This post by Jennifer Flaten
Spring is here! Finally. Today, for the first time, in what seems like forever, the sun is shining and it is going to be warm(ish) and the best part…no rain in the forecast. We’ve had rain in the forecast every day for about three weeks.
While all the rain prevented me from getting outside and gardening; it did give me a very good excuse to curl up on the couch and read. All right, so maybe I don’t need an excuse to read, but the rain did make me feel less guilty about reading instead of doing yard work (or housework).
I had a stack of books from the library, only a few new releases the rest I found deep in the stacks.
Here is my library ritual. I go to the new release shelf first. I look over all the new releases carefully-yes, even the non-fiction and biographies. Depending on how many new books catch my eye, then I head for the stacks.
English: The interior of the Barnes & Noble located at The Grove at Farmers Market. Photographed and uploaded by user:Geographer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sometimes, I am specifically looking for a book, sometimes I am just hoping to get lucky and discover a new series or author. If I don’t have a book or author in mind, then I just pick an aisle/letter and start browsing.
I find myself selecting the books off the shelf and after reading the book jacket discover that a)I’ve read it before or b)I’ve pulled it off the shelf and read the description before. There must be something about that particular title or letter coloring (or whatever) that really attracts me.
Judging a book by its cover (art) is one thing, I know that I’ve picked up or not, a book based on its cover art, but how about what draws you to pick a book from the shelf when all you see is its spine.
At Barnes and Noble, they have a new fun thing Blind Date with a book. They have several different books wrapped up in white paper (thick so you can’t peek) with a few descriptive words on the front. You take a book based on the description and see if you like it. I think it is fun to try to guess which book it is by the descriptions. Not sure if I would actually buy a book blind date style though.
What do you think-what are your book buying habits?
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I don’t think I could go on a blind date with a book, because so much popular fiction leaves me cold — too formulaic and predictable. I go for the nonfiction new books shelf first, then the sci-fi (has to be hard sci-fi, prefer apocalyptic, no zombies), skip the other genre fiction and maybe take a look at the general fiction. I like quirky fiction that skirts reality a little bit. Funny is always a good hook, although it can be hard to do. I see a lot of books that start out well on the humor front and can’t sustain it as well an entire novel. Generally, I’ll flip any book open and read a page to see if I like the writing style. I’ll go to the stacks if I have a specific author or title I’m looking for, as I usually get pretty well loaded up from the new book shelves.
I love to read titles and often pick a book based on those. I read the first few lines of the book and the last line – that also helps me make up my mind. Like you, Jennifer, I hit the new releases first and then comb the aisles for new treasures. I love the library and bookstores. Thanks for a great post!
I’m not sure I have specific pattern for selecting a book. The cover—sometimes. The author that I like–sometimes. The blurb–sometimes. I think I’ll start attending to my book shopping habits more carefully now that I’ve read your post.
I look for ones that sound interesting, read back cover and do a little online research as well as talk to friends… I also buy used, at the library book sale. And, I now own a Kindle, so I look for the book that way first (budget!). Fun post, Jennifer!
I like to read the front and back covers. It has to sound interesting. Good post.
The cover, title, concept, description, and the first page, in that order. Wicked got me just like that, but I didn’t like the book.
I’m often on a blind date by downloading free ebooks. Lol Cher’ley
The cover used to play a big part in my reading choices-buying or library borrowing. Nowadays I’m nearly always reading work of author friends so I’m not looking at the cover art. I used to tend to skip back page blurbs and probably still do, and yet my publishers are very keen on getting my blurbs just right as many readers do pick books dependent on the blurb.