What makes you buy a book?

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Adagio

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Is it the blurb, the hook, the first chapter you skim through, the style, the picture of the photogenic author on the back cover ... all of the above? I'm referring here to a new writer you know nothing, or almost nothing, about. You certainly know nothing about plot and character development in that book unless you read it in the bookstore before you part with your money.

For me, the blurb works (it tells me what the book is about), as well as the style. I don't buy many books written in the 1st pov -- not that I'm biased against it, but I'm not writing in this pov for the time being. Exception, Pat Conroy.

The hook doesn't work either. I'm sure that beyond the hook (or lack of) there's a story in those three hundreds or so pages. But the style, yes. Which brings me to another topic: style, prose, voice, and what it means to you. To me, it is important, decisive when buying the book.

Adagio
 

dgrintalis

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When I'm strolling through the bookstore, the title usually grabs me first. When I pull it off the shelf, I check out the cover, then read the back cover. If it sounds interesting, I usually open to the first chapter and read a bit, to see if the writing engages me. The story doesn't need to be wham-bam from the beginning, but the author's voice needs to grab me.
 

Sophia

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My eye is drawn first by the cover. I rarely read the blurb, partly because I've found in the past that many blurbs don't accurately reflect what happens in the book, but also as I don't want to read story spoilers, but want to be surprised by what happens. As I tend to look in particular genre aisles, I know that the book will generally be something I'm likely to be interested in.

I always read the first page to see if it hooks me, and then a paragraph from a random page or two from the middle of the book to see if the standard of writing is high -- that is, if the word choices and dialogue demonstrate that the author knows what they're doing with language. As I read from a writer's perspective as well, I also look for whether I can learn something from the book. An expertly-written book will always inspire me to push myself further in my own writing.
 

ishtar'sgate

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When I'm strolling through the bookstore, the title usually grabs me first. When I pull it off the shelf, I check out the cover, then read the back cover. If it sounds interesting, I usually open to the first chapter and read a bit, to see if the writing engages me. The story doesn't need to be wham-bam from the beginning, but the author's voice needs to grab me.
What dgrintalis said. Exactly how I make my choice.
 

sunandshadow

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I also look at basically the same things in the same order as dgrintalis. Only the last bit is different - I don't care about voice much, the content is what needs to grab my interest from the beginning. If the topic/focus of the first few pages of the book is boring or disagreeable that's a bad omen for the rest of the book.
 

fadeaccompli

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And another seconding of the title -> cover -> blurb -> first few pages process. It's about the only way to approach new books when I'm browsing in the library or on the bookshelf. (If I already know the author, I'm a lot more likely to either buy their book automatically ("Oh, look! Something new by Connie Willis/Elizabeth Bear/Terry Pratchett!") or go straight to the blurb on the back, to see if, say, it's the kind of Stephen King book I'm going to want to read or not.)

I've seen terrible covers on books of authors I like, so perhaps it's unfair to treat books this way... but covers do tell me about what kind of reader the marketers think will want to read this book. If the cover highlights a man who looks like Duke Nukem posing in mecha armor, it's probably not the same kind of story as the one where the cover has a woman in overalls banging a wrench against the insides of a spaceship, even if both back cover blurbs claims that it's a story of interstellar war and intrigue.

In the library, rather than the bookstore, there are a few other things I look for, especially in the YA aisles. If the library has six identical copies of a book on its shelf? It's probably because it gets checked out a lot, and I'll automatically go grab a copy to look at even if the title didn't pull me in. Big books with glossy covers and the title done in a fancy font? Probably something fantasy/supernatural, so I'll pick that up over one with a spine that implies it's another book about dealing with parental divorce. Several books with very similar font/color/size in a row? Now there's a series, and if it's a hardcover series, it's not a Babysitter's Club sort of thing; time to pull out the first one and see what convinced people to keep reading for seven books about these characters.

...all that being said, when I go into a bookstore or library, 90% of my purchases come from a list I brought in with me, and said list is composed by adding a new title to the Giant List Of Books I Want To Read every time I read a review of a book and go, "Huh, that's cool. Maybe I'll read that too." And by "review" I mean everything from a full professional review on the Tor blog to some friend of mine mentioning that they're really enjoying reading this quirky book on lobsters. I'll ignore a bad cover--and not read the blurb at all, being wary of spoilers--if I've heard someone refer to a book positively before.
 

Hip-Hop-a-potamus

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My eye is drawn first by the cover. I rarely read the blurb, partly because I've found in the past that many blurbs don't accurately reflect what happens in the book, but also as I don't want to read story spoilers, but want to be surprised by what happens. As I tend to look in particular genre aisles, I know that the book will generally be something I'm likely to be interested in.

I always read the first page to see if it hooks me, and then a paragraph from a random page or two from the middle of the book to see if the standard of writing is high -- that is, if the word choices and dialogue demonstrate that the author knows what they're doing with language. As I read from a writer's perspective as well, I also look for whether I can learn something from the book. An expertly-written book will always inspire me to push myself further in my own writing.

Yep, me too! I've found I tend to be drawn to fuzzy retouched photos, especially if they're sort of sepia-toned (think "The Alienist" or "Devil In the White City"). Those tend to be the interesting historical-themed items that I enjoy the most (and they're also what I write, so win-win, eh?).
 

Sevvy

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I was doing just this today, trying to spend a gift certificate at Barnes and Noble, which is swiftly becoming one of my least favorite bookstores (at least the local one is).

The book I grabbed off the shelf--amidst crap-tastic books about vampires or magic detectives--caught my attention because of the title first, then I quickly read the back blurb. When I didn't see the words "vampire," "was brought back to fight evil etc." or "hot and sexy", I decided to get it because I felt that I had to buy something with my x-mas present. I still have $35 dollars left on that gift card too, that's how few things were able to grab my attention and make me want to spend someone else's money. Seriously. I felt really sad when I left that store, because it used to be I could spend $100 in ten minutes. Now everything in the sci-fi/fantasy section looks the same.
 

TrickyFiction

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Usually, a number of recommendations from friends, the cover, an intriguing first few pages and interesting back-of-book blurb. Large pictures of the author on the back tend to turn me off. Oh... and shiny. I am always drawn to shiny.
 

Kathleen42

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Cover will make me pick it up. Blurb will make me crack it open. First paragraph plus random paragraphs on random pages will be what makes me buy.
 

Kalyke

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I've always been pretty poor. I rarely buy books that are not reference books. I read mainly borrowed library books. What I look at The genre. I do not read any Fantasy, YA, or SF. That is an automatic fail. I rarely read "genre" as well. I look for a solid general fiction, suspense or literature book involving some problem that sounds believeable. I'm sick of fantasy. I am pretty sure I am at that age.

I am attracted to books like "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." and "The Cement Garden."

Type (genre), cover art, blurb, and then scan random pages for interesting writing and sex scenes. anything like "He held her firmly as the mud boiled benieth them," is an immediat check out.
 
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PoppysInARow

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Cover makes me pick it up, and/or title. I mostly read fantasy, and so the cover can usually help me pick them out. Then I read the back. It needs a good hook. I love one liner hooks. Then after the blurb, I read the first page. If it makes it that far, I'll usually buy it.
 

kaitie

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Covers, titles, blurb. If I'm in a bookstore and see a cool cover, that might be enough for me to pick up the book. Generally, an awesome sounding title will do it, too. Otherwise, I go around reading blurbs on the backs of books (regardless of cover) and pick out the ones that sound interesting. I never read pages first.
 

Libbie

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1. Title
2. Cover art
3. Skimming through to look for quality prose

That's about it. Oh, and I almost never take a chance on an author who nobody has recommended to me unless it's a historical novel. I'll typically only read outside the historical-novel genre if a friend whose opinion I trust tells me to check out X author. The reason I'm more open to experimentation with historicals is because I just love the genre so much, I'll forgive most faux pas for the sake of spending some time in history.

But title and cover most definitely catch my eye first.
 

kuwisdelu

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1. Recommendation (friends or other authors I enjoy).
2. Style/voice/writing.
10. Blurb.

If the writing's good enough, I don't care much about the story.

Am I the only one that doesn't give a rat's ass about cover art or title?
 

Samantha's_Song

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After reading the blurb, or maybe someone telling me about the story, is what would make me buy the book. For instance, I watched the film, 'Atonement', the other week and I commented about it on my Facebook page. A Facebook friend, who happens to be another AWer, told me how the book was better than the film as we see it from the writer character's pov. That interested me, as I thought she was a bit of a cow in the end of the film for telling lies about the people she'd wronged, so I'll be buying the book in the new year.
 

profen4

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in order:
1) Cover (If the cover sucks I don't even pick it up)
2) Title
3) back copy blurb
4)first chapter or at least 10 pages (which I absolutely read in the store)
 

Richard White

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One thing I can say . . .

I've never bought a book on-line unless I already knew the author and liked their stuff.

If you're not getting the books in the store so I can (see the cover, read the first few pages, read the blurb, take your choice), I'm not going to buy it.

I don't "cruise" B&N.com looking for new books.

I just don't.
 

Libbie

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Am I the only one that doesn't give a rat's ass about cover art or title?

I'll still read a book with a bad cover or a bad title, but as far as what catches my eye when I'm browsing in a book store and trying out authors I don't know, yes, title and cover do play a large part of drawing me in. They are, after all, the packaging in which the product is displayed. Business people the world over will tell you that attention-grabbing packaging is very important in selling products.
 

Jamesaritchie

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The only reason I can see to buy a book is because you think it's going to be a great read. I don't buy books because I like cover art, though I may pick up a book because of it. Same with jacket copy.

I buy a book because it sounds like one I'll like, but only if I start reading page one and do not want to stop reading.
 

charlotte49ers

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If I'm browsing blindly, the cover gets my attention first, then an intriguing title, but I don't buy it unless the blurb on the book jacket looks good. Sometimes I'll scan the first couple of pages, too, to make sure I like the writing style.

I don't BUY a book because of the cover, but it gets my attention initially.
 

AryaT92

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Is it the blurb, the hook, the first chapter you skim through, the style, the picture of the photogenic author on the back cover ... all of the above? I'm referring here to a new writer you know nothing, or almost nothing, about. You certainly know nothing about plot and character development in that book unless you read it in the bookstore before you part with your money.

First thing that draws me in is the front cover / title. Then it's the blurb on the back to keep me going, then skimming first chapter. I don't care what the author looks like.
 

AnonymousWriter

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1. Reviews.
2. Blurb.
3. Good opening.
4. Good style/voice.

Cover art and title may attract me to pick some books up, but the other four still play a key role in deciding which books to buy. I don't care about the author's picture (whether there is one, where it is, what they look like). I just like a great story and fantastic writing.
 

CK Matthews

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1. Reviews
2. Cover
3. Author Bio

I always read reviews about anything I am thinking about purchasing. Amazon is great for this. Not all the reviews are helpful, but they are usually written by regular people. I also like a nice book cover. It's not necessary, but it does get me to initially look at the book. Lastly, I'm always curious as to the author's bio. I want to know where they are from and what other things they've published.
 
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