Speaking as a reader, I have to say I never noticed point of view in a story. I'm with you, just give me a good story and lots of things can be forgiven.

I always thought I was a little weird or unusual, but I have always been felt more involved with the first person. It seems to draw me into the situation. However, I always like the third person if the plot is fast moving and spirited. For me the third person has to be more exciting, whereas the first person can keep me captured for a time with just emotion. This may not be valuable info, but it is my opinion. BTW, I am not published, of course.

On occasion I've noticed the POV, usually when I notice it though I don't like the book, story line/writing. If that makes sense. If I like everything about the book then the POV doesn't even click with me. So, answering your question, nope, POV usually doesn't bother me either way.

For me, whether the book is in 1st or 3rd person doesn't matter as much as whether the story is written well. Generally speaking, I'm going to enjoy a well written story regardless of POV. That said, I think it's possible that some stories are better in one voice than the other, so if it's written in the other voice, it's not as good. If that makes sense. But a book that skips around from 1st to 3rd person is most likely going to frustrate me to where I can't enjoy it as well.

I don't really care. I just want a great story! I have found that most of my favorite authors write in 1st. I personally write in the 1st. And I seem to be drawn to books written in the 1st. But I've read some dang good books in 3rd. In fact some of my favorite books are in 3rd POV. I don't think anyone will say POV matters as long as the story is good. If a reader is obsessing about POV then either something has gone wrong with editing or it just isn't that good a book in MHO.

It only bothers me when I think I'm reading in one character's POV and I realize, no, it's in another character's. I think Nora does her POV switching very well. I don't have that problem with her book.

Barb,

As an author, I do find it difficult to forgive certain things in some of the books I read. I think authors are much harder to please when it comes to a book because we DO know what the "

#$%$^ dog gone blog ate my post!! LOL picking up where I left off.

Authors are harder to please because we know what the "rules" are and if the rule is broken in a well executed fashion we can see it and appreciate it.

I, personally, don't care to read or write first-person POV. It's too intimate for me. Although Jane Eyre is first-person and I adore that book. I think first-person works well there for me because I'm in love with Rochester. LOL

POV switches are something that if executed poorly will throw a reader out of the read, although they generally don't realize what took them out of the story.

LOL, Barbara--yes, I do love me some JD Robb (and SEP, and Eloisa James, and Kresley Cole, Jacqueline Carey and Tricia Mills and Elizabeth Hoyt, and Teresa Medeiros...)

I like to read across the board--1st person, 3rd person, 3rd person with lots of POVs (as I mentioned, when reading an In Death book, I love to see what everyone from Eve to Roarke to Peabody and the creepy villain are thinking). Until I started writing, I certainly DIDN'T sit with a book analyzing why I loved it so much. But I'm committed to making each of my books the best it can, so a lot of times, if a book really spoke to to me, I'll back and analyze it--not that I'm trying to copy the author's style, which is a magic all her own, but just to see what worked really well that I might not be doing. And for me, no matter how well crafted a plot, it's the characters I respond most to, so I've come to the conclusion that if writers handle POV really well, it's one way of bringing the reader even more fully into the characters world, hopefully making them more emotionally invested in the situation! That's my hope anyway :-D

I am a writer, and I don't like rules. It's writing. It's an art form so it shouldn't have any hard set rules. I've never been bothered by point of view unless it was really poorly executed.

Personally I don't care. For me, if it flows well, I enjoy seeing what's in everyone's head (3rd person). I don't even have a problem with "head hopping" as many call it, because as long as it's executed well, I like seeing what the different characters are thinking. I don't like much first person, mostly because I feel disconnected. How can *I* do this or do that? It's not that it is too intimate, just that it has to be perfectly executed before I can enjoy it.

POV is one of those things that you don't notice until it's broken. And I consider myself BOTH a reader and a writer, so while it won't bump me out of a good story, it will make me scream in a bad story. A good book is like an omelette, if all of the ingredients (story elements) work well together you might not notice that it's a little light on the cheese.

Unfortunately, writers HAVE to care about POV because our editors care about it; writers who've been in the business for a while are given more editorial leeway, but new writers trying to sell their first manuscript are held to a different/higher editorial standard when it comes to POV. POV has changed over the decades--omnisicient (godlike) POV used to be a favorite device of literary and commercial fiction writers. (Ex: Little did Lila know that danger was just about the corner...) Now ommiscient POV feels dated and distances the reader from the character. Similarly, POV rules have tightened up over the past decade or so. New, young editors don't want to see "head-hopping." Again, it tends to distance the reader (although they might not realize it) by plopping them into the head of one character, then yanking them out and plopping them into the head of another character before they even get to know that first character. It's subtle, but the negative effect of head-hopping is real.

I like both first person and third person POV, but I get a little cranky when POV shifts between first and third. There are a few authors who have pulled off having the main character "speak" in first person and then shift to third person when the POV is from another character. I even have read a few books where two different main characters tell their stories in first person at seperate times, but the author always did an excellent job of letting the reader know which character was up to bat, so to speak. However, not all authors can make that switch successfully, and I hate to read books where the POV shifts awkwardly. Those books with awkward shifts make me feel like the author took a long break and then their train of thought derailed when they came back to the story.

I am a writer and POV is critical to me. It can make or break a story in workshops. While I can get bothered by some authors breaking the rules, sometimes I love it. Mainly, I feel that first person should be reserved for characters that really have something interesting to say and really know how to grab a reader. If they sound like everyone else, why make it first person? In books I read, I always notice the POV if it is done really well. I haven't come across many (if any at all) that I hated because of it, but if it was only okay, I can't recall what POV the story actually was in. But in general (with all arts), the more you learn about the craft, the less magical it can seem at times. But I still love reading and especially when authors do things I don't expect!

POV is crucial in all kinds of writing, not just fiction. But in fiction, you have to master is before you can go on to other things. Please don't assume it "gets taken care of in the editing" because nothing really gets edited any more. But be sure if a writer hasn't
mastered POV, the manuscript won't be sold. I HATE 1st person. I am angry with myself if I purchase a book and realize I didn't look at it closely enough to determine that it's 1st person. I also hate for my favorite authors to try 1st person. With 1st person you have the perpetual problem of the unreliable narrator. Coupled with the supreme ego present in genres like chick lit and male written romance, it's just a very unsatisfying read for me.

Barbara - great blog column!

I agree with you: a good story is all I really care about as a reader.

I think if a story or novel works, POV usually has worked. For the record, I love first person novels done well.

Some of the best:

Sophie's Choice
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
To Kill a Mockingbird
Rebecca
The Good Soldier
The Great Gatsby
The Lovely Bones

Well, I could go on and on.

Head-hopping doesn't usually work for me, but when a novelist handles it well, it can work fine -- because I am too immersed to notice it.

POV is crucial to the tone and understanding of a novel and while multiple POVs can be very fun, and useful plot-wise, I do think that using them lessens the depth of the reading experience overall. Years ago when I read Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, I followed the swirling POV as it danced around the room and ended up as the fabric of the hostages' ballgowns prostrate on the floor. The story faded for me and the arrogance of the author jumped right off the page.

I'm also a writer and I like to read and write in both 1st and 3rd POV's. Just not at the same time. :~) Hard to say which I like better, they're just different styles and both are fun. I think the biggest difference is that a 1st person novel is usually told from one character's perspective, right? The entire book is written through their eyes only. The thing I like about 3rd person is that you get multiple points of view and that adds texture to me. That said, I've read fantastic books on both sides of the POV fence!

And yeah, an unfortunate side effect of being a writer is that it sometimes distracts you from just enjoying a book. It's an overactive imagination at work I suppose, but it hasn't stopped me from reading. It's my favorite pasttime next to writing!

Once your head is filled with "the rules" of writing, it's hard to read anything and not partially dissect it. For me now, the sign of a good book is one I can read without mentally editing.

Great post. I love 1st person but for me it's all about the writing. As long as I'm deep in the character's head it can be 1st or 3rd. I know as a writer you have to be careful writing in 1st. For some agents and editors 1st is an instant turn off and may get you rejected. I think it's a shame because it really should be all about the story. I just finished Lisa Kleypas' Blue Eyed Devil and was deep into it before I noticed it was 1st person. I wasn't paying attention. I was just into the story.

Have no probs with either 1st or 3rd, but as a writer there's an immediacy and intimacy from writing in 1st that just can't be beat. But as someone said, if the character doesn't have a compelling voice -- and storyline! -- then 1st can really backfire.

And while I know most readers don't notice head-hopping 3rd, it drives me nuts as a reader -- and I can't even do it as a writer! I want to snuggle down with one character for at least several pages before finding out what the other one's thinking -- but that might have something to do with my fondness for 1st person. Want that intimacy! :)

I think I'm going to have to say that POV is not really something that I think about when choosing a book to read. I took a glance at all of the books on my bookshelves and it appears that a number of them are in 1st person. I don't ever consciously set out to read a book based on its POV. I love to read great stories and if the author can put me in their world and make me feel apart of it then I don't think POV matters. Great post Barbara.

As an avid reader/proofreader, I tend to notice grammar and syntax errors; however, it doesn't usually affect my enjoyment of the story. I think it's important to know the rules before you break them. For example, in his "On Writing," Stephen King admits to knowing the rules of writing, but not always using them. He finds that readability is more important than following rules, but that knowing the rules can help your writing process.

As an avid reader/proofreader, I tend to notice grammar and syntax errors; however, it doesn't usually affect my enjoyment of the story. I think it's important to know the rules before you break them. For example, in his "On Writing," Stephen King admits to knowing the rules of writing, but not always using them. He finds that readability is more important than following rules, but that knowing the rules can help your writing process.

I guess I'm the odd person out, here, but as a reader, I basically won't read a book written in the 1st person POV.

It seems like I'm too much in my "own head," when reading "I did so and so," and I want to be in the character's head when I'm reading.

As an author, I don't know if I could even write in the 1st person. Maybe I should try it!

I write in first person because I want to convey how my primary character experiences the world. I want to see the journey through her eyes. We all experience the real world this way, and I enjoy crawling inside someone else for awhile. Some odd things happen in first person. From time to time the narrator will be relating an experience, and the reader will see something that the narrator herself missed, perhaps someone else's hidden agenda or a misinterpretation of the meaning of another character's words or actions. So when I crawl inside a character, I can see her experience augmented and informed by my own, which can be enlightening and surprising. I am also fascinated by the "

As a reader, I don't care if it's written in 1st or 3rd as long as it's a great story. As an author, I switch POV between characters (as opposed to "head hopping" back and forth) and occasionally use omniscient if it fits. My editor will sometimes ask that I smooth out transitions if she finds it jarring, but that's about it. The most important thing to me as a writer is telling the story well so the reader barely notices reading, she is so immersed in the story. As a reader, I want to be so immersed that I don't notice the mechanics of the writing.

Sorry about truncated post. Here's the rest:
I am also fascinated by the "internal process," the way we talk to ourselves when puzzling something out, or trying to understand someone else. First person lets me transcribe that internal dialogue, and my characters tend to mull over the BIG questions, like, "What is the true meaning of love?" and "Why am I here?"

When a romance writer enters an RWA contest, many of them run into judges that I like to call the POV police. If the writer even tries to change POV during a scene they get their hands slapped.<br><br>

I'm not a POV purist, but if someone is going to change POV in a scene I want it to be done smoothly. Jarring POV shifts can be noticed by writers and readers. Normally, when a reader suddenly doesn't know who is thinking something, it usually is because of a POV shift that wasn't done smoothly.<br><br>

I don't jump POV very often in scenes, but I don't mind if a writer does as long it works.<br><br>

Like everyone else, my thoughts are, give me a good story. Make me forgot all the craft rules that have been crammed into my brain. If it pulls me in and keeps me, I don’

When a romance writer enters an RWA contest, many of them run into judges that I like to call the POV police. If the writer even tries to change POV during a scene they get their hands slapped.

I'm not a POV purist, but if someone is going to change POV in a scene I want it to be done smoothly. Jarring POV shifts can be noticed by writers and readers. Normally, when a reader suddenly doesn't know who is thinking something, it usually is because of a POV shift that wasn't done smoothly.

I don't jump POV very often in scenes, but I don't mind if a writer does as long it works.

Like everyone else, my thoughts are, give me a good story. Make me forgot all the craft rules that have been crammed into my brain. If it pulls me in and keeps me, I don’

I LOVE first person, and I know that makes me an oddity. :) I write first person and while I'll read either first or third, I find myself drawn more to the first person narrators. That being said, I also love what I believe is called Third Person "Deep" POV.

This column was extremely thought-provoking and well done.

I'd lean toward third person because for me it allows me to be more descriptive with places and set a mood more effectively, but to echo the other comments here, the most important thing is that it's well written. Generally, if you NOTICE the POV, they're doing it wrong. It's like Ted Danson showing up in the middle of "Saving Private Ryan" and the entire audience saying as one, "Hey, that's Ted Danson" and being reminded that what they're watching is only a movie.

As a reader I don't mind the switching of pov in a scene if there is a good reason for it, but if an author switches from each person's pov everytime they speak so we can get in there head or see through their eyes and it doesn't add to the scene at hand it is annoying to me. I know it is often revered to as head hopping but there are other ways to do this and good writers find ways to do that in order to improve the pace of the story. If I feel like the scene is a like a ping pong match I don't like it as a reader.. Though one of the best authors who seems to do this flawlessly IMHO is Suzanne Brockmann, some of her scenes with so many Seals and operatives sharing their internal thoughs can be crazy but she pulls it off in such a way the reader is not confused. For me there has to be a reason and that reason couldn't be solved in any other manner then maybe it will work to head hop or have more than one pov per scene, and I am not talking about a scene in one pov and then switch it to a new scene which is the old scene but in the other character's pov, that is different. Just my two cents.