How do I make my stories more interesting? How can I grasp the reader into the book?

Build great characters. They need to be larger than life. If your readers  identify or empathise with the characters they will keep reading. That's the key. I once read a thriller in which a man was murdered on page four, and by the time it happened I felt bad about it. That's skilful writing.

Be sure to involve your readers' emotions. One of my tutors gave this advice: "Make 'em laugh; make 'em cry; make 'em sweat." Don't underestimate the value of sweat. Tension drags the reader into the story.

Take a leaf out of Tolkien's style. He was a master of changing pace. After a period of prolongued tension -- by both the characters and the reader -- he would insert an element of rest. So the chase from Weather Top was followed by a sojourn in Rivendell; the journey south, with its perils, was followed by the beauty of Lothlorien. So play with your readers' emotions but then give them a reward, something they can relax with.

That's not all of it, of course, but it's a start.

Although I'm not a writer but a heavy reader, I think a good strong Prologue will get people to really grab it and want them want to read the whole book ! Put your all into a great Prologue and more people will be grabbed and want to read your story or book!

You have to add details so the reader can picture what is going on, but not too much detail. I bought a book because the story sounded interesting. I never made it through the first chapter because they amount of detail was too much. The beginning took place in a book store and they spent a whole page on putting books away. Then the person went to make a cup of tea, They listed the ten different types of tea available. It was excruciating! I should have wrote to the publisher and asked the editor be fired.

I agree with Rooster Cogburn about the prologue. Another technique is to use foreshadowing. It's kind of giving the reader a sense of what's to come. Ex. If something bad was going to happen to the character, a black cat might cross their path, and if they're not superstitious it would be even better, because they think nothing of it. Oh and I forgot to mention