Armchair BEA Day 2: What Readers Want and Let's Collaborate and Listen

 Day 2 of Armchair BEA!!  Okay, I'm going to do my best to answer the two questions below, then I hope you'll chime in to the comments and let me know your thoughts as well.

• What Do Readers Want?: What makes or breaks a book? How do we rate the books, or determine if it is good literature or a good story? What do we want from an author event? 

 I think that this first question is a very subjective one.  I think that every reader wants different things.  And that is why there are so many different books out there. With different writing styles, genres, formats, etc., there is something for everyone out there.  It's why I don't say that any other genre or type of book is bad, or not good, it's just not my type of read.  I don't know that I always care if a book is "good literature".  I just want it to be a good story that captures my attention and makes it hard for me to put down. Characters are usually the biggest part of a story for me.  If they are someone that I think I would like to hang out with, or someone that I definitely connect with on some level, it usually is an automatic check mark that I'll enjoy that book.   

However, very simple writing, or else very poorly written - meaning grammar and spelling issues - can definitely ruin a story for me.  

At an author event, I love hearing them speak and answer questions.  I also like a chance to get to have a book autographed, or more important to me, get my picture taken with them.  

• Let's Collaborate & Listen: The online book community has changed so much over the years. How do we keep up within our own book-sphere as well as within the community as a whole (i.e., libraries, bookstores, authors, publishers, etc.)? 

I try really hard to keep up with my fellow bloggers by visiting their blogs, and subscribing by email to those that I want to make sure to keep up with even when I may not have the time to actually go and visit their blog daily.  I feel like keeping up with authors more happens on Facebook these days, compared to Twitter in the past.  I follow so many people on Twitter that I rarely have the time to read through  my timeline.  It's almost like I only go to Twitter in order to post something, or specifically seek a certain author out to ask them a question.  I've gotten a little braver with contacting publishers.  I feel like my blog has a good enough standing that I can reach out and request ARCs of books that I am very eager for.  I also like traveling to conventions when I can afford it and have the time.  I love meeting my fellow book bloggers in person, and it's an opportunity to meet authors that I love as well, and also a chance to meet new authors that I may then become huge fans of.