Cross-posted to !sciencefiction@lemmy.world
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.
Sadly, that filters out one of my favorite books. I'd call it more of a romance/sci-fi hybrid than "disguised as", but eh, that probably doesn't make a difference. The book is Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik. What I really like about it is the authentic feel of how the characters use computers and other technology. It's refreshing!
OTOH, it is very much a romance/sci-fi crossover.
Myself, I don't have a specific list of criteria. If I hear about something vaguely interesting, I'll put it on hold at the library. I've read a lot of books that took a while to get going but were def worth the investment by time I got halfway through, so I'm fairly generous about "giving the book a chance" through slow starts.