What gets you yourself to read or not read a novel?

SAWeiner

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To All-

Too many of us have written good books, but then have the problem that no one wants to read what we wrote. There have also been few scientific studies on why people choose specific works. So, I just want to survey people at Absolute Write: What gets you yourself to pick up a novel to read it? Also, conversely, what makes you decide not to read a book you were thinking about? I want to hear about how and why you yourself make choices. The more people who respond here the better.
 

Chris P

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I wish there were clear answers to those. So I'll provide non-scientific, top-of-the-head answers that might or might not help. In no order, and none of these stand alone.

Do I know the author, and have I liked or disliked their work? Subcategory: do I like this author but not how he/she writes these particular books? Examples: I like Vonnegut's novels and short stoies, but can't get into his essays; I like Dave Eggers's novelized true stories but not his actual straight-up novels; I like Niall Ferguson's history books but not his current events books.

Have I heard about this book, or has it been recommended? Do I usually like the reading taste or suggestions of the recommender? For bots, have I purchased enough from this vendor that it knows what I like?

Is it in the right section of the bookstore? Does the style of the cover catch my eye and give me a hint of what the book's like? How does the back cover/dust jacket read?

ETA: If I'm still undecided by this point, I'll read the customer reviews. What's the average rating? What's the consensus of the "reasonable" reviews (not fawning, not trashing, but those where the reviewer shows they actually know this book)?
 
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pharm

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It's entirely word-of-mouth for me at this point. My "must read" list is a hundred miles long as it is, so I rarely have the need to hunt for my next book. I'm much more likely to be attracted to a work of speculative or supernatural or surreal content (or even just a fresh historical setting) than I am to contemporary "naturalistic" fiction.

The one thing that might disqualify a big novel for me almost automatically these days is a lack of queer contentā€”or at least some kind of marginalized perspective I haven't seen represented a thousand times before. I spent my entire childhood and early adulthood reading works written from almost exclusively cis straight white perspectives, and now that there's so much LGBT writing out there available to me I'm going wild making up for lost time.

I still make exceptions for things that sound just too good to miss, of course šŸ˜‰
 
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Kat M

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I either go off of friends' recommendations, or stick to authors I like, or else I just choose at random.

As Chris P said, these are unscientific and random.

I look at titles. If the title speaks to me, I'll take it off the shelf.

I also look at covers. I like covers that give me a mood. I recently discovered I am biased toward my favorite colors, so basically make your book blue or green and I will read it.

Back cover blurb has to intrigue me. Usually with story premise. Though a setting, occupation, or religious background might snag my eye.

I don't read the first lines. I flip to the middle of the book and read a few sentences. If I like the voice, I'm sold. If I don't care for the voice, it goes back on the shelf.
 

-Riv-

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To All-

Too many of us have written good books, but then have the problem that no one wants to read what we wrote. There have also been few scientific studies on why people choose specific works. So, I just want to survey people at Absolute Write: What gets you yourself to pick up a novel to read it? Also, conversely, what makes you decide not to read a book you were thinking about? I want to hear about how and why you yourself make choices. The more people who respond here the better.
You could get the ball rolling by sharing your reasons. :)
 

KBooks

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Gets me to read:
-great hook/blurb
-author I've enjoyed before
-new author, but good review average
-priced competitively or available through KU/library

I might end up picking something else because:
-Hook/blurb didn't grab me
-multiple reviews point out something I think wouldn't work for me (like a trigger I'm sensitive to)
-priced too high
 

SAWeiner

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Is the purpose of this survey for your own benefit or for publication of the results?

To answer your question, this is for my own benefit and for others on this site. Anyhow, a survey for publication would need to be more carefully constructed to have validity.

To All-

Thanks to everyone who has answered so far.

As to me deciding to read something, I rely on recommendations of people I know, book blurbs, and sometimes when a lot of buzz has been generated about a work. I'll meanwhile not read something if the beginning page or two looks tedious.
 
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Ari Meermans

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My apologies, SAWeiner. I did not mean to edit your post.

Your post in its entirety:
To answer your question, this is for my own benefit and for others on this site. Anyhow, a survey for publication would need to be more carefully constructed to have validity.

To which my reply SHOULD have been:

Indeed, it would. Anyhow, a survey for publication would not be permitted here. Carry on.
 

lorna_w

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1) my friends', family, and goodreads "friends'" suggestions.
2) favorite authors who haven't turned to ghostwriters (too many of them have) or lost their publisher (ditto), though there are so few of them left, and so many have died the past ten years... that doesn't fill many of my reading days.
3) my library I run searches on ebooks by keyword, looking for the kind of book I'm in the mood for. But I'm not buying. It's a library. The author got the not-very-exciting royalty from a library sale, and nothing directly from me, unless there's pay per read agreement with the publisher. If I like the book, I at least leave a positive review as "payment." (try paying the electric bill with that, fellow author!)
4) self-published author friends who are running a sale. (This won't be a factor for most buyers of ebooks, needless to say.)
5) rarely, "people who liked this book also liked..." lists.

I used to buy more at bookstores, when those dinosaurs once roamed the plains. I would: go into the appropriate genre section, notice books face-out (man, that really mattered, back in the day!), title and/or cover might appeal a little--or at least not put me off, as in the objectification of women on the cover art. (other readers would of course be looking for the objectification of women.) Pick it up, read the back cover/inside flap. Read the first page. Flip to a couple other places in the book to make sure the author had a good dialog-to-block-paragraph ratio. Maybe accumulate a pile of five, put back two. Cash register and pay. Repeat every few weeks, including reading my way through any new author that I liked a lot. I can do that sort of thing at the library, too, but see above on how that doesn't much help the author pay her bills.
 
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Brightdreamer

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The answer is the ever-useful "it depends."

I've bought books because:
- I read a good review.
- It was recommended.
- I've read the previous book in the series/other works by the author.
- The blurb intrigued me.
- The cover grabbed my attention.
- I'd heard decent things about an author.
- Generic "good vibes."
- I had a coupon to burn off.
- It's already in the house, or it was a gift.

I've not bought a book because:
- I read bad reviews, one that specifically mentioned something I knew I wouldn't like. (Usually takes more than one bad review mentioning similar issues.)
- I've been bitten by previous works by the same author.
- The blurb leaves me confused or cold or is just a bunch of hype that tells me nothing about the story. (Dear gods, what's with that thing where all the cover talks about is other books by the same author, or generic hyping praise?)
- I skimmed a few early pages and didn't get hooked (though TBH I don't skim as often as I should before purchasing.)
- Something very abrasive came out about the author or series that left a bad taste in my mouth.
- Generic "bad vibes."
- Budgetary reasons.

And if we're just talking read/not read versus buy/don't buy, my general rule of thumb is "10% or it didn't happen"; if I can get that far and not be turned off of reading, I usually finish. Otherwise, it disappears into the ether. At that point, it's down to the writing itself, and how I'm responding to the tale.
 

PostHuman

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When I was in high school and college, I'd fall in love with some author and then rabidly devour everything he or she had ever written. At some point after I graduated and began working in the film industry, I had to read lots of screenplays each week and just stopped reading novels entirely for a few years, never seemed to find enough free time.

Then I made a deliberate effort to slowly work my way through the all the nominees for Booker Prize, Hugo and Nebula awards from the past few decades and each new discovery seemed to lead me to read all the work of these authors. And there are the various bestseller lists and new books coming out every few months by favorite authors. Also discovered some amazing novels referenced in books about writing fiction. Kinda feel like a virtual hoarder because my goodreads "want to read" shelf is up to a few hundred books at this point :tongue
 
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Roxxsmom

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I can't say what works for everyone, but for me, the obvious first step is actually hearing about a book or author. If I don't find them, I can't read them. In the old days, I'd go to bookstores and browse shelves filled with books of whatever genre I was in the mood for, and I'd scan titles and covers to see what looked interesting. Then I'd read back cover copy and so on.

Nowadays, with so many books purchased online and in e-format, one can't really visually scan in the same way. If I haven't heard of an author, and if they don't get tossed up as a suggestion on Amazon, I won't find them, let alone read them. Discoverability is huge, and it's a big obstacle, especially for newer writers or writers who aren't famous enough to be widely reviewed or discussed by fans of particular genres or types of literature.

Once I've spotted a book, though, the things that lead me to want to read it are going to be influenced by the type of story, and within my favorite genres, the kinds of worlds and characters. Voice and narrative style are important too. When I read those first couple pages on Amazon, I don't buy the book if I can't connect with the protagonist, or if the voice and narrative style don't appeal to me.

Also, premise matters, along with that hook. For me, there's a fine line between not knowing what's going on in a way that makes me want to keep reading to find out vs not knowing what's going on in a way that makes me think, WTF is going on? and closing the book.

To go though my thought process of not getting into a book that was recommended to me:

First five pages some italicized drivel that doesn't say anything.

Ch 1 opens with a floridly written scene description. Pretty prose, but who is the story about? Keep reading because prose is pretty.

Another page in, story still a bunch of prettily written external description. I'm starting to get bored. Finally a character, but he's not doing anything terribly interesting--just riding on a train. The extremely external omniscient narrative is starting to wear on me. Don't even know his name. He's just "the young man." A couple pages later the guy finally has a name.

A few pages later: OMG, this character finally got off the train and is now walking home, but nothing is happening except he's brooding about his dad (whom I know from back cover copy is about to die). But things are moving so slowly.

Puts book down.

Note that this is a popular and critically acclaimed book, but for whatever reason, it didn't grab me. Actually, I have trouble connecting with quite a few SFF novels that are popular and critically acclaimed.

*Worries that she is a philistine*
 
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Carrie in PA

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What gets me to read:

- recommendations from friends
- the cover/title
- the blurb
- meeting the author & the book sounds good
- new book by author I enjoy

What makes me put a book down:

- shitty editing
- poor grammar
- easily avoidable mistakes (eg., character's name suddenly changes)
- boring
- completely unrealistic or eyerolly
 

lizmonster

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In my favorite genres, I'll read authors I know, or books recommended by others (friends or reviewers I trust).

In genres I don't usually read, it takes either a strong recommendation or a blurb that makes me curious.

I'll put a book down if it doesn't grab me within the first few chapters. For authors I know and trust, I'll sometimes give it a bit longer.
 

PiaSophia

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What gets me to read:

In general
- anything my favorite authors have written
- anything my favorite authors have named in an interview (yes, I'm that kind of person)
- book recommendations by my friends and family (although I've learned to filter those as well, I know whose recommendations I feel I'd like as well, and whose recommendations I will listen to but won't act upon)
- Goodreads recommendations based on what I've read

in the rare case I go to a bookstore
- the title (I like titles that either make me wonder what the book is about, or that are a little cynical. Example: a book that's called 'Turkey: a history' and is in fact about the history of Turkey, I would put back on the shelf. But if it's in fact about the bird, or about something else you wouldn't expect at first glance, I would read the blurb and decide if I'll take it)
- the blurb (please don't hit me with a bunch of newspapers telling me how awesome your book is. I'll decide that for myself and won't buy it anyway if I can't find out what's it about)
- the cover (but yes, this comes last.... if it's one of those covers made of stock photo's everyone has used a gazillion of times before, together with a WordArt kind of lettertype- I'll pass. I like mysterious covers, covers that show are unique and are well-thought of)

---

What makes me put a book down:
- stereotypes
- discrimination/racism not for the benefit of the story (ok this sounds a little strange, but what I obviously mean is that a story in which racism/discrimination is a topic and relevant in the story, of course that isn't a reason to put the book down, BUT if it's like casually thrown in there, I'll close the book within seconds)
- same goes for misogyny, really
- bad editing
- boringness (I used to force myself to read books through once I started them, even if I had to make myself read them and didn't like them at all--don't do that anymore. I'll give the book a few chapters, or a few stories if it's a short story collection. If it doesn't make me want to pick it up again to read further, I won't.)
 

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Author, genre, title, blurb in that order. If I can't decide, I'll read a few paragraphs. I tend to put it down if it's first person, but other factors may override. I buy all my books at the bookstore, a dozen or so at a time.
 

mccardey

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It needs to be within arm's distance basically, and at night-time it needs to not have a scarey cover. (Also naked people on the cover having an overly friendly conversation might make me cough and start talking very quickly about something else.)
 

ReflectiveAcuity

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Hereā€™s what I try to ignoreā€¦


  • The cover. Iā€™ve had experience with plain or simply non-attractive covers that turned out to be a great read, and vice-versa. Great cover, terrible book.
  • Author. I like to think there are unknowns out there who put out outstanding work.
  • Title. In my view, thereā€™s no way to tell if a book is going to be good or bad from a 1 to 3 word line.


Hereā€™s what I do doā€¦


  • Read the blurb. The back cover blurb has to intrigue me.
  • Read the first few paragraphs or first page. Not so much to see if itā€™s going to be a good story, but to get an idea of the writing style of the author.


RA
 

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What makes me pick up a novel (such as in a bookshop) is quite often the cover design. I am generally a very intuitive person and I've noticed that a book's cover design gives a lot of information about what's inside. (More precisely, it gives me an idea if there's a hope that the people who worked on that book are on the same wavelength as I.)

Of course, the above doesn't apply when there is something intriguing in the book's title, or, say, the author happens to be my childhood friend, in which case I pick up the book regardless of what it looks like.

After I've picked up a book, I think I usually start reading in the beginning. If I find that the first page is filled with elaborate philosophical yarn or, say, a thorough description of the shape of the couch and the color of the curtains, I put the book away. But if the author's style seems readable, I might open it in a random place in the middle and read a page or two. I usually read the summary on the back cover as well.

On the Amazon website, it's different, of course. I check out critical reviews, rarely the praising ones, and read as many pages from the beginning as they let me, and if feel I'm curious to find out what'll happen next, I buy the book.

In any case, the deciding factor is whether or not I feel that the author's writing style agrees with me. (Unless the general idea happens to be so amazingly brilliant that I just have to read the novel.)
 

PiaSophia

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On the Amazon website, it's different, of course. I check out critical reviews, rarely the praising ones, and read as many pages from the beginning as they let me, and if feel I'm curious to find out what'll happen next, I buy the book.

This is interesting! I didn't know this actually worked. Good to know for the promo of my own book :)
Thanks for sharing
 

Woollybear

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Actually, I use the library. That doesn't help much for sales, but it does help in that I'm more likely to bring home books I wouldn't buy. I give the author one page at the library, or two, and I scan ahead a bit.

At home, my new stack of fifteen library books sits there and I pick up a handful on any given night to read further. About half I make it in five or six chapters. About half I don't. Of the ones I make it in a few chapters, I try to keep going.

Maybe ten to fifteen percent I make it to the end, but that's only the ones I enjoy, and I then try to (1) file the author name and (2) give positive reviews on line.

~~~~~

I bought The Power at B&N a couple years ago because Atwood praised it on the cover, it did not start out with death (but there is plenty, later), and Obama also liked it. Cover image was good, unique for the genre.

It was a clever book, and I appreciated it. Alderman does smart things throughout and her thesis is beautifully developed. I did not keep the novel, however, but gave it away--and TBH I did totally skim the violent parts. I might have not bought it had I known about the violence within it.

But mostly library, opening pages.
 
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TheListener

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I read the first few pages, maybe the first chapter. If I'm not hooked in the first few paragraphs, I don't bother with it. Too many books out there, too little time to read them all.

I don't care what the cover looks like if the blurb on the back cover intrigues me. Although a fit male body in a kilt gets me every time. :Thumbs:
 

mccardey

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Actually, I use the library. That doesn't help much for sales, but it does help in that I'm more likely to bring home books I wouldn't buy.

I don't know if it's the same in the USA, but down here using the library does much more for sales than buying the book, for new writers. Writers get ongoing payments for all the years their book stays in the library, which can add up quite prettily: libraries give one book to more readers, so word of mouth also benefits the writer: and like good independent booksellers, librarians go out of their way to interest readers in good books.

If you want to support a debut author, request their books from your local librarian. Ask the library to get them in for you. And buy a copy or two for your friends from the local independent bookseller.

:Sun:
 

mccardey

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Oh. I just heard via PM (thank you, PMster!) that the US doesn't have a PLR scheme. :cry:

But I'll leave this info here for those who do -

Twenty-eight countries have a PLR programme,[SUP][1][/SUP] and others are considering adopting one. Canada, the United Kingdom, all the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand currently have PLR programmes. There is ongoing debate in France about implementing one. There is also a move towards having a Europe-wide PLR programme administered by the European Union.

America, you prolly need to push for the implementation of one. A surprise cheque is always very nice.
 
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