What makes a good book?

Honestly, I don't read as much as I would like to. I used to be a huge fan of Harry Potter - and by huge, I mean, crazy. I read Harry Potter fanfiction every single day for a period of time, sometimes staying up all night to read stories written by other people about J.K. Rowling's universe.

What an amazing experience, growing up with Harry Potter in your world. Back then, it was the greatest thing that ever happened to us teenagers - we happened to be the same age as HP, and it was almost like, we were growing up together in two separate worlds, but there was that connection.

I've always felt the HP series encased something much more magical than just a good story/world. Many critics have criticized it for not having enough "character development" (i.e. the characters' maturities levels do not really improve over the series). But that's just one part. I feel like what Rowling does well in her book is that she makes you actually care about what happens. Meaning... is the evil bad enough? Is the good humble/likable enough?

Too many books have their main characters be completely absurd - i.e., even though they are fighting for a good cause, they frequently have selfish outbursts, and periods of deep self-contemplation that seem to excel all reasonableness. Eventually you start thinking, jeez, when are you going to get over your friends' death and start saving the world already??? We have a certain expectation of book characters, and honestly if they start to perform outside our acceptable limits, we start feeling annoyed/apathetic to what happens.

I'll give you guys an example. One of the more recent popular series is Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series. Now, while it is a good book, there are just so many things wrong with it that bring it far below J.K. Rowlings' masterpiece.

(spoilers ahead)

First of all, the main character Katniss is too headstrong. She randomly does things that are completely absurd (such as running out into an open battlefield) or trying to fall in love with two guys at once. This is simply too much for the reader to handle... choose one guy and move on! We don't need to see you squibble and squabble for three entire books trying to figure out who is right for you.

And even though she is given the task of being the Mockingjay (the symbolic leader of the rebellion), she continuously questions it. I get it, you find it hard being the leader of a movement that in itself has questionable issues. But sooner or later you just get over it and do what you need to do.

All this nig-nagging has a hugely detrimental effect on the reader's enjoyment, and finally, the quality of the book. At many moments I just wanted the story to end, and I forced myself to keep reading. Instead of taking the moment to savor every page like I did the HP series, instead I found all the emotional hubbary to be simply unbearable.

I get it. There's a lot of pain, and a lot of suffering. But you don't have to PORTRAY it that way. Even in the HP books, when evil was looming above everyone's shoulders, Rowling managed to keep you hopeful, entertained, and looking forward to the next page.

This quality is in my opinion what separates a good book from a GREAT book. Screw the usual critics' notions of character development and innovative plot twists and moral and ethical themes. These don't matter nearly as much, as the simple ability to keep the reader turning the page, have them become enveloped into the story, and wish that it would never end.

Every book has moments where it can do that, but only the truly great ones are able to hold your attention and keep it.