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.

  • Veraticus@lib.lgbtEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I agree it’s not possible to read everything, but I promise that if you are a habitual reader, you will run out of truly excellent books to read really rapidly. Both because there just aren’t that many and because everyone’s tastes are different.

    These days my criteria is: if I heard of the book and it sounds interesting to me I’ll try it. If it fails to capture me within a chapter or two I’m putting it down.

    I have a strong preference for queer books (especially queer scifi) and will totally overlook even dramatically negative reviews to read those. But that’s the only bias I have in my selection.

  • Tatters@feddit.uk
    1·
    1 year ago

    That is quite a restrictive list.

    I generally go for:

    Is it by an author I like? Is it well written? (Judging by samples).

    Then I start to read. Normally I will make it to the end, even if some way in I decide I don’t like it that much. Sometimes I will just give up, if it is too tedious, or too many characters/plots I can’t keep track of, or it turns out to be badly written after all.

  • thriveth@lemmy.world
    11·
    1 year ago

    Now there’s a way to make sure you never encounter anything outside of your current comfort zone.