How do you choose a book?

@Riptide (2762)
United States
March 28, 2007 7:30pm CST
What criteria do you use to choose a book? Do you look specificially for books from your favorite author or your favorite genre? Does the way the book cover look influence you in your decision? I have picked books which covers looked bland and I thought this book might be boring but it turned out to be a great boo. I guess you really can't judge a book by it's cover. Have you ever picked a book mainly because the title enticed you and were you disappointed or did it meet you expectations? I have discovered some new authors I might have never had the pleasure to read, mainly because the title of the book intrigued me.
9 people like this
37 responses
@clownfish (3278)
• United States
29 Mar 07
Hi! All of the above! LOL Before I got into publishing, I didn't read a lot, but now I have discovered that I really enjoy it. The books I am choosing right now have more to do with my current interest, which is learning about investing, so I'm buying and borrowing library books about the stock market and investing. Sometimes it's just an intriguing title, as was the case with The Devil Wears Prada and The Nanny Diaries. On a rare occasion I'll read a book that is a sequel to a movie. I like "Valley of the Dolls" and I happened to find a sequel to it in the library one day. I enjoyed that because I knew all the characters and it was fun to find out what happened to them after the movie. I also have Everyone Worth Knowing because I enjoyed Lauren Weisberger's writing so much in The Devil Wears Prada. I tend to stay away from the "formula" based writers, like Danielle Steele. I like something that will surprise me and have different plot twists, not "same plot different names," etc. No offense to those who read her work, I'm just not that big of a romance reader to begin with anyway! :-)
@Riptide (2762)
• United States
29 Mar 07
Hi clownfish :) Long time no read lol Yup I sometimes step out of the box and then find an author I really like. I do tend to stick to the same genre though, which is suspense, mystery and crime fiction.
1 person likes this
@clownfish (3278)
• United States
29 Mar 07
Yep, took a little break after last week! LOL
1 person likes this
@clownfish (3278)
• United States
29 Mar 07
Speaking of mystery, I love the old Perry Mason books by Erle Stanley Gardner. They are so cool! :-)
1 person likes this
@lecanis (16739)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
29 Mar 07
I admit it, I have no taste. I'll read just about anything. I'll walk through the used bookstore and just grab books at random from the sections that interest me (mostly sci-fi and fantasy, though occasionally other stuff). Other times I'll read thing because my friends liked them, or because they had an interesting title, or because they're by an author I already know. Any and all of these methods have led me to really good books. Recently some people at my work were having a discussion about how many books they had read since being out of school, and it just shook me that some of them could actually list them all. I can't even list the books I've read this year, because there are already too many! I just love to read so much that I'll try just about anything.
2 people like this
@Riptide (2762)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I love to read too, but I draw the line at certain books like romance. I could do without those lol. I frequent the used bookstore as well. because I would go broke buying them all new. I can go through a good paperback novel on a weekend.
@patgalca (14133)
• Orangeville, Ontario
29 Mar 07
I usually stick to the same authors, which I have learned is not necessarily a good thing. When I was meeting an author who was meeting with me to critique my writing I thought I'd better read HIS work. I took one of his books out of the library and loved it. I bought another one of his books and got him to autograph it. I am doing it again right now with a different author. Also, I have been to seminars with authors I have never heard of and their seminars have prompted me to read their books. It feels good to step outside the box and read different writers after reading the same one for so long. Of course Oprah's Book Club had me reading a few books but once I read one I didn't like, I stopped reading them. What Oprah likes doesn't necessarily mean everyone is going to like it.
@Riptide (2762)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I never read a book from Oprahs club. Most of the books on there don't interest me lol. I got to have my mystery and suspense. Certain documentary books are good though.
• Canada
29 Mar 07
For novels, I choose the book primarily based on its author. I discard this criterion sometimes, if the book is on discount, or if I am buying the book from a used books store. For technical books, I take a few minutes to read some pages to see what the book is about and if it is worth it to buy it. I admit that the design of the cover also influences my decision, though I do not know to which extent.
@SherryA (77)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I am a bibliophile so books are precious to me, just to own. I am an avid reader and have favorite genres. So first I look for mystery/thrillers, then for the authors I most enjoy, then for new authors I might enjoy. I buy and sell books out of my home, so I get to see authors I haven't noticed before.
• United States
29 Mar 07
I choose books by what catches my eye, by whatever my hand grabs, by what intrigues me. Sometimes I just randomly grab books until I find one I like. I have no set ways to go about finding a book.
2 people like this
• United States
29 Mar 07
By weather it catches your interest, just find a book.. a random book and read the first chapter if it catches your eye you read it.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Apr 07
I usually can tell by the title then I read about it but have been disappointed before mainly by a couple of mary higgens clark books...
• United States
5 Apr 07
First thing I do is look up my favorite author and go through some of the books she has written. After that I will go to the type of book that is my favorite. My favorite is romantic novels. There are times I will pick up a book because of the title. I go to the library to get books to read so if I notice a title that sounds especially good I will look at the cover to see what the story is about and even page through the story itself.
@Arkadus (899)
• Canada
4 Apr 07
Well usually i find a title that sounds interesting, or a cover that ctaches my attentionand I read the back. Or the sleevs on the dust jacket. If the book has it the excerpt paragraph justa few pages in and then if it still sounds interesting I get it. Unless I've read something by the author before then it narrows down to just whether or not the back sounds good.
@kogiro (125)
• Portugal
30 Mar 07
Most of the times when i choose a title to buy, it`s based mainly in the author or in some reviews I read beforehand, specially when buying books online, however when looking for books in a bookstore with nothing particular in mine I shearch for a certain genre of my liking, and the look of the novel many times influence my decison, a good cover catch the eye more easily.
@KATRINKA (1660)
• United States
29 Mar 07
Usually I choose a book by an author whose work I've already read and enjoyed. There are some authors whose books I buy no matter if the story doesn't sound like something I'd like. When I choose new authors to sample, I read book reviews, usually from my book club mailings. Usually, I'm not disappointed. I have chosen books based on their titles. RUNNING WITH SCISSORS is one. I hadn't heard anything about it, so I was shocked with the subject matter. I did finish it, though. I picked up ANGRY HOUSEWIVES EATING BON BONS based on the interesting title. It was a book I recommended to friends and family. Usually when I purchase a best seller that has received a lot of hype, I am disappointed. Nowadays, I wait for the bestsellers to appear at my favorite used book store. That way, if it turns out that I hate the book, I won't feel as if I wasted a lot of money.
@diannebcrs (1549)
• Philippines
29 Mar 07
i go by my favorite authors first. for instance, i'm always confident that whenever i buy sidney sheldon books, it's worth my time and money. second, i read reviews on the web and also i ask around from friends. i also look for pulitzer prized books but i don't go with all national bestsellers because i've read a handful that didn't really strike my fancy. i once bought based on the book's cover and then i realized that we really shouldn't judge a book by it's cover - literally!
• United States
29 Mar 07
I choose books by my favorite authors. Other times, by the title. Then read what it is about, then the first page. If it grabs me, I buy it.
• India
29 Mar 07
the best criteria to choose a book is to read the preface of the author to read about the author to read the reviews written on the book to see the content of the book and wat's it all about
• India
29 Mar 07
book that touch ur heart ,that wash ur rubbih ideas % that gives u a life thoughta
• Philippines
29 Mar 07
I usually buy books by my favorite authors. Or if I'm simply bookhunting, I usually browse books from my favorite genre. Or check out related searches in Amazon.com so I'd know who are authors similar to my favorites. If I'm going to choose a paperback or a hardcover, my criteria is that if the book is a book I really like, I usually go for the hardcover :-)
@wachit14 (3601)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I resist the urge to buy a book because of it's title and cover since I am often disappointed by that. Instead I look at the author since I have favorite authors. Then I read the first page. If it doesn't grab me right at the beginning,then I put it back down. Other than that, I often ask my friends to recommend a good book to read and I trust their judgment.
• India
29 Mar 07
You can certainly not judge a book by its cover. In fact, it is even difficult to judge a book by its author, as just because the author has a couple of good books to his credit doesn't mean that all his/her books are good. I hardly go by the reviews published in the newspapers or online either, because things like taste in reading are highly subjective. I however have a set of friends who are voracious readers. We regularly read books and recommend books to each other. We know each others tastes pretty well. We do take the courage to read an unknown book now and then, but mostly, we recommend books to each other. I recently read 'Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho and recommended it to my friend, who read it and went on to read 'The Zahir' by the same author, and in turn recommended it back to me! This way, we have a virtually inexhaustible and personalised book review system.
• United States
29 Mar 07
I don't judge by the cover. I read the back and to see what the book is about and I look to see who wrote the reviews in it, if it is an author I've never heard of. I have a few authors I will buy without reading the back of the cover.
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