Blame this one on karentraviss

[lagilman]

[Poll #662327]

Comments

Professional reviews

[shana.livejournal.com]

have become important since I am reading them for work anyway. [As a librarian, I read Library Journal, School Library Journal, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Kliaat, and VOYA.]

Before I was reading them, I went by the word of mouth or the read the blurb and see if it sounds appealing methods. Which I still use.

[atimson.livejournal.com]

Since there was a rather short limit on the "do you care how it's presented" box, you'll get an essay here. :)

Genre... well, it kinda matters. :) I mainly read SF&F, and any new authors for me are probably going to be ones I found in that field. I don't generally look for new books outside it. But if an author I already read writes a non-SF&F book, I'll give it a try.

Marketing campaigns don't really affect me, so far as I know; I'm fairly oblivious to them.

Cover style doesn't affect my purchasing habits, as far as I can tell. I'll admit that there might be a subconscious effect, but while I do enjoy good cover art I won't not purchase a book just because I don't like the cover art. (Otherwise I'd probably never buy anything Baen publishes or anything with a cover by Paul Youll with a human on it....)

"Other" choice influences

[kriz1818.livejournal.com]

Whether the cover blurb and first few pages catch my interest and give me some confidence that it'll be worth reading.

[tryslora]

I want to qualify my seller recommendation response. *grins* I don't look at the "Amazon says you'll like this" sort of thing. What I rely on is Maria, over at Flights of Fantasy, telling me something's really good. Or when Larry tells me to add books to my pile at a con because either I or Kev will love them.

While I still pick up books based on cover or blurb, I've got so many great recommendations coming in from friends who are readers or involved in the industry somehow, that recommendations mean far more to me.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

You needed an "all of the above" box before you hit the non-reading options.

Why I picked Other - since at this point I'm picking a lot of my reading material to BE the professional review, and long before it garners any awards or word of mouth, I'm basing my interest on plot (if I can't read a sample) and actual writing (if I can.)

[nick-kaufmann.livejournal.com]

I answered the poll, but I also feel the whys and wherefores of reading are far more complex than a poll can reflect. Especially when it comes to the question of why people read at all.

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

One of the most important influences in choosing a book was missing from your list:

I judge it by the cover: the blurb and cover art combine to pique my interest

[going-not-gone.livejournal.com]

I tend not to read books that are presented as specifically "genre" unless they have been recommended by someone whose judgment I trust, or I have already read and liked other things by the same author. And there are certain genres I don't read (horror, "true crime").

[debg.livejournal.com]

It said to specify "other", but didn't give a method for doing so.

I rarely read anymore. Part of it is that I don't read much when I'm writing, and I've been writing nonstop for the last few years. Part of it is a sort of mule-headed stubbornness on my part: peer recs are likely to make me flatly refuse to read it. Too many people in the sixties had the "If you don't read This, and aren't willing to Deconstruct It Endlessly, you are Mindless and Have No Cred!" attitude. In through the out door, you know?

My "other" is that something in the theme has to talk to me. I'll pick up a book and read the jacket copy. I'll read bits of it on Amazon or the Barnes & Noble site. If what I see immediately resonates, it's on my list. If it doesn't, pass-a-dena and I go back to work.

other (give detail, please)

[liuseth.livejournal.com]

Main reason is whether the short description on the back page or inner flaps catches my interest.

I do have a question. When I was a wee lass in primary school, we were taught that the blurb is the description on the back of the book, yet recently I was told that it's called something else, and the blurb is a whole nother kettle of fish. Have times and names changed? Could it be a difference between the two countries? Or was the publishing person who came out to talk to us blowing smoke through their arse? lol Or is it the blurb?

Kada - confused.

[aapreciate.livejournal.com]

The 'other' answer detail: I look for certain elements in books that I read for pleasure. I only read genre (except the non-fiction stuff but I didn't answer based on those books) and I like fantasy and romance best, sci fi and mystery next. I read a lot of supernatural/paranormal. My favorite books combine elements of several genres, so I look for those factors to be described in the book's marketing.

Given how much I liked Curse the Dark, I look carefully at everything Luna, which seems to have been developed for readers like me. The new Tor romance line is good too, but I've seen fewer home runs from there than Luna. I'll also look at anything that seems to strike the chords of fantasy and romance from the blurbs and the quotes on the back and on Amazon (though I don't trust all the reviews there).

Once I find an author I love, I stick to her or him through thick and thin. I eagerly await the new books and regularly send the staff box diving in my local Borders (where they shelve with AGONIZING slowness).

I really don't care much about the cover picture so long as it's slightly tasteful. I HATE covers with half-naked folks in improbable embraces, at this point...but if it's an author I like, I'll buy it anyway. I'll just read it at home. In hiding.

Hope that's not too much detail.

-Kathy

[otherdeb.livejournal.com]

There are many reasons I pick up a book. Sometimes, it's the cover or the author's name that catches my eye. Sometimes,I'm looking for particular subjects. Sometimes, someone has said that he or she thought I would enjoy it. Other times, I want to learn something. Occasionally, I want to analyze it and see how the writer achieved what he/she did. Once in a great while, I want to see what all the hype over a book is about (and the more hype there is, the more disappointed I often am).

Hope that's helpful.

"Other"

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

Before I buy a book or take it out from the library, I sample it.

I tend to choose which ones I look according to my opinion of the author's other work. But that's MY opinion, not the author's reputation. I prefer early Phil Dick to late Phil Dick, for example.

[greatsword.livejournal.com]

I select fiction by first looking for new work from authors I like. That failing, I browse SF/F and mystery sections for interesting characters. I give an author about three pages to hook me on the protagonist, unless it's someone whose work I know.

I have picked up an author based on the recommendation of a stranger or bookseller - that will get me to read the first ten pages in the store. If I'm hooked, I'll usually get the author's entire book list eventually.

[msisolak.livejournal.com]

I buy, usually, based on genre: SFF or mystery.

The biggest reason I buy someone new is a quick read of the first couple of pages. If it hooks me *and* there's no author's tick I catch that bugs the heck out of me, I'll buy.

[patchwork-prose.livejournal.com]

Most important for buying is knowing that there is a *satisfying* (i.e., happy) ending to the book. (Julie Czerneda hates it when I say this, but I really do read the last few pages or the last chapter of the book, when I'm buying in a bookstore. I will even flip through the book in a bookstore, and then go online and buy the electronic version.)

The second important factor is knowing or having met the author, either personally or online.

[chibiaingeal.livejournal.com]

Actually there is an "other" reason to that ranks as much as the two I selected. Either because it's a topic/genre I REALLY like or because the description/synopsis on the book cover made it sound really interesting.

Marketing

[craftfreak.livejournal.com]

To tell the truth, I read based on peer recommondation and for enjoyment, but I can be influenced by good cover blurbs and art to at least open a book to take a look inside. Once I read and enjoy an author, I will look up the authors web site. If there are authors that are recommended on those sites, I will give them a try as well.

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

My 'peer' recommendation usually comes from published authors or someone inside the lit-biz. I generally don't read anything anymore unless I 'know' that author or the author has some sort of connection with someone I already know. If published_author_X or big_house_editor_in_NY_Y makes a recommendation for a novel outside their own works I'll gladly take a look.
Or as a great example, if I know an author is currently writing for say ( oh I dunno) LUNA, but has previously publishing with other houses or currently has a YA series--- I'm more than happy to point that out to a book buyer.
Similar thing when making recommendations as a bookseller, I'll gladly steer someone in the direction of an author that I have met (digitally, or IRL).
Keeps it in 'in the family' yo!
-=Jeff=-

More reasons to read

[jennifer-dunne.livejournal.com]

You didn't quite have the answer for "why do you read" that works for me -- it's a combination of escape from Real Life and for Information...finding inherent truths in fiction that can be applied to Real Life. See my post (http://jennifer-dunne.livejournal.com/108388.html) about what I look for in books.

[rparvaaz.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I pick books up because the title fascinates me, the blurb doesn't put me off, and the first few sentences don't repulse me. Other times it is because of the subject matter.