How do you decide which books to read?

the poll is sort of flawed, as it forces you to pick a single factor.....

I go by:

author/familiarity
word of mouth
reviews
genre
blurb/first pages

but any or all of them....

There are so many books I want to read that I haven't yet, I don't see just looking at a blurb or review and just going with it before I die. I basically have a to-read list that exceeds my probable expiration date, and it keeps getting longer, not shorter.

I read writers that are liked by writers that I like.

MookyMcD said:

There are so many books I want to read that I haven't yet, I don't see just looking at a blurb or review and just going with it before I die. I basically have a to-read list that exceeds my probable expiration date, and it keeps getting longer, not shorter.

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This.


And also what quicklime said.

I couldn't respond because my main sources weren't listed. First: writers whose work I've enjoyed before. Next: reviews--professional, not reader. Third (which may have been listed): Recommendations from friends.

What quicklime said. Other than that, if I simplify my process slightly:

I rarely have time to browse anymore, unless I end up in a library or bookstore for another reason and take a minute to look through (I don't really browse online; it's not enjoyable for me). And my TBR list is long enough that I don't *have* to browse. So how does someone get on my TBR list?

#1: I have to know about the book. This is the hardest hurdle, probably. Since I'm not browsing, nowadays I usually only learn about new-to-me books/authors if they makes a splash in fandom or among the people I follow online (reviewers, SFF people on Twitter, etc.). So popularity doesn't make me want to read something per se, but a certain degree of popularity among people I interact with is unfortunately a necessary condition, as otherwise I just won't know about the book.

(Oh! Now that I interact with a lot of authors online, I also know about a fair few books because friends or acquaintances wrote them, which is cool. )

#2: Sample. Sample sample saaaaaample. I usually skip blurbs and don't attach much weight to covers. But I'll ALWAYS read the sample (or the first few pages, if I'm looking at a paper copy). And I'm exceedingly picky. If a book doesn't grab me on the first page, it's SOOL (if the book comes highly recommended or is written by a friend, I might give it a little longer, but I can't remember that ever changing my opinion from a "no" to a "yes"). If I like the first page, on the other hand, I'll read the second page. If I get to the end of the excerpt and am still hooked (or find myself just starting to read the whole book, if I'm holding a hard copy), then I want it. The only books I buy without reading the sample are books by authors I already know I like.

I've become a big put-downer in my old age, btw, which I never was when I was younger. But I'm so short on time now, and there are so many good books I want to read, that I just won't bother if a book starts being the least bit of a slog. For any given library haul, usually half of them will end up returned unfinished. (I feel uncomfortably like this might be a bad quality to have as a person, but on the other hand, I've become a lot more unforgiving of my reading material and am just not willing to push through a book I've become lukewarm on. Eek!)

I'm another whose biggest question is "have I already enjoyed this author?" (or more usually "Has this author I enjoyed put anything else out recently?)

And then Goodreads. whatever, I know it's the great destroyer and whatnot, but I find checking out the middling reviews on a book that's caught my eye through advertising or random recs has, for me, a better track record than relying on friend recs or professional reviewers, or even reading samples.

Initially, I usually put a plea out on facebook asking for recommendations from friends. I have a lot of very well read friends and it usually turns up something I want to read.

Once I have an idea of where to look, I then read the blurb, and sometimes that's enough and I buy it. Sometimes I think 'this could be ok' and get a sample. Usually when I think that, the book is just ok.

Of your list, I would say: yes.

There's not one of those that is consistantly the deciding factor. I bought the Robin Hood Hacker books entirely on a friend's say-so. I read Dan Brown's books because they were popular. I got into Sue Monk Kidd because of my church book club. I bought the first Sookie Stackhouse book because the cover looked cool and the description was interesting.

I hardly ever buy books new. At my favourite second hand book store, I cruise always the same aisles: Northern books, nature writing, and contemporary fiction.
Sometimes a radio interview with an author will pique my interest and I'll write down the title in hopes of seeing it on the shelves of the store. About once a year, I'll order in a book that REALLY sounds interesting to me (and which inevitably tends to disappoint me). Internet reviews and general hype don't do much for me.

I decide what to read based on my mood--if I'm busy or preoccupied, it's usually fluffier things, and when I have a lot of time to devote to reading, I'll pick something more thought-provoking.
Overall, I perfer non-fiction to fiction.

.. popularity is most definitely a consideration !

If a book is all the rage I'll make a point of avoiding it.

I voted "other". My answer would be: "Wander to the section of the bookstore/library that holds the sort of book I feel like reading. Pluck a likely-looking title from the shelf. Read the back cover. Open book to a random page and read a few lines. Interesting? Engaging? Buy/check out book. Makes me want to go all Oedipus on my eyes with a spork? Replace book where it was and try again."

ETA: I've also been known to pick up books that I've seen displayed here by their authors. I guess that would be another "other".

*plans on beating the little elf in my computer with a stick later for its insistence that "spork" is not a word.*

Like others, it depends, and there isn't one particular factor that I consider at the exclusion of others.

If I'm wandering through the bookstore, I'll pick up a book I'm not familiar with because I like the cover, the title sounds interesting, I remember seeing it mentioned somewhere, or I'm familiar with the author's other work.

I usually become familiar with a book after seeing it reviewed or hearing about it. I'll give something a try if the premise or subject sounds interesting to me, or if I've read the author's other work and have liked it.

Before I buying something, I will usually take a quick look inside, and maybe read the first page if I'm able. I sometimes look at reviews on Amazon, but that isn't a huge selling point for me. I mostly pay attention to Amazon reviews when it comes to buying specific editions of books.

I did vote, but if I could vote for my top three reasons, they would be, in order:

1) Do I like this author's stuff? (This requires I've read the author before.)
2) If I do not know this author, or have merely a moderately-positive impression of them, then does this particular book sound like a book I'd enjoy, based on the back cover and the first pages?
3) Did someone recommend this book to me in a manner that made me think I might like it too? (i.e. not everyone's tastes coincide with mine)

I'll start with if it's an author I already liked.

If it's an unfamiliar author (something I'm always willing to take a chance with) I'll go first by genre, then by what the overall story seems to be about.

I don't tend to read reviews to see whether a book is good or bad so much as for getting a sense of the overall story.

Then I'll skim through a few random pages to see if I like how the author writes.

Only rarely do I ever go by friends' recommendations since I'm pickier than they tend to be and I'll only read a book *because* it's a best-seller if I'm trying to figure out what all fuss is about.

As for covers, certain covers will definitely attract my attention, as will titles. In a bookshop it might very well be what makes me pick it up to begin with. However if there's nothing else to it, it's back on the shelf immediately.

I read the plot summary and check out goodreads reviews.

I tend to read books recommended or blurbed by authors I like. They also have to be authors I trust- for example, I like Maureen Johnson's books, but she is a big fan of Cassandra Clare, whose writing I don't much care for.

I also tend to look for new books by authors I already know I like.

And, once in a while, I will pick up a book based just on the summary and a sample. This only happens in a library or a physical bookstore, though- never online.

I chose friend recommendation, but there are actually several factors. One is if I'm familiar with the author already, and probably next is if the book is discussed in something else I'm reading. Those criteria alone are enough to keep me so flooded with books I don't need more reasons to add to the "to be read" pile (or file, now that I have a shiny new Kindle for Christmas! Thanks Mumsey and Daddy-poo.)

I picked friends recommendations, but many of them work for me. Though living in Japan and having to buy online, makes the browsing in a book store hard.

When I am about to make a large order to stock up on new books, I'll ask for recommendations. Otherwise, I just keep my ears open about what people are reading and talking about.

About two thirds of the books I buy are by authors I know and like. The rest are from the TBR list that friends help me make.

Looks like I interpreted this question differently.

How do you decide which books to read?

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implies to me that I've already bought the books and now they're in a stack by my bed and I need to choose one now.

Which prompts my 'other' response and me saying 'whatever strikes my mood when I look at it, maybe read the first few pages and see if it's suiting me at that moment'.

I use a variety of methods. I read book jackets; I read reviews; I follow recommendations that are sort of like - if you like Author A, you'll prob. like Author B. I also get recommendations from friends. So I use several diff. methods.

I voted "other".

I do sometimes take several of the poll options into account, but for me the biggest single factor is my own previous experience/knowledge of the author (for example, I'll buy any new John le Carré book on its publication date, regardless of any of the factors mentioned above).

I read a lot of "professional"/print-media book reviews, but am normally interested in online book reviews only if I know/recognize the reviewer.

It depends....

Quite often I will buy a reference book from a secondhand stall or a charity shop 'because it might be useful one day'. I will also sometimes buy non-fiction books reviewed in New Scientist or BBC History mag because they're reviewed by experts in the relevant fields.

When choosing fiction, I will buy books by my friends (usually doesn't work out), books recommended by friends (hardly ever works out), or books where I've seen so much rubbish already I'm deluded by contrast into thinking they might be good (never works out). Books by writers whose work I've previously liked works out a bit better. But not always. (I'm looking at you, Greg Egan)

Bestsellerdom is only useful as a guide to a book I can be pretty sure I won't like.

Since I got my ebook-reader I don't really go to bookshops anymore and I don't have hard-core reading friends, so most of my recommendations come from on line social netwroks about book, reading and writing. This forum, blogs, tumblr, tvtropes, goodreads.