Do you have a best book sitting on your bookshelf, all ready for you to get straight back into whenever the fancy takes you? Most people do, seeing as we all have a book we immediately think of when someone asks what you like to read, and there’s so many reasons these books are our favorite!
But what exactly makes a good book? Of course, before we start, everyone has their own definition of a ‘good book’ – honestly, there’s a good chance there’s no actual definition of one! But when it comes down to it, there’s quite a few features we can identify amongst books commonly considered to be good, so let’s examine a couple of them below.
Settle in, there’s a lot to consider! (Source)
There’s Something to Learn
Good books usually have a moral of the story to them, and we’ve been taught for a long time that we should pay attention to the lessons a book is trying to teach us. Sure, we may miss out on a few themes here and there, but that’s what makes a good book worth rereading: there’s simply so much to discover!
So when you come across a good book, you’ll know you have, as you realise you’re being taught a lesson as you go along. This is possible in both fiction and nonfiction: with a good story book, it’s an implicit idea that you slowly pick up on as you go along, and with something informational, there’s so many facts and figures you can pick up on to sate the curious part of your brain.
There’s a Sense of Fantasy
Whether you absolutely love the works of Daniel Handler, or you’re more into the Game of Thrones side of things, if a book has a lot of fantastical and otherworldly elements to it, you’re going to keep coming back. After all, a lot more time and effort has gone into the worldbuilding side of things, to make sure any magic or mysteries make sense in context, and it’s so interesting to try and discover how it all works.
Fantasy takes us away, and gives us a sense of immersion in a world where reality can’t affect us. That is, until your back starts aching from the position you’re in!
There’s Something to Come Back to
As we mentioned, a good book always has something to come back to, whether it be a sense of nostalgia over how good the text was when you first read it, or because there’s something new for you to discover. And not only that; there’s a lot of good books out there that simply cheer you up or give you a sense of excitement, and when you really need those feelings in your life, the book is always in reach.
A good book has lots of elements to it, and maybe none of the ones mentioned above are factors you would even consider! What parts of a book do you think make it a good one?
