What do you love to read about?

amother

Wheat

Sun, Feb 05 2017, 1:42 am

For those who are avid readers of frum fiction:

Do you prefer easy and light books, or something heavy you can really sink your teeth into?

Easy to follow plotlines, or ones that really keep you on your toes?

Stories that can happen to you or me or ones that take you into another world?

Characters you can relate to and love, or ones you can never understand?

Asking as a writer. Tia!

cinnamon

Sun, Feb 05 2017, 3:13 am

I second the anything well written with believable dialog.
Also a well paced plot. I hate it when I'm half way through the book and still don't really know what it's about.
And another issue I see in frum fiction is hundreds of characters in a dozen plot lines in five different time periods. It gets annoying, confusing and just not worth the effort.
Keep the flashbacks and flash forwords to a minimum and in number of characters less is more.

amother

Ginger

Sun, Feb 05 2017, 7:52 am

My life is very stressful, so when I finally sit down with a book, I need easy and light reading...Definitely NOT terrorism, Arabs and bombs as previously mentioned by Trixx.
Also keep flashbacks to a minimum as mentioned by Cinnamon.
Just light easy reading. Alot going on, but no looking back to remember where and when I saw the character before (like ten chapters previously - so annoying).
A perfect example of a book I am enjoying right now is the serial I am currently following in Binah Magazine, Quicksand, by Libby Lazewnik.

PinkFridge

Sun, Feb 05 2017, 7:57 am

I read secular fiction but can't get into historical fiction. OTOH, I enjoy well-done frum historical fiction.
I'll read frum sci fi but can't get into it as I can't imagine writing about next week without Moshiach having come.
As far as characters, there must be some likeable characters. I read one Scott Turow book once and that was it because there was not a single character I could bring myself to like.

Back to your OP, my criteria:
Well-written and researched. Well-proofread and translated.
Well-written books will really get you there. The writing will be elegant and flow, the characters and setting well-developed. I'll really read just about any Judaica. Though sorry, OP, I seldom buy fiction as we have several libraries in town so sooner or later I'm able to get new books.

iyar

Sun, Feb 05 2017, 9:43 am

I like very well-written, very well-researched historical fiction, but almost never like Jewish historical fiction. You can tell there's not going to be a bibliography containing a dozen or more serious tomes that the author plodded through to get things right.
There was a historical serial in one of the frum periodicals in the recent past that was supposed to take place at the time of the Churban. I found it offensive and sometimes nauseating. So much stretched the imagination to pure nonsense. On the other hand there was a very short piece about the churban around Tisha B'Av in a different magazine that I was able to connect to. The author stuck to facts, which of necessity made the plot line short, but it rang true.
I like to be taken into a different world, but only if you can get me to feel it's real and not contrived.
Writing about a world you, the author, live in or have intimately experienced might make for a more enjoyable read. If you happen to live in similar surroundings to me, that's not a negative as far as I'm concerned. Catch my interest with believable characters and a good plot, and I won't mind not being transported to exotic locales or distant time periods.
But for every piece I wrinkle my nose at, you'll probably find a bunch of avid fans.
As you can see OP, lots of different opinions, so write what you like to write, but write it well!

amother

Blush

Sun, Feb 05 2017, 9:27 pm

Most frum novels I've read are about someone's sick relative who inspired her nurse to become a baalas tshuva and then did a shidduch between the neighbor's older working son and this new BT. In the meantime, the mafia planted a bomb in the older working son's / chassan's suitcase and then used him as a hostage in order to get the school building back. Over the PA system the principal saved the day and BH the sick relative who orchestrated all of this had a refuah sheleima.

I appreciate good language, fresh metaphors, well-developed characters who act in sync with their characters, and realistic plot lines. I believe frum literature is lacking. The first *good* novel I read was "Sun Inside Rain" and after that M. Bassara's series.

seeker

Sun, Feb 05 2017, 10:18 pm

amother wrote:

You had me laughing out loud! That's exactly what I would have said about 10 years ago.
I think if you get around you'll find that there's been a lot of improvement and diversification over the last few years. There are still some like you describe here and there but it's not nearly every book like it used to be. And there's more of that in the older kid/teen market, while the adult books are getting a little more nuanced.

If you appreciate good language, fresh metaphors, well-developed characters, et al, I strongly recommend Etka Gitel Schwartz. Particularly Grey Lines, not sure if it's out in a book yet but I followed it in a magazine and it showed definite growth in terms of plot structure. I'm loving her current serial, too, which is also contemporary rather than historical fiction.

amother

Blush

Sun, Feb 05 2017, 10:28 pm

seeker wrote:

Honestly, as a teen I tried so hard to be "good" and only read frum novels. I became so disgusted and bored by it all. Especially the language and lack of depth. So I turned to secular fiction. That's why "Sun inside Rain" shocked my so much. It really felt like a non-frum book in terms of literary quality, and reading enjoyability.

I haven't read much frum literature since I decided they're worthless. Although I thoroughly enjoy EGS's writings, these are serials, not novels.

gold21

Sun, Feb 05 2017, 11:47 pm

trixx wrote:

Anything well-written, without grammar mistakes, cliches and terrible dialogue (this is harder to find than you may imagine).

No bombs, terrorists, Arabs, over-the-top family drama, or shidduch issues.

Signed,
Avid reader and therefore not one of frum fiction

Ditto.

Back in the day when I read more Jewish literature, I found a lot of the books had underdeveloped characters paired with an overdeveloped plot line.

LiLIsraeli

Mon, Feb 06 2017, 1:51 am

amother wrote:

This exactly.

When I was a kid I liked Ruth Benjamin and Chaim Eliav (The Gordian Knot was a favorite) but his later books I found too sensationalist and catered more to the exciting plot than to actual literature.

One of my favorite authors who never disappoints is Libby Lazewnik. Her characters are real, the plot lines are not crazy "out there," and the dialogue is completely believable.

I like EG Schwartz too but her style is different - more theatrical and wordy, but her characterization is amazing.

(And of course "Sun Inside Rain" was a pleasant surprise!)

In general I like historical fiction, family sagas, and light chick lit. When I read, I want to relax so anything too heavy or complicated is too much for me at this point in my life.

PinkFridge

Mon, Feb 06 2017, 8:30 am

amother wrote:

What series? I've only seen two other books: a thriller, and tween/teen story collection.
(And you'd have loved the Mishpacha thriller Purim mash-up from a few years ago.)