This weeks Booking through Thursday is all about the story, and Deb asks:

If you’re anything like me, one of your favorite reasons to read is for the story. Not for the character development and interaction. Not because of the descriptive, emotive powers of the writer. Not because of deep, literary meaning hidden beneath layers of metaphor. (Even though those are all good things.) No … it’s because you want to know what happens next?

Or, um, is it just me?

Yes, and no.

First things first for me I have to like the characters, to care about them and what happens to them, there are any number of books I might have enjoyed the story of over the years, but because the protaganists just annoyed me, the book did not get read. This includes bad-guy’s, because you can ‘care’ that they are defeated/redeamed etc.

Without this I find it hard to care what happens next.

Once that is sorted, I like nothing better that to be entertained in my reading, and any character development, neat writing tricks, and literary merit can look after themselves, I like to be dragged kicking and screaming in to the world, and not let go of until I’m spat back out at the end of the book, and with out a good story that ain’t going to happen.