Factors in your decision to read a book

[Cloud]

Describe how much weight you give to the following factors when deciding to read a book:

--Familiar with author
--Specific genre or sub-genre (F, SF, military SF, sword & sorcery, etc.)
--cover and presentation
--cover blurb, preface, quotes from other authors
--content (flipping through book)
--recommendations from others
--reviews (on Amazon, here, etc.)
--other?

Are there any factors which are different in influencing you to BUY (rather than just read) a book)

This is my first new thread since joining, so I hope I'm putting it in the right place and that it hasn't already been talked to death.

 

[mosaix]

=1 Familiar with author
=1 Specific genre or sub-genre (F, SF, military SF, sword & sorcery, etc.)
4 cover and presentation
=2 cover blurb, preface, quotes from other authors
5 content (flipping through book)
=2 recommendations from others
3 reviews (on Amazon, here, etc.)

1 = highest

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

We have discussed this sort of thing in the past, but not recently, and it was probably time to bring up the subject again.

I've been influenced by all those factors, although I certainly don't weigh them all equally. Some of them, like blurbs and cover art, are more likely to influence me when I'm in the mood for a certain kind of book.

Most influential for me would be familiarity with the author's previous work, and recommendations from people who generally like the same things I do. With any recommendation, though, what they tell me about a book is probably more influential than their opinion of the book.

 

[Cloud]

good system Mosaix--I was going to use percentages, then decided to let people weight them their own way. Like Teresa Edgerton, I don't weigh them all equally, or use the same criteria for each book.

 

[Carolyn Hill]

Most of the books I read are books I buy, so the factors are the same for both circumstances. And most of the books that I buy are online.

1. Familiar with author

I seek out authors I have read and enjoyed, so an author's name gets me to look at the book in the first place and biases me strongly toward buying an author's latest book.

2. Specific subgenres, reviews, and recommendations on Amazon and Chronicles

I follow links that associate new books with books I have enjoyed in the past, and I make lists of books that are reviewed or recommended as being similar to ones I have enjoyed in the past. Many of the links, reviews, and recommendations are made on the basis of subgenre. On Amazon, I read the editorial reviews under each book.

3. Cover blurb, reading the first paragraph

When I am physically in a bookstore, I read the cover blurb for an overall sense of the book, and I read the first paragraph to see if it grabs me. This plays an important role in deciding whether to buy and read the book in the store. On Amazon, I read the editorial reviews instead, which serves the purpose of giving me an overall sense of the book.

(Where is the thread where we talked about this in detail? Might be helpful to link to it.)

 

[Paige Turner]

As dumb as this sounds, availability and happenstance are big factors for me. We have a big (3000 books, maybe) staff library at my work, so I often cruise through there and see what presents itself. That's how I got started on my first foray into Stephen King. Though, taking the cue from the "Threaten Your Librarian" thread, i have asked our staff librarian to see about obtaining the classics of Science Fiction, namely Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. (I also asked for Orwell and Poe) I feel very proactive.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

(Where is the thread where we talked about this in detail? Might be helpful to link to it.)

Probably buried under thousands of newly arrived AScifi threads, on some page that has collapsed into a black hole by the sheer weight and mass of the threads on top of it. At a guess.

 

[Carolyn Hill]

Here's one thread, "Author's name as selling point": http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/8777-authors-name-as-a-selling-point.html

There's also "Why we buy books," but I think that's not quite on topic: http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/9114-why-do-we-buy-books.html

 

[Rane Longfox]

Mostly the author, and reccomendations from all the online experts. If theres nothing like that though, an interesting cover is enough to make me take it off the shelf, and a decent blurb may make me read a few pages. Then I might buy it.

Bank account is quite important too - if it's too expensive, it has to be very good to persaude me.

 

[Karsa Orlong]

Familiar with author - This always helps, of course. I like giving new authors a go too though, so I wouldn't say this is of vital importance.
Specific genre or sub-genre - I tend to find that all sub-genres have their highs and their lows, so this isn't too important to me.
cover and presentation - I'm tempted to say barely at all, but in retrospect I'm probably influenced quite a bit on a less than conscious level - things like the cover and presentation can sometimes really appeal. Not that important though.
cover blurb, preface, quotes from other authors - This is quite important. I will automatically try to read everything which my favourite authors love, and the blurb is always a good indicator of whether or not a book's going to be worth reading or if it's just another generic fantasy. None of these things are infallible of course, but useful for sure.
content - I never flip through books.
recommendations from others - This is possibly most useful to me, presuming it's people whose tastes are similar to mine. Otherwise, not so.
reviews - Occasionally I'll find a review that just blows me away and makes me desperate to buy the book in question. Mostly, though, reviews don't really capture the book well enough for me to make a justified judgment.
Are there any factors which are different in influencing you to BUY (rather than just read) a book) - If it looks really damned nice and, of course, it isn't too expensive, I'm way more likely to buy. I tend to buy everything I read anyway, though.

 

[nixie]

Must of the factors above contribute to what books I read.Recently I'm leanining a lot to online recommendations.Specialy when I know who ever recommends them enjoys the same sorts of books as me.

 

[Sibeling]

Familiar with author - quite important, I'd rather buy a book by someone I know is a good writer than buy a book by someone unknown and find out that the book is bad
Specific genre or sub-genre - not so important, I pretty much like all genres, as long as the book is interesting
Cover and presentation - some importance, but I try not to judge the book by its cover
Cover blurb, preface, quotes from other authors - important, but they always say the book is good and you cannot be sure about that until you read the book
Content - very important. I usually read the first paragraph and then some more in the middle of the book, and if both things are interesting, the book will probably be good.
Recommendations from others- quite important, if the others know what I like
Reviews - I do not read them very often, and I usually buy books spontaneously, so there is no time to read reviews before buying a book.

Price - that is an important factor, I'm not a millionaire, after all, and if a book costs more than it is reasonable, I probably will not buy it, even if the author is well-known and all the other factors are good.

 

[GOLLUM]

--Familiar with author - YES, when I find someone I like I tend to read everytihng they've written.

--Specific genre or sub-genre (F, SF, military SF, sword & sorcery, etc.) - YES as per Fantasy and Horror.

--cover and presentation - Not really, more interested in the content!

--cover blurb, preface, quotes from other authors - Only the latter, quotes from other authors I really like but not always the defining factor.

--content (flipping through book) - Only for a general feel and the prose.

--recommendations from others - YES a fairly major influence, but mainly from members who have similar tastes to myself.

--reviews (on Amazon, here, etc.) - partially, although member reviews count more in my estimation.

--other? YES from magazine articles, reviews, local SFF club, peers into SFF etc...

--Price? Not really.

 

[elvet]

In order of importance:
1. Familiarity with author is the biggest influence.
2. Recommendation from a friend that knows my tastes.
3. Reviews and forum comments are becoming more important. It just takes time to get a sense of the community (I'm still fairly new here), and recognise members with similar preferences.
4. Content. I prefer high fantasy to urban fantasy, and I don't like horror or too much gore. Battle heavy stories have to be well balanced (i.e. Bernard Cornwell) to hold my interest.
5. Buzz. Though much of what I read is older stuff, when a new book gets a lot of good press from different sources, it piques my interest. The Lies of Locke Lamora was like that and I bought it when it was released. I was not disappointed .

 

[Brys]

1. Familiarity with author - of course I don't mean I'm more likely to buy a book just because I've read another by that author, but that I've read a book I've enjoyed by them. It also works the other way - I'll be much less likely to read a book by David Eddings or Christopher Paolini because of what I've previously read by them.
2. Recommendations - from places like here and all the other forums I'm a member of, numerous blogs and best of lists.
3. Reviews - they can be quite useful in helping to decide whether or not to read a book.
4. Content/genre - Both are quite important to me - I tend to read primarily science fiction and fantasy, and I'm unlikely to pick up a book if the content looks boring or unimaginative.

The rest isn't that important - covers tend to be misleading and author quotes are usually meaningless because they're only there if they're positive.

 

[Trey Greyjoy]

--Familiar with author -
Believe it or not, this actually only affects my decision slightly. If the subject matter doesnt sound interesting to me, I wont bother. However, I did pick up the Reed Stephens books when I found out it was Stephen Donaldson writing under a different name.

--Specific genre or sub-genre
Probably one of the most important factors. What I choose to read next is largely dependent upon what subject matter I feel like reading at the time.

--cover and presentation
well, they say never judge a book by its cover, but sometimes they just look so cool!

--cover blurb, preface, quotes from other authors
quotes from authors mean nothing to me. I dont even bother reading them. King calls everyone the next "master of horror"; please. The synopsis on the coverflap adds weight to my decision though.

--content (flipping through book)
Sometimes.

--recommendations from others
If at all possible, Ill try to read anything that someone has recommended to me. I cant read everything, but if someone hands me a book, Ill do my best to get to it.

--reviews (on Amazon, here, etc.)
Reviews will play a large part if Im considering something that Im not familiar with. If the subject matter is instructive non-fiction, eg how to build a deck, it plays the largest part of my decision. Ill need to know if the subject matter will give me the info I need. This also goes for recommendations above.

--other?
very very often hearing an author talk about his book, usually on NPR, stirs my interest. Even in subject matter that Im not usually interested in most of the time.

 

[Morpheus42]

Does language fit under "content" ???

 

[rune]

1 - if it's one of my favourite authors
2- the genre
3 - reviews, not on amazon though, i dont trust them. normally on other sites
4 - availability, if i can my hands on teh book

 

[Cloud]

"language" under content? Do you mean which language? skillful use of? obscenities in?

Probably fits under "other."

I'm actually surprised at the number of people who said reviews or recommendations. I've learned to take recommendations with a grain of salt, because what other people like may not be what I like. It would be enough for me to look at the book, but probably not to read it.

For me, writer, genre, cover blurb, and content make a difference.

 

[Highlander II]

I tend to get random rec's from friends. Granted, I haven't read some of them, but I have the books laying around.

Best way to rec' to friends? Pick a series, buy them a copy of the first book and make them get so hooked they have to buy the rest. You would not believe the number of ppl I've hooked on The Dresden Files this way.