How do you choose your books?

njmagas said:

So I'm curious, fellow book lovers, how do you choose your books?

For the sake of the premise, let's not include recommendations. You're in a book store, searching out a new author in your favorite genre. What sways your decision?

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If I'm not searching for a book I've heard of (either by way of recommendation or by author I already read releasing a new title), just wandering through the bookstore, I'll take stock of the titles in the SF/F section, and scan the horror and lit sections. I look for titles that pop and covers that draw me (art, font, design), and then I head to the back to read the summary.

Something I just realized the other day is that if the back cover doesn't name a character, my interest plummets. There were a couple of books I had via the World Fantasy Convention goodie bag that had back cover blurbs that didn't tell me anything about who peopled the novel. Packed up and delivered to the used book store.

Then it's the front page, reading a sentence, then the paragraph, and possibly a flip through the inside to scan dialogue or prose. If I'm waffling, author blurbs might sway me depending on who they are.

But I have to really want it to pick it up. I'm dealing with a TBR pile, both physical and e-book, topping 80 titles. Hell, I have a whole selection process for what I'm going to read next, never mind buy.

• recommendations
• review sites (I'll admit, the covers usually draw me)
• faffing around on Amazon and link hopping

Once I get a book in my sights:

1. read the 1-star Amazon reviews
2. if I discover there may be problematic content, seek out spoilers
3. draw up list based on Amazon research and head to bookstore to get a hands-on look at it
4. page 69 it
5. purchase, if it passes muster

For nonfiction, it usually happens this way: I'll buy or "window shop" a book for sale at Amazon.com, and take note of the books displayed on the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" list. If one of those books catches my eye, I'll click it and check it out. If it seems to be up my alley, I'll add it to my Amazon Wish List. I've done this dozens of times, for books in my nonfiction fields of interest -- U.S. history, Asian history (mostly Vietnam and China), Latin America, and international relations.

When it comes to novels and short stories it's pretty much random. I lean toward so-called literary works from the 20th century, and some crime fiction. So I keep mental notes of authors and titles that seem interesting; then I'll read fan reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and blogs to get the inside scoop.

I generally go to the book shop with a free mind. I browse the fiction section - half the pleasure of buying a book for me is the act of looking at all the possibilities. I stop at familiar authors, titles that catch my eye, sometimes by the cover and I always stop to look at the ones that have won prizes recently, are recommended by the bookshop and the ones they put on tables.

I have a vague idea of what I'd like: something with a bit of romance that's poetically done.

Sometimes I can be quite specific like I want either a 3rd person or 1st person narrative. I might want an historical one, I might want more of a psychological one. I might want a female protagonist or a male one.

Sometimes I come away with a book that wasn't anything like the vague idea I had in mind because the blurb at the back sounded fascinating.

njmagas said:

....
For the sake of the premise, let's not include recommendations. You're in a book store, searching out a new author in your favorite genre. What sways your decision?


...

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here's the thing: Those are almost ALWAYS how I pick my materials though. Reviews and recommendations get me to new authors, and authors I already know I choose to read new material by, or not.

I almost never randomly browse stuff, but if I do, I read the back flap to see what it is about, then the first couple pages....but usually I either have surplus books or buy something from my "to-read" list, which is all based upon recommendation

Almost every novel I buy is used. Salvation Army, yard sales, etc.

I look for writers I like: Child, King, Lehane. Stuff I missed. King's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon; Lehane's short story collection Coronado.

Or I look for novels I haven't read yet that I know were best sellers like Gone Girl, Odd Thomas, The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time.

Once in a while a title/back blurb catches my interest. I've read some really nifty novels based on that: The Truth Machine, Last Things, Jerry Spinelli's Wringer.

Sometimes I look for suspense/thrillers not knowing the writer. I discovered Harlan Coben that way.

njmagas said:

A lot of the time in discussion we talk about the faceless reader who will decide which books will get a home and which books will be forever alone. We fear that this reader may shelve our book if the first page, or even the first paragraph doesn't fulfill x,y & z.

So I'm curious, fellow book lovers, how do you choose your books?

For the sake of the premise, let's not include recommendations. You're in a book store, searching out a new author in your favorite genre. What sways your decision?


Personally, my decision has always been made by the summary on the back. If the summary is witty and hints at a cliche free plot with a decent character, then I'm usually sold.

Occasionally I'll flip somewhere in the middle of the book, for a look at the writer's style, but the first page of the book has never influenced my decision to buy.

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I usually read the the back cover, especially if it's a new author(or at least one I haven't read before). If it sound interesting enough, then I might check the first page. However, usually the back blurb is enough. Also an interesting/good looking cover tends to catch my eye a lot of the time.

Recommendations from authors I respect, prize winners, overlooked gems that get passed on.

The real problem is choosing what NOT to read!

I become very overwhelmed in bookstores, picking up book after book and reading dozens of synopses. There is just so much to choose from, that there have been times where even two sentences of a synopsis wasn't enough to keep my attention.

I am also bound by price and rarely buy hardbacks. I usually stop by the discount tables (buy 1, get 1 free, etc.) just to see if anything interests me. I have found many good books that way, although the deep discount (clearance) tables rarely yield anything noteworthy. I guess that's why those books end up there.

Depends for me.
Fantasy:

- Go to book store, pick random books or names I know/recognise/have heard of, open and read a random page - not always the first, then read the blurb, look at the cover and then look at the price. And damn but the ones over £8.99 usually go back on the shelf

Romance:
- Usually through amazon/harlequin - read the given excerpts.

YA -
Goodreads.

Covers grab me the most. I look for a cover that I like, then I'll read the blurb on the back. If I'm unconvinced, I'll read the first page or two to get a feel for the tone/style. Present tense or an unlikable narrator usually makes me put the book back on the shelf.

Books tend to find me these days, rather than vice versa. I've got a list
in my head of books that I'd like to read, but know I'll never get time.
Friends pass books to me that they think I'll like. I'll read whatever is
suggested in my monthly book club, wheras in the past I'd be a bit sniffy about certain authors.
I used to spend hours in bookshops, pouring over the description, and have spend far too much time reading reviews on Amazon.
But no longer. I have a shelf of titles I haven't read yet, maybe most of them will remain unread. I find I try and pick something that suits whatever my mood is.

1. Cover
2. Interesting title
3. Description on the back/inside jacket

That's my process for completely random book selections. I know it's not fair to judge a book by its cover, but I can't help it I like pretty things...

JRehnay said:

1. Cover
2. Interesting title
3. Description on the back/inside jacket

That's my process for completely random book selections. I know it's not fair to judge a book by its cover, but I can't help it I like pretty things...

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Pretty much how I do it too.
I find step 1 and 2 to be interchangeable.

So far, I haven't not liked a book chosen in this way.

I'm a total sucker for pretty things too. That said not all covers I pick are "pretty".