16 Responses to “Name Your Poison”

1. I like thrillers. I like cozy mysteries, too. I like puzzles in general. But I only like books with happy endings. I mean, they don’t have to be sappy-happy, but I want things to turn out for the best. I get plenty of things in real life that don’t turn out that way: people who die, marriages that fail, sickness, abuse, corruption that never end. Completion is the one thing I require in my fiction. I can handle brutality along the way, but when I turn that last page, I want the end of that brutality to be at the very least in sight, if not a fait accompli.

   And as far as time…I’m a gulper. I wish I could dole out my reading…it would be a lot less expensive. But when a book has me, it has me, and I am in for the whole ride.

   by Laura on March 2nd, 2008 at 1:36 am
   
   

2. I’m much more of a cozy girl myself. And I tend to read until I can’t keep my eyes open. Sometimes that gets me through an entire book, other times it’s only a few chapters.

   by Tori Lennox on March 2nd, 2008 at 4:14 am
   
   

3. I mostly enjoy cozies because they’re slower paced and involve more of a puzzle. Like Laura, I want my mysteries to have an intriquing puzzle. Lately though I’ve read a few thrillers and find I enjoy them. However, I don’t like gory, brutal scenes either. Sometimes, when no one’s looking, I skip over those parts.

   I tend to read very slowly, so usually a book lasts a long time for me. Then suddenly, a book will grab me and I can’t put it down until I’m finished. One time, when my daughter was about four, I was reading a book all weekend. She said to me, “Mom, when are you going to come outside of that book?” Now she’s the big reader!

   by Holly Y on March 2nd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
   
   

4. I think it depends on the type of “horror” on the page. I just got into A Great Deliverance where the murderer’s motive is revealed. I don’t know if I’ll finish the book now or not. I was reading at lunch and went back to work in such a funk, it wasn’t funny.

   I don’t get funked out when I read cozys. I think its just because I’ve had just a little too much reality in my life, I want some fantasy now. Do I read Cornwell, yes, and that level of detail doesn’t seem to bother me.

   I dont’ mind a non HEA ending, but I don’t like dumb endings. Or ones where the author solves everything in a nice bow in the last page without talking about the feelings of the characters on what happens next.

   It’s an interesting question though and I think it depends on the reader.

   by Lynn on March 2nd, 2008 at 1:55 pm
   
   

5. I prefer cozy mysteries over the more gory ones - I also prefer the mysteries where authors do not use ‘four letter words’ all over the place!

   I try to ration out a book when I am reading it, but inevitably my enjoyment gets in the way and it is three hours later than I had anticipated…but I did enjoy reading it!

   by Rudolf on March 2nd, 2008 at 5:58 pm
   
   

6. The main reason I like to read cozies is because all of “the bad stuff takes place off the pages”. I work with kids with special needs and I also have a daughter with special needs. So you see my life is real enough, thank you very much. I read to relax and escape. I try to read every night before going to bed. I love to read on my days off, that’s when I have the time. When I’m really into a book, I read every moment I get the chance. I often dream about the current book I am reading, especially if I’m near the ending and I am not sure exactly how it will all come together.
   Holly I love your daughter’s comment,”When are you going to come outside of that book.”

   by Annette on March 2nd, 2008 at 9:45 pm
   
   

7. Hi Kate. I like a good thriller…the key word being “good”. However, I don’t like a lot of gory stuff…in books or TV. I have been blessed with my father’s weak stomach.

   As for your second question, I don’t read a chapter a day, but I do tend to read slowly. Sometimes it takes me months or weeks to get through a book because I really have to be in the mood to read, even though I love it. However, recently, I actually read 3 books in about a month….That’s a record for me.

   by Traci on March 3rd, 2008 at 12:50 am
   
   

8. What pace do I read at? I got a book Saturday and finished it Sunday (Maggie’s A Killer Stitch) but I didn’t have anything happening this weekend. Usually I can read about a book a week. I read at lunch every day if I don’t have other appointments. I was reading a lot less before last year. So I’ve gotten back into the habit of carrying a book or two around for doctor appointments etc. Chemo was usually a two book process. Honestly, being able to lose myself in a good story is probably what kept me from worrying during the process and really freaking out.

   My son would test me during my reading just to see how lost I was. If I answered on the first mom, it wasn’t that great of a book. But when it took four Moms to get my attention, he knew the book was good.

   by Lynn on March 3rd, 2008 at 8:47 am
   
   

9. I like just about anything I can read, and I usually read it all up in one sitting. I avoid nonfiction; I like to read as an escape from life, not to delve further into it. Besides, between my husband and my cop of a father, I get plenty of real life drama

   I’ll admit, I’m a bit twisted, and I don’t mind gore, as long as it is gore purpose. (I.E. 300 had gore with purpose). Gore without purpose (Pathfinder was gore without purpose, not to mention beefing up really bad historical myths)… it’s like letting Jack the Ripper loose in a brothel, it’s neither good nor stimulating at all.

   by Marissa on March 3rd, 2008 at 11:54 am
   
   

10. I like both thrillers and cozies. In fact, I find I NEED the cozies the keep my mind from getting too twisted from the thrillers! Most of the time I rush to finish a book because I’m dying (no pun intended) to find out what happened. And I tend to read a lot — only one book at a time but I read three or four (or five!) a week. But then there are those delicious moments when I am just reluctant to finish a book because I don’t want to let the characters go…

    by Kimberleigh on March 3rd, 2008 at 12:19 pm
    
    

11. I gravitate towards cozy mysteries, romantic mysteries (I love happily ever afters) and paranormal mysteries. I like the drama of a dead body or a dangerous vampire, but I don’t want to see the gore. There’s enough ugliness on the 6:00 news. When I read, I want an escape from that.

    And I have to write like that too. My characters are biker witches (nice ones) mixed with a demon hunting preschool teacher. They’re all people I’d like to have over for dinner (even if I had to replace the carpet afterwards).

    As a reader, I want characters that I enjoy spending time with. That’s the wonderful thing about cozies, too - so many of the locations are places I’d like to visit and it’s fun to be there for an entire book.

    As for how fast I read, I always try to slow down and savor a book that I’m really enjoying, especially if I know the next in the series isn’t due out for several months. But, I’m weak. A wonderful book is like a slice of chocolate cake. You try to slow down and enjoy every bit, but it’s still gone before you know it.

    by Angie Fox on March 3rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
    
    

12. I love cozies, and I especially love cozies where the protagonist is a strong female lead in my relative age group, which I have defined as being between 25 to 50. I guess this would be cozies of the “Chick-Lit” variety. I don’t like a lot of gore, I like some romance, or romantic tension, I like a little comedy, or some quick witted one liners. I don’t care for a lot of graphic sex scenes or lots of foul language. I basically gauge it by would I be embarrassed if my 14-yr old niece were to pick this up and read it, would this be something I would want her to read.

    I can read 3 to 5 books per week, depending on how busy I am. I do read some thrillers, but I find that they are more in the action/adventure category, for example Clive Cussler. But my favorites always seem to be series cozies written by females featuring a strong female lead. I also like when the ending is a wrap-up of the current mystery, but a bit of a cliff-hanger as far as the characters themselves or their stories go for the next book in the series. Hint : sitting on the edge of my seat for SHoots to Kill to be released so that I can see what happened between Abby and Marco, just based on the excerpt from Rose From the Dead.

    by Cathy on March 3rd, 2008 at 6:23 pm
    
    

13. I am certainly a gulper. I get into a book and it is finished before I know it. Which can be a real pain when the next in the series isn’t due out for months… I love murder mysteries, cozy mysteries, thrillers, etc… but I agree with Rudolph, I hate when writers use 4 letter words way too much. Same thing with movies. It’s like they put in the swear words - a lot of them just to get a different rating or something. The words certainly don’t add anything to the story line. I have a very vivid imagination so I really don’t need nor want the gore. I can pretty much picture what is going on. Hitchcock was great for the suspense without a lot of the gore.

    by Ealasaid Cameron on March 3rd, 2008 at 6:28 pm
    
    

14. A note to Cathy: I can’t wait for SHOOTS TO KILL to come out, either. This is one heck of a plot, Cath. So many twists and turns, well, hold onto your seat. It’s gonna be quite a ride.

    Kate

    by Kate Collins on March 3rd, 2008 at 9:12 pm
    
    

15. I like the cozies best, I think, although I’ve read Cornwell and enjoyed it. I don’t like torture on paper or screen - these new commercials based on the movie (and presumably book) Misery make me change the channel.

    I came to Cozy Chicks through Maggie, and I can go through one of her books in about 3 hours! I just love Kelly!!! And I’m anxious for the next book to come, always!

    If a book grabs me, and I have the time, I’ll read straight through. Sometimes I’ll adjust the schedule to be able to read.

    And, sometimes I just need to read. I can go without reading (for pleasure and a break from reality and stress) for several weeks, then I read during almost all my free time, until the desperate urge wanes.

    by Jan on March 4th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
    
    

16. Kate,

    I love a blog entry where you can pick up poisoning tips!

    Karen (wondering how to use that information in her next book…)

    by Karen on March 6th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
    
    

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website