So stories are just about the only effective means through which we gain knowledge to survive because life is put in a story in an interesting and exciting way like it is. How ever, Every body has a different definition for the word, story. Mine would be "life put on a piece of paper with imagination and sensitivity". Even though almost all the authors follow the same basic plot triangle in their writing, there are books that I forget about, the instant I close the book and there are some that I don't even read a second page of. While on the other hand, there are books that I have read many years ago that I still remember and there are one's that I stayed up all night for, to read, not being able to take my eyes off. For me, to like a book, at least one of the following elements must be present: real-life characters, a lot of drama or suspense, fantasy and/or science fiction and powerful use of words.
Characters that are realistic and that can grab reader's imagination tend to have great effect and influence on readers. Real-life characters in a story have tremendous impact on what we think of each other and ourselves. Stories introduce us to people we've never met. But we still have many things similar to them. When a person sees himself or herself in one or more of the characters, the interest in the story increases because it's almost like a book written about the person and for the person. A story shows us how events change people and how people change events. Hence, it helps people to explore themselves because the stories usually explain how certain states of affairs occurred and evidences of why. Thus, people not only get entertainment they sought for, but also get awareness about their doings and the consequences of them. One such story with amazing characters is "Thank You, M"am" written by Langston Hughes, one of my favorite stories.
A lot of Drama and suspense are important because that's what keeps the readers interested in the book.