Peoples’ love for reading spans across the whole world. No matter where you live or what you believe, reading touches each corner of the earth. It’s one of the few things capable of uniting us together, whether it be a shared favorite book, genre, or general interest. I feel reading books becomes more beautiful when you think of it from that perspective. Pause for a moment and search up how many languages your favorite book has been translated into, the number is likely higher than you thought. It’s proof that books and the love of reading spans everywhere.

Now, with the love of reading comes all of the different platforms where we read. There’s physical books (paperback vs. hard book), Kindle’s, Nook’s, books on your computers, phones, or iPads, and lets not forget audiobooks. All these platforms, and others not listed, make reading more accessible to people everywhere.

Within every book we read, there are details and elements that draw us further into the story at hand. I want to start a mini-series talking about the different elements of reading. We’ll dive into all the reasons we love that element and even the reasons we hate it. Each element can truly make or break a book. For that reason, I want to explore the books that handle them well and not so well. Here’s our list of the top 6 elements:

1. Plot
2. Characters: Relationships & Dynamics
3. Details
4. Theme
5. Pacing
6. Ending (trust me, there’s more to talk about here than you might think)

Each element is vital for a book’s success or failure. While I’ll mostly discuss books that I feel excelled in each elements’, I’ll also touch on books that didn’t work for me. Remember, this is subjective. What one person loves out of characters or an ending, another person might hate. The order of each element is building upon the previous one we’ll discuss. Without having the prior one it’s difficult, if not impossible, to create a story. 

I’m excited to explore each elements and bring them to the forefront of your mind. By truly analyzing each one we can grow to love our favorite books more and even understand the authors process. I encourage you to dive into the minds of authors and place yourself in their shoes as you read this series. How did they create their plots? Was each character carefully handcrafted to perfection? What was the process like from beginning to end of writing?

Think I’m missing a crucial element? Send me a message to let me know! As always, happy reading!