Saturday Discussion: How Do You Choose A Book

A note about these things. I've recently acquired a totally epic Little Sis so Jessica from The Midnight Bookworm will be joining in on the discussion every week with me! Super fun because now we can get into serious discussions! Alright, on to the fun!

This is how I choose books:

I usually have the books I need to buy pre-picked and ready to go by the time I walk through the book store. Being so involved in blogging let's me know when things come out that I need to read and I don't usually stray from that. For funsies, let's talk about what makes me want them if I didn't know about them.

If I'm walking down an aisle browsing, the first thing I look for are (of course) covers. The beautiful ones suck me. I usually go for people on the cover and I tend to like either very dark ones like this:

Or very light ones, like this:

But I'm picky. Even if I like a cover, I will read the inside and that has to hook me as well. Then it will go into a pile (which will have to get weeded through).

I also shop specifically by author. If I'm a fan of your work, I will buy your book. I've already pledged life long allegiance to people like Kimberly Derting, Beth Revis, Libba Bray, Veronica Roth and Maggie Stiefvater (to name a few).

I'll also pick up book based on author blurbs though this is more of a deciding factor than picking them up factor. As I mentioned earlier, I'd grab a bunch and have to decide which to buy. If one of my favorite authors loved the book enough to quote for it then I probably will too.

Like I said, now I know a lot of the books coming out way before they hit shelves. I take a lot of book blogger suggestions. I'll also buy books based on how the author is online. If the author is active on Twitter and really promotes themselves or is super sweet, I'll buy their book to review. I'll just have to.

Now, this is how my little sis picks up books:

So many factors go into how I choose a book.  When I’m looking down the aisles of Barnes & Noble (the only bookstore around my house), I look at the covers that pop out first.  Whether it be because they’re bright and amazing looking, or if they’re plain and un-naturally boring looking.

One of my favorite covers on my shelf: Need by Carrie Jones.  I can’t even tell you if I read this book’s description before I bought it. I saw this cover and absolutely HAD to have it on my shelf.  Then at the Borders closing sale I found Captivate and without reading that description I bought it (it was only like $3 so I had to get it and it’s SO pretty)!

The first book that comes to mind when I think of the plain and un-naturally boring looking ones is Want To Go Private? by Sarah Littman.  When I first saw this book on the shelf I thought it was the back of the book because it’s just lines of words, but the back of the book just has praise for other books by the author.  I read the description and I definitely think it sounds like a great book, I didn’t pick it up (because I was broke when I saw it), but I plan to get it sometime. :)

After the cover sucks me in (or the title, I sometimes scan for titles along the shelves too), I read the back cover (or inside flap) description.

Beyond that, I rely on the blogs I follow for recommendations about books, I look at other people’s ratings (not usually the reviews because I don’t want to be spoiled), and the ones I remember most the next time I go to the store are the ones I pick up and decide there if I like it or not.

If the description of the book and the cover haven’t totally sold me but I’m on the fence I’ll usually open to a random page and start reading, if I’m still flipping through it a few minutes later I tend to buy it.  If I only get through a half a page, I put it back. 

I also have a few authors that anything they publish I will buy right away, without reading the blurb or looking at the cover.

We want to know how you choose your books!