I recently went on vacation and bought a few books to take with me and read at the airport/beach/pool as required.

I picked up three from Preston and Child, Penderghast novels. Wheel of Darkness was an odd book. The characters came across as a modern Holmes and Watson, and the writing was methodical but fellt a little by the numbers. The plotting was exciting, but blatantly ridiculous. I struggled to get through it at first, it just didn't connect, but when the story pieces fell into place then the last third was quite gripping (but still preposterous).

Dance of Death was next, Penderghast again, and I found the plotting more intriguing, and more realistic, but still with a heightened sense of weird, which as most of us as fans of Paul should relate to. But again, I found myself putting it down and not being bothered about picking it up again. The writing was methodical, nothing wrong with it, but a bit by the numbers. I haven't finished it, and haven't started the third.

One other I picked up, but have only now got to, was Neil Gaimen's American Gods. The contrast couldn't be more obvious. I immediately found the character interesting, immediately wanted to read the next page, immediately wanted to know what was going to happen to our hero. And then kick in the gut twists started happening before 25 pages had gone by. I'm hooked.

So, long story short, clearly the writing of Gaimen connects with me in a way Preston and Child doesn't. That is not to take anything away from Preston and Child, they've clearly created characters people love (I've heard Penderghast mentioned on this board several times over), and their story telling is exciting enough to spawn plenty of books.

Do some writers have a way with words that can't be taught, that connect with the audience? And other writers create a world of wonder and it is the creation/plotting, not the words, that some people connect to?

How do you connect?

I don't think I've ever connected with a book in the manner you are describing.

But for a book to keep me interested I have to 1. like the characters and 2. like the plot of the book.

Some characters have turned me off to books and series. I hate to say this, but Gia was that character that turned me off to the rest of RJ. Her actions at the beginning of Infernal pissed me off so much that I stopped reading and have not yet returned to the series.

Plots and storylines are other areas that have to be at least mildly interesting for me to keep at a book. Another book I put down and never picked up again was The DiVinci Code. I just couldn't get in to it because I basically didn't care about the characters or the plot. When I returned it to the office collection (this was in Iraq) someone commented that I read it fast and I said "No, I stopped reading after about 60 pages" The persons response was that I had to give it at least 100 pages for it to get interesting. I replied "If an author cannot get me in the first 100 pages then I don't have time for that book. There is so much more out there to explore that I'm not wasting my time on something that didn't grip me right from the beginning."

And the writing has to be intellectual as well. I am turned off by poorly written stories or stories were it seems the author wrote at an 8th grade level. That's why I'm so in to HPL because his writing style is so descriptive and so indepth that it draws you in to the story and the characters.

So, don't know if this helped much, but this is how I approach my reading selections.

The characters have to be interesting to me in order for me to really connect with a book or series. Like Sig, I will stop reading if a particular character really annoys me. That's part of the reason I gave up on the Diana Gabaldon Outlander series. She introduced a main character in the fourth novel that I just can't stand and it ruined the books for me.

Bad writing always throws me out of a story, but sometimes it's fun to read. Dan Brown is terrible but his books make me laugh because they're so preposterous.

I put it in my hands.

For me I think the author's style and pacing are paramount. I'm driven by story over character. Chances are I'm not reading anything that hasn't already piqued my curiousity so if I like the way its written I'll probably coninue forth. The Pendegrast books are a perfect example; I think they sound great, they have been recommended, and I love supernatural stuff but I find the writing too challenging(I'm a simpleton-what can I say). I have to work too hard to see what they are saying and I can feel my interest flagging almost instantly. I am sure Pendegrast is a fascinating character but I not that interested in knowing more about him because the story he's been placed in doesn't excite me. The Lumley books had the same effect one me; I wanted desperately to like them but just couldn't penetrate the writing.

So ultimately I would rather read an exciting story filled with archetypes than to read about a cool character in a boring story. Naturally it is great when you get both interesting characters in a thrilling story.

I put it in my hands.

For me I think the author's style and pacing are paramount. I'm driven by story over character. Chances are I'm not reading anything that hasn't already piqued my curiousity so if I like the way its written I'll probably coninue forth. The Pendegrast books are a perfect example; I think they sound great, they have been recommended, and I love supernatural stuff but I find the writing too challenging(I'm a simpleton-what can I say). I have to work too hard to see what they are saying and I can feel my interest flagging almost instantly. I am sure Pendegrast is a fascinating character but I not that interested in knowing more about him because the story he's been placed in doesn't excite me. The Lumley books had the same effect one me; I wanted desperately to like them but just couldn't penetrate the writing.

So ultimately I would rather read an exciting story filled with archetypes than to read about a cool character in a boring story. Naturally it is great when you get both interesting characters in a thrilling story.

I am actually reading "The Help" and I am so in love with the characters that I am flipping through the pages as if it was an action thriller instead of a book about black women in the south in the 60's.

The characters are what makes the story here and I am loving it. Totally not the thing I would typically read, but I have read almost the entire 416 pages in two days.

I am actually reading "The Help" and I am so in love with the characters that I am flipping through the pages as if it was an action thriller instead of a book about black women in the south in the 60's.

The characters are what makes the story here and I am loving it. Totally not the thing I would typically read, but I have read almost the entire 416 pages in two days.

I'm trying to think of the last book I read like that but am drawing a blank. I know I've read a couple recently that fell outside my usual reading material, just can't think of them. I'm sure my impatience as a reader/ listener/viewer has cost me over the years but I'm not usually lacking for those things.

I'm a voracious reader, but I'm picky as to the material. Except for certain authors, Wilson, Sanford, King to name a few, I read the reviews and synopsises. If the premise looks promising, then I'll give it a try. I'll give a book 50 or so pages to grab my interest. If it hasn't grabbed me by then, I'll put it aside. There have been a few I've done that to.

Pendergast got predictable and preposterous real fast, I avoid those books.

The way the book is written has as much to do with the content for me. Like Brian I will read the summary on the back or on Amazon and if it sounds like something that interests me I will give it a go. I can usually tell pretty quickly if the author is someone I want to read more of or if they write in a way that bogs down the pleasure of reading.

What is the old saying about people with really great voices? If they read the phone book I would listen? Certain authors are like that for me. Obviously F Paul Wilson is in the top of that list for me. Conn Iggulden, David Gemmell, Patrick Rothruss and George RR Martin and a few others come to mind right off the top of my pointy head. Even the books these authors have written that I don't think are great books are super good reads for me. Not sure if that makes sense.

But like Dave, if I can connect with a character or find the character interesting in the book right off the bat it will make me invest more in the book and the story. If it is a overdone, played out stereotypical character, I usually have very little patience for that. I can usually look past plot issues or even overdone plot lines/stories if the writing is good and the characters are interesting.

For me, I have to feel like I'm in the story. Not like as a character, but it's completely engrossing and vivid as I read. If the writing style puts up barriers to experiencing the story through poor construction or excessive description I have a hard time. I often have a hard time with some of the older literature classics because of the formality and style of the writing. I feel like it inhibits forming the same experience I have with the books i love. It certainly helps if the characters are interesting, whether good or evil, but I find the plot is less important. I have read books in areas I usually do not read, but the characters and writing were good enough to draw me in.

Wish I could put more specifics on the list, but I haven't been able to pinpoint them yet. I'm lucky to have a couple of friends that read several books a week that can point me to books and authors I might like based on things I have read.

I'm the loyalist to an author....until I lose interest. That's only happened once or twice. James Patterson comes to mind...I avoid his stuff now. There have been many books that I've started and put down after a few chapters because the author didn't pull me in to the story.

If the story, style of writing and characters pull me in....I'm usually a fan for life.
So...that answers the question of what pulls me in...it's several things.

I like genres and pretty much stick to horror, sci-fi, mystery and some crime fiction. I used to love to browse the book stores for books......reading the back cover to add something to my too read pile. ~sigh~ most book stores are gone now around here.