Science Fiction

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Lemmy World Rules

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What criteria do you use to determine whether a book is worth your time? (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/sciencefiction

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It is not possible to read all the Sci-Fi books out there. So you must have a process for selecting what you do read. Reading a book is an investment in your time. Your time is valuable. No one wants to waste that time reading unworthy books.

I have never codified my criteria. And it has changed and evolved over time. I suspect it will continue to change moving forward, as who I am tomorrow is not who I was yesterday.

What is your criteria to date?

Mine is that it must meet ALL the following criteria, some objective and some subjective.

it must have at least 1,000 reviews
it must have at least 70% 5-star reviews
if after reading about it I get the suspicion that it's a romance disguised as Sci-Fi, I automatically reject it no matter what
if it's YA, it really needs to be exceedingly compelling to choose it
Space Opera also needs to be exceedingly compelling
if I get the feeling it's trying to preach I'll reject it
if i get the feeling it has (messaging, strong opinions, or political overtones) about today's societal issues, I probably won't choose it. Not judging; I primarily read for escapism.

I guess that's about it. There's probably more but I just haven't put that much thought into it yet.

I'm very interested in how y'all decide to choose a book to spend your valuable time reading.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I look at something and decide to read it. If I enjoy it, I keep reading. That's my very strict criteria.

You said nobody wants to "waste time" reading "unworthy" books. But if you enjoy it, it's not wasted time. I didn't even read your whole post, because it seems to me like you spend most of your time trying to find something perfect and very little time enjoying a book. That doesn't really appeal to me at all, but you do you.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

lol my standards for fiction are basically "does it catch my eye?", "is it available on my library/scribd apps?", and usually "if it's a series, is it book one?". If I like it I go through the series. I like a broad variety (though a lot of mysteries).

Nonfiction I definitely have stronger standards. If it's not well sourced it's too much noise vs signal.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Of course if you enjoy it, the time is not wasted. Worthy to me, means I enjoy it. I'm sent dozens of book recommendations each week from various sources in which I subscribe. I have to weed them out because I certainly don't have time to read each one. The longer my queue becomes, the stricter my criteria becomes. I read almost every night for hours before bed, so not sure why you think I spend very little time enjoying a book. What an odd thing to say.