Do you need a lot of explanation and description or do you only need a snippet to understand what's going on?

For me, I hate when authors waste three paragraphs/pages or whatever describing a room over a character's features.

It's nice to not have the author be so descriptive that things get confusing. In a way I like things simple, but I also like things to have enough description to keep things lengthy and well enough to visualize. I also hate it when the author goes back and forth between, like, a thousand things and be so descriptive that it drives me nuts. I read Memoirs of a Geisha...so descriptive but it really got me thinking and I managed to get through it. And The Movable Feast? GOSH. I'm just not a fan of old-time writers, but I guess I was able to withstand my favorite book Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice.

I get lost in manga even when they do stuff like that x.x explaining too much at once.

I enjoy descriptions more of a person's emotions or personal characteristics more than descriptions on where someone is. I feel that an interesting character could be trapped in a room without anything but the clothes on his or her back and still have a good story.

I find myself skimming large paragraphs of description in books because it bores me, I prefer to get to the action and stuff. I take in key words and create the image myself how I like it. xD

I agree I don't care what the chairs in a room look like I know what chairs look like >.>

I get really soaked into drama, or anything heavy, since it catches my attention, and since I think in pictures, it's like a mini movie playing in my head it's rather fun.

It really depends on the writing for me. I don't mind a lot of description if it's well-written; I actually tend to really like books that go in depth about the characters' emotions and reflections, like Anne Rice's books, for instance.

On the other hand, it does get on my nerves if an author writes pages and pages that just tell what things look like, or when they feel the need to add an extreme amount of adjectives after the characters' every actions. I hate to use this as an example, but this is part of the reason why Stephenie Meyer's writing can never seem to hold my attention long; I feel like what she takes one hundred pages to describe could sometimes fit into one chapter.

I guess it depends on the... depth, maybe, of the writing to me? If it's something more philosophical and poetically written, I really enjoy description. But if it's just the writer adding a bunch of unnecessary details, my mind kind of starts to wander.

I love it when an author writes a book so beautifully you don't even notice the shoddy storyline until years later when you're reminiscing...

I can go both ways. It really depends on what mood I'm in. If I'm in a patient, relaxing mood, I can stand excessive detail. If I'm.. Just looking for a quick action story and I see a detailed page about how the main character feels. I'll just say, "Screw it." And move on to another story << >>

Originally Posted by Mika Rose

It really depends on the writing for me. I don't mind a lot of description if it's well-written; I actually tend to really like books that go in depth about the characters' emotions and reflections, like Anne Rice's books, for instance.

On the other hand, it does get on my nerves if an author writes pages and pages that just tell what things look like, or when they feel the need to add an extreme amount of adjectives after the characters' every actions. I hate to use this as an example, but this is part of the reason why Stephenie Meyer's writing can never seem to hold my attention long; I feel like what she takes one hundred pages to describe could sometimes fit into one chapter.

I guess it depends on the... depth, maybe, of the writing to me? If it's something more philosophical and poetically written, I really enjoy description. But if it's just the writer adding a bunch of unnecessary details, my mind kind of starts to wander.

and what is "well written" to you?

I can read books no matter how descriptive they are. As long as it's a good book, or at least interesting, i can read it. I do like plot, good plots that is, and longer books, i love reading long books.

Hmm... I think I'm the type of reader who just go on with the flow and just rely on the keywords I read and the tone of the statement to understand such scenarios.