If you look at the more modern view of magic, part of the “cost” as it were, is more about the wielder and the intention behind the use of magic. Morality is always going to come into play when you start to manipulate the world around you. But there are always varying levels of morality when it comes to people.

Kim may feel certain magic costs a soul because it’s not 100% selfless. You state there’s no such thing. But I may look at an act of magic, as something that does good and, even if it’s not selfless because I enjoy the doing, is my soul being given away piecemeal? I’d say no. Others might disagree.

By the same token, I do believe that dark magics will, eventually, claim the wielder. Not as a question of morality. Modern magic does hold the tenets to “Do no harm” but there are always those who are willing to break that rule for their own selfish reasons. I don’t know if people who delve into darker magics for those reasons are affected by morality.

But I do believe that they are, like serial killers, subject to deepening levels of chaos and disassociation the longer it goes on. That may be because they think the magic is their to control and nature abhors limitations.

Just my thoughts.

Srsly that rocked. I loved that. The whole thing was great!

Whew. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s take a look at some of your (excellent) questions.

1: Paperback all the way. Hardcover books are vanity pieces and consumer traps for people who can’t wait to read a new book from their favorite author and are coerced by an archaic system to shell out more bucks for a brick they can’t even fit in their carry-on luggage. Hardcover is bourgeois, paperback is proletarian–in this instance let’s spring for utility, knowing that the marrow of the stuff is the same.

2: There are a few things that separate my books into two piles: “books that I have finished” and “books that I intend to finish on a later date but let’s be honest that will probably never happen.” The first is a sense of mystery, and not in a strictly whodunnit kinda sense. Most–if not all–of my favorite novels have a strong narrative pull, leaving the reader hungrily reading to find out how events will unfold. This can occur in a weighty sort of book (How will Harry defeat Voldemort?) or it can occur in the most mundane setting (What’s going to happen to Mrs. Dalloway?)–the subject matter isn’t so much important as the quality of characters and the overall storytelling skills of the author.

That being said, there are individual elements that make me truly love a book. I think humor is vastly underrated and absolutely essential to all but the most dour and solemn of stories. Any novel that neglects humor is missing one piece of the human experience and can never feel entirely true (that’s true in the converse as well, though it’s rarer to encounter stories with no drama than no humor).

My other favorite element of a novel is dialogue–you can describe all you want, but the true essence of a character and a relationship comes out in the words they speak. Good dialogue covers a multitude of sins.

3: I think the most important thing in a writer’s style is clarity, a virtue I think can be achieved in any number of styles. I think contemporary literary style has certainly swung toward the minimalist end of the spectrum for the past two decades (thanks, Raymond Carver), and when this is done well it can be quite beautiful and clear. Of course, it’s just as possible to be obscure and difficult with a few words as it is with a lot, so I’m not sure that there’s any one style that lays claim to “good writing.” My favorite authors (Salinger, Rushdie, Chabon, Foer) write incredibly differently but are each totally lucid, and every sentence is a thrill to read, whether it’s in the stark, funny dialogue of Salinger or the labyrinthine, kinetically charged prose of Rushdie.

4: Long, overwrought descriptive passages. BO-OR-RING. This is probably just a poor reflection of myself and my immersion in our ADD visual culture, but hey–I is what I is. Also, attempts at profundity (here’s the message, kids!) that haven’t earned it.

Character development is my big draw. Sure I’m a sucker for the love story, but I won’t care about the love story if I can’t find a way to connect with the characters. Dialogue falls under this as well; if the characters are properly developed by the author, they will say the right things to each other.

I like a mix of styles, but prefer less “literature-y” writing. I appreciate it when older books are written this way, but when a book that is “inside” our time attempts that feel, it seems fake.

What I love about a book is also what I can hate: humor/wit/sarcasm. Yes these things are wonderful when executed well. However, when an author *attempts* humor but fails, it undoes everything for me.