this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2023
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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 nkiruanaya@lemm.ee to c/sciencefiction@lemmy.world
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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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[–] heavyboots@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well, when the award nominee lists come out, I jump on those if they sound like books I’d like. And of course, new books by past authors I like. And generally books that I start seeing a lot of people reviewing favorably or just getting a lot of buzz I will at least evaluate.

[–] Eq0@literature.cafe 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

My method is very similar! I don’t read a lot of sci-fi anymore, but I pretty much ran out of classics to read in my teens. Now it’s either recommendations from irl friends (they know what I like and it’s always a hit) or award winners. Sometimes, some recommendations from there internet hit home with a good elevator pitch, but doesn’t happen often.