Fall into Reading - Question 6

As part of the Fall into Reading challenge, Katrina at Callapidderdays is going to be posting a reading related question each Wednesday. I'm hoping to answer them here each week, partly to keep me motivated for the challenge itself (I find it way too easy to forget about challenges) and partly because there's a great group of people taking part and I'd like to see their answers.

If you're wondering what the whole Fall into Reading thing is about, check out my original post here or Katrina's "The Basics" post here.


This weeks question is: When it comes to fiction, are you more of a “plot person” or a “character person”? If you had to choose, which concept would win out when it comes to picking and loving a book: plot or character?

I'm both. The best books have clever plots and brilliant characters, but there are some great books out there that have good plots but characters that let it down (like Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward) or good characters and disappointing plots (like The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting). All my favourite books have won me over with both their plots and their characters.

If you've ever read one of my reviews, you'll know that all my reviews are scored on five areas including plot and characters. I rate that way so I can give fair reviews because I don't want one area of the book to overshadow the others. No matter how amazing the plot is, a poorly written character is always going to dent my enjoyment and vice versa.

It's hard for me to continue with a series if I don't like the characters for whatever reason (poorly written, stupid decisions or just annoying) and the same goes for plots. However if I had to make a decision I would say that bad characters and an amazing plot is more likely to be continued than great characters and a dull plot. Catch my interest and I'll give the series a second chance, bore me and I'll find something else to read.