody talking (think
Harry Potter, Twilight, The Da Vinci Code or One Day). Fifty Shades
of Grey by E L James is doing just that in the US. What do you think it is
about a book that makes it such a huge success? What are the key elements
you think a book like that has to have to give it the mass appeal to get
everyone reading?

One of the reasons Fifty Shades of Grey has captured so much attention,
is its open portrayal of the erotic experiences of its main characters. What
was the last book that you read that completely gripped you so you couldn't
put it down? Have you read any books recently that have changed the way you
think about something? Or changed the way you actually feel or act in RL?
Please do share!

Fifty Shades of Grey is already a bestseller in the ebook charts. If you
have an ereader (e.g. Kindle), do you think it has influenced what books
you choose to read? Is there anything you've read on your ereader that you
don't think you would have done if it was in hard copy? If so, what was it
and why? Have you ever been put off reading a book because people around
you will be able to see what you're reading? If so, what was it? (we won't
judge you, promise! :))

Just one last quick Q for anyone who has read Fifty Shades of Grey - the
screen rights have been acquired and it is going to be made into a film -
who would you choose be the the main parts (Christian Grey and Ana Steele)?

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
MNHQ

For me, the language in the first few paragraphs has to grab me. If the language is uninteresting, I won't read on.

I have to be hooked on the first page - either by an intriguing question being asked or implied, or a character I want to find out about. I also love humour. The story needs to move at a reasonable pace with twists and turns that I don't see coming (but which aren't just randomly introduced without there being some justification).

Unputdownable is believable, well rounded characters, and a story line that makes me really want to find out what happens.

The Kindle has changed what I read, if only that I'll give cheap/free books a whirl, and I've enjoyed things that I wouldn't have bought in real books.

ejhjjp

Believable, likeable characters are a must- if I don't care about the characters then I don't care about the plot. Too many cliches in a character put me off as well (please, no more divorced renegade detectives with a drinking problem!)

I hate it when authors try make themselves sound clever by using overly flowery language that they've obviously been looking up in a thesaurus. Save clever for the plot and just spit out whatever it is you're trying to say. A really good twist that can't be figured out half way through the book is good.

And my number one pet hate is using brand names as if they are a description; they are not- stop being lazy.

Intrigued by your pet hate, oeuf - any examples? (I sort of know what you mean... But only sort of :o)

don't forget the rest of 'tec fiction cliches - problem with authorities/superiors due to refusal to do things by the book, but has fabulous intuition and gets fabulous results, has an ex-wife and child he loves but has awkward relationship with, and either a young attractive female colleague or young attractive female person he meets during investigation who just can't wait to sleep with a dysfunctional workaholic alcoholic. with taste in music - opera, rock, doubles up as characterisation....

i think that it has to have a good story. Doesn't have to be characters that you like but you have to be interested in them. Game of Thrones has many superbly unlikeable characters but the story pulls you in.

I recently have been reading John Lawton and the mystery at the heart of the story keeps me reading because I want to know what the secret is. For that reason I love crime fiction. Just to see how everything fits together. I never read romances for that reason - they all end the same.

I have not read anything recently that has changed the way i think about things.

I do have a kindle and it has encouraged me to read books that I wouldn't normally try when they are on offer. The ease of ordering is also a big reason for me buying.

Every now and then, a book comes along that gets everybody talking (think Harry Potter, Twilight, The Da Vinci Code or One Day). Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James is doing just that in the US. What do you think it is about a book that makes it such a huge success? What are the key elements you think a book like that has to have to give it the mass appeal to get everyone reading?
I think books have to affect the person reading enough to actually mention them to other people - I read loads but only a few leave me wanting to talk about them. With Harry Potter, I just loved the world she created (I was 10ish when first came out). I'be been talking a bit about Peter May's Lewis trilogy because I loved it and lots of ny friends/family like that kind of book. I recently read We Need to Talk About Kevin and although I didn't rate it I want to talk about it because it seems like there's a lot to be discussed about it.

One of the reasons Fifty Shades of Grey has captured so much attention, is its open portrayal of the erotic experiences of its main characters. What was the last book that you read that completely gripped you so you couldn't put it down? Have you read any books recently that have changed the way you think about something? Or changed the way you actually feel or act in RL? Please do share!
Hmm, I really enjoyed Gillespie and I, and Peter May's books didn't leave my sight while I read them. I read Nothing to Envy which changed my perception of North Korea a lot.

Fifty Shades of Grey is already a bestseller in the ebook charts. If you have an ereader (e.g. Kindle), do you think it has influenced what books you choose to read? Is there anything you've read on your ereader that you don't think you would have done if it was in hard copy? If so, what was it and why? Have you ever been put off reading a book because people around you will be able to see what you're reading? If so, what was it? (we won't judge you, promise! )
I like reading free books on the Kindle, a lot are terrible but some are great reads that probably wouldn't have been published if it wasn't for ebooks, so that's interesting. I'm never too embarrassed about what I read, it's good to read some trash so you appreciate the good stuff. I was embarrassed to read Twilight though, they were really bad but I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I like that ebooks tend to have some new ideas and often avoid cliches (some 'Tec fiction has been surprisingly original).

Q1) Tough to put my finger on what makes a book a huge success, if I could I'd be writing my own bestseller. If a book strikes the right balance of simplicity and intricacy in both plot and language I'm drawn in (Somewhere between chick lit and James Joyce ) plus a startlingly original or very strongly-hewn plot device. Don't treat your reader like a mug and leave a whopping great cliffhanger at the end of every chapter though, it gets tiresome.

Q2) I read American Psycho recently and it affected the way my mind was processing information for a short while after I put it down. And not in a very positive way. It was an uncomfortable read (obviously) but I was gripped by getting such a detailed and vivid insight into a mind that is so unlike my own.

Q3) I don't have an e-reader. I'm not ashamed of getting my old battered Jilly Coopers out on the bus if I'm in need of some soul-soothing. That's not a euphemism, btw.

Q4) I've not read it (yet)

Sorry if I'm being dense but what's tec fiction - is it short for detective?

Q.1. Hmmm. I think it can vary enormously from person to person depending upon what stage of one's life one reads a book. What was unputdownable in one's 20s might not be so in one's 40's or 50's even. So it is probably something that taps into one's psyche and with which one can identify at that time in one's life.

Personally think it helps if there's an element of the thriller about a book too or will they/won't they that keeps one guessing till the very end - or even a book that leaves one on a cliffhanger...

DW read The Secret History by Donna Tartt not too many years after Uni and certainly found that a very riveting read at the time. Not nearly so impressed rereading it 20 years down the line. Same experience for some friends from her Book Group - 100 Years of Solitude was at the time of publication one of those books which was so new and fresh in terms of magical realism that it was a through the night page-turner, but when they all reread it they found it rather turgid and not nearly so enthralling.

Would certainly say now that with children, time is a key issue with page-turners, so would want something with a big plot and a bit of a different literary 'gimmick' but also that was shorter rather than longer.

I am not sure what this says about me or page-turner novels, but I read loads in my 20s (before children) and really found the books kept me reading virtually from cover to cover in one sitting, even if it meant staying up half of the night. But haven't really read many in recent years at all....

I think it is probably easier to buy into whole unputdownable novel thing as a footloose, fancy-free woman/man, than one with responsibilities and children.

Q.2. Don't have a Kindle yet but aiming to get one this year. Very much looking forward to downloading stuff like Dickens for free....and not having a heavy weight tome weighing me down on my long commute to work!

Might be more tempted to read a saucy read on an e-reader than as a paperback..... ;-) Also, possibly the kind of novel that I wouldn't necessarily want to keep or would be very heavy to carry (Dickens being a case in point!).

Q.3. Already DW's curiosity is inspired.... haven't read it but reading the Wikipedia resume with my wife she's off to get hold of a copy... She reckons Elisabeth Olsen or Dakota Fanning for Anastasia Steele and Eddie Redmayne for Christian Grey (we do after all always have to have a Brit as the sadistic bad guy don't we :-)). The type of guy that thirty/forty something women can imagine themselves caught in a bodice-ripping yarn with .

For me, strong characters and engaging plot are important, but also I love it when the writing itself brings to mind the line: "True wit is nature to advantage dressed / What oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed". Some books are OK - but feel a bit like chewing gum - something to keep your mind busy but offering little in the way of nutrition. Others give you loads of think about for weeks and sometimes years to come.

Read lots of contemporary novels, which sometimes are engaging, with strong characters, but often feel the writing itself lets them down. With the kindle, coming back to reading the (freebie) classics, and not let down by Dickens, Austen - and enjoying their characters, plot twists and turns, and their very contemporary sense of irony, wit and observation. I love the sense that people really haven't changed that much in the last few centuries.

Lots of contemporary fiction is 'bigged' up by marketeers - viral and otherwise. 'One day' was vastly over-rated IMHO. Have yet to see what 'Grey' trilogy is like, but remain a bit cynical.

What do you think it is about a book that makes it such a huge success? What are the key elements you think a book like that has to have to give it the mass appeal to get everyone reading?

For me, characters that are really well drawn, make you care about them and how they feel - I have happily read books where not a lot happened but it was just a good yarn about interesting people. I do like decent sex scenes too, but a good book is still good without any explicit sex, I like sex scenes that are more realistic - things go wonky and people are having fun together not just raw sex

What was the last book that you read that completely gripped you so you couldn't put it down? Have you read any books recently that have changed the way you think about something? Or changed the way you actually feel or act in RL?

The last novel I really enjoyed was a Jo Nesbo, The Leopard. Pacy, with a flawed main character and I wanted to read on. One of my favourite ever books is The Watchers by Dean Koontz - makes me cry every time and it is a sad part about a wonderful genius dog that pulls the heartstrings. I hate poor English, poor writing. I have read books where the plot is vaguely interesting and the characters reasonably sympathetic but it feels like a 14 yr old wrote it in a rush because it is just shoddy - and others where I am distracted from the story by how beautiful the writing is.

No E readers in my house yet, I love actual books and much better for reading in the bath.

Mass appeal books hit the zeitgeist somehow, tuning into the mood of the age, or even move it along a bit and set the tone for RL, not always in a positive way. They hit a raw nerve that people identify with and want to be influenced by to a degree. Good story-telling is unbeatable - the skill of the writer to make us care enough about the characters to finsish the book then talk to friends about it.

I tend to read mostly non-fiction books, although I've just bought a historical/medical sequel to a book I read 30 years ago! I love a long, meaty saga - give me a Dickens anyday. I read lots of non-fiction books that have changed the way I think/behave. Fiction not so much.

No ereader here. I love the tactile experience smell of a real book and spend my day on a computer so like the change to read a paper book for leisure. I expect I will buy one eventually though.

yes, I meant detective fiction, not sure why I abbreviated it like that

What do you think it is about a book that makes it such a huge success? What are the key elements you think a book like that has to have to give it the mass appeal to get everyone reading?

I like stories which could be real - even with Harry Potter, there's that element of explanation which means it could just be real. It needs a very strong plotline with lots of subplots along the way and a few twists and turns, but these need to be planted early on, not just thrown full pelt at you as you shoot off on a tangent. And it needs to appeal on several levels, lovable characters, emotions, details, a little bit of mystery.

What was the last book that you read that completely gripped you so you couldn't put it down? Have you read any books recently that have changed the way you think about something? Or changed the way you actually feel or act in RL? Please do share!

I was a Harriet Evans (who I love). Can't think of any life changing ones.

If you have an ereader (e.g. Kindle), do you think it has influenced what books you choose to read? Is there anything you've read on your ereader that you don't think you would have done if it was in hard copy? If so, what was it and why? Have you ever been put off reading a book because people around you will be able to see what you're reading? If so, what was it?

I have an iPad. I've read quite a few classic books that have been free, off the top of my head: A Little Princess, The Railway Children, What Katy Did, Little Women etc. I've certainly read more of them than if I'd had to pay for them. Price is definitely the main factor here, I want eBooks that are cheaper than the hard copy. I have occasionally wondered what people think of the book I'm reading, but not enough to have put me off from reading it.

What do you think it is about a book that makes it such a huge success? What are the key elements you think a book like that has to have to give it the mass appeal to get everyone reading?

well it's a (virtuous?) circle isn't it - the more the hype builds, the more people buy and talk about it, the more the hype builds, and so on. generally the books with the mass appeal are pacey, not too intellectually demanding, but just well-written enough to keep you sticking with them. (da vinci code, girl with the dragon tattoo, the help, are all in this category for me.) also, a variety of main characters helps - different ages and genders etc. so most readers can latch onto someone and see the fictional world through that character's viewpoint - that's a good way in, a good way for people to see teh world through that character's eyes and get hooked. normally set in a world that feels familiar but still different - so you can understand some of the relationships but the details seem interesting and new. it has to be clear (i think) who are the goodies and who are the baddies. the characters tend to have some stereotypical elements so that the reader can latch onto them quickly and not have to sit through fifty pages of psychological profiling and description.

What was the last book that you read that completely gripped you so you couldn't put it down? Have you read any books recently that have changed the way you think about something? Or changed the way you actually feel or act in RL? Please do share!

i just read on chesil beach and then atonement in about a week, i was gripped by both of them and stayed up way past bedtime - "i'll just read to the end of this chapter..." - thought they were marvellous. i like ian mcewan's throwaway descriptions that tell you so much. but most of all i just wanted to know what happened next. before that i re-read oliver twist, which was a thoroughly enjoyable page-turner where i just wanted to know what happened next in the story. before that, two women by martina cole, which is totally not my normal thing - i actually found it quite grim and depressing. i liked the east end scenes and references, the details, but i didn't like the subject matter or the writing style, and it definitely didn't change the way i feel or act

If you have an ereader (e.g. Kindle), do you think it has influenced what books you choose to read? Is there anything you've read on your ereader that you don't think you would have done if it was in hard copy? If so, what was it and why? Have you ever been put off reading a book because people around you will be able to see what you're reading? If so, what was it?

I have the kindle app on my android phone but have never bought a book or read anything on it - i just love actual real books and i spend too much time staring at a screen anyway, at work. yes i would be embarrassed to be seen reading anything vaguely erotic. i do own delta of venus, the dirty bits for girls, and one of those belle de jour books, but don't find them very exciting. i find sexy writing a bit gross all round really. but if i did want to read something saucy, i'd probably buy the paperback on amazon or something and read it at home rather than faff about with the kindle app.

I don't have a kindle and am fiercely attached to actual books: the weight, the smell, the piles of them around the house. So I am influenced by a well designed book, always pleased by an attractive cover and a well laid out page. (Basic things TBH!)

I agree with much of the thread about pace, characters, ringing true, making you see the world in a new way. I'd add that some of my favourite books are written in a style which is utterly identifiable and attributable to the particular author eg Will Self, Michael Chabon, John Irving. I just love the way they write and draw you into their world.
In my book group we sometimes read books which are hard going and TBH sometimes a bit of effort with a book which one might classify as 'putdownable' rather than 'unputdownable' really pays off. The one thing we agree on in the group though is that it is almost impossible to write erotic scenes without making us all shout bleurgh.

Hm, if you are looking for a mass market then I guess it has to be character and plot driven.

If I start a book and turn the first page without thinking about it then that is often a good sign. I'm very critical--this kind of book has just that first page to make me decide whether to buy or not. Bit like a novelistic audition. NEXT!

1. Believable dialogue. I hate reading things that make me think 'Who talks like that?'. I know everyone speaks differently, but sometimes I read speech that is essentially narrative, and nothing like natural conversation.
2. No sex. I'm yet to enjoy a sex scene in a book. I'd rather just guess that characters had been rutting, rather than know the ins and outs of it.

Books I struggled to put down include 'The Road' and most of Bateman's books.

What gives a book mass appeal?

I'm with Remus on that one. Get R&J involved and you've won. I don't generally read R&J recommend. books because I can't afford to waste my money like that. I have read a couple of their recomm. books but only because they've been commended by people I know. The Help was good. The Island was crap, as was Da Vinci Code.

For me unputdownable is Robertson Davies and his ilk (not that there are many of his ilk). Erudite, educated and fascinating, not to mention very good prose, plot, characters. Margerite Yourcenar is another (thanks to the MNetter who recommended her to me).

There are actually very very few good writers around, and publishers are publishing any old rubbish (Dean Coontz is a case in point). TBH I think R&J should be shot come the revolution! Their services to publishing are the stuff of nightmares to good writers like Will Self, Jeanette Winterson, John Muckle, et al.

1. I haven't read any of the books listed in the OP, but I would say strong characters that you care about and root for, and not overly intellectual (for mass appeal). But the 'bandwagon' factor is definitely a key part of it - many of these books gather such momentum that everyone is talking about them and so others read them just because of this. Personally I get attracted more by good reviews and awards than bestseller lists, but I can nonetheless think of quite a few books that I have read that could probably be added to your list - eg. Captain Corelli, Girl With a Dragon Tattoo etc.

1. The books that grip me most aren't generally erotic! Recently, "The Room", "The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox". Just because I found them fascinating and compelling, cared about the characters and wanted to know what happened to them. Love discussing them afterwards too if DH or my Mum read them, as we pass books around a lot. I wouldn't say they "changed" me in any way though.

1. I don't have a Kindle or anything as I like buying books in charity shops / second hand. Can't think of anything I've been embarrassed to read.

1. Haven't read it.

What are the key elements to give a book mass appeal?

Dunno, Random House. Maybe an astroturfing campaign on popular social networking sites.

Oh, wait...