Chatting with Kaska

My next chat is with Kaska, another forum book addict.

If you could live in the age of a setting in a book , which book & why.

Oh definitely a time before TV & mobile phones. In fact any time before celebrities were born.
It would probably be a time of simplicity within a spiritual cult of some kind, maybe the Druids.
Katie Stewarts book TreeSpeaker comes to mind of a small village living in peace, with a little bit of magic & a lot of intuition & a connection to the earth & beyond. I think I could be feisty enough to battle evil Lords too :)

Does it annoy you the book finishes well before 100% because the author mentions their other works at the back of the novel. Do you mind if the author includes a synopsis or even an excerpt

No not at all.  I don't take any notice of the percentage. When the story's finished it's finished. It's my choice to read the extra bits or not. 

Are you put off if you see a book is part of a series? Or does that entice you, knowing that if you like it there are more books to enjoy.

Most respected series will give you a good & complete tale leaving enough room at the end for a follow on.  Very exciting. And you can choose to read on or not as it's not actually necessary.

But some indie authors haven't got the gist of this & just spread a very long book into a series of several books. I wish a good friend of relative would put them right.

Do you read the Look Inside before purchasing? Always? Sometimes, depending on the reviews? Never?

Always! I've been caught out before by purchasing on a good synopsis & reviews only to be disappointed when I actually come to reading it.

Do you read for hours at a time, or in short bursts, or a mixture of the two?

I try to space it out so that I'm not indulging wholly in one thing for a long period of time.  But i  can forget that rule at times. That also applies to other areas of my life.

How important are reviews of a book to you? Would they influence your choice to buy it?

Reviews can be a problem. Some help some hinder. I check the reviewers profile first before reading their review, then make a decision whether it's worth reading or not.

The only real way to  influence my choice to buy is by sampling it, but I guess seeing a lot of reviews under a book does encourage me to make that step.

Do you think you remain unbiased when reviewing books by people you know or interact with on the internet

No, I don't think I  do fully & I don't think I'm alone in that. 

It's a bit like Come Dine With Me, in that the meal/book has been extended beyond the ingredients & your score accommodates the entertainment & such like.

The book itself becomes the person, a known person, a nice or nasty person & you weave that personality  & relationship into your reading. 

How do you feel about leaving negative reviews

If I don't like a book, I know early on & stop reading it. Therefore I don't normally write a review on the basis of only reading 10 pages. 

As I only usually complete books that are readable to me then my reviews are positive. I may within a positive review make a negative remark but I am comfortable with that.

Are you more lenient with regards mistakes if you know a book is self published, or do you believe the authors should have hired an editor to make sure it's the best it can be?

I think if an author has taken the time & dedication to write a book then he/she should see it through to the end & make the time for those final touches or get someone else to do it for them. 

A shoddy book cover & poor editing in my opinion ruins the hard work initially put in.

You wouldn't promote a suit with the stitching unfinished or a sweater that was unravelling regardless of the quality of materials used nor would you sell an part baked cake or a cold cup of tea. 

I think a quality & proud author will make sure his work will have a quality finish. 

I know this to be true as those such as Ken Maggee, Katie Stewart & David Wailing to name but a few indie authors on KUF have all taken great care & time with their finishing details. And damn good reading material they've produced too!

If something an author did upset or bothered you, would it stop you reading more of their work, even if you've read their stuff before and enjoyed it?

In a word.  Yes.

Kaska