What makes me buy a book
January 9, 2012 at 2:49 pm 10 comments
Today I bought a book that I’d never heard of before. Maybe that doesn’t sound like a big deal — okay, actually it’s not — but see, most the novels I buy fall into one of these categories:
- books written by real-life or online friends of mine
- books written by authors I already know I love
- books that win or are short-listed for awards (assuming the stories appeal to me!)
- books that have been recommended to me by crit partners
- books that have received good reviews from book-bloggers, SLJ, Kirkus…
- books I’ve stumbled across online that strongly appeal to my taste, even if there’s not a lot of buzz
So, it’s not often I pick up a book that’s completely new to me and decide to buy it right then. That’s really not fair to all those fabulous-but-unknown-to-me books out there, but sadly, that’s the way it is. In case you care (and I know some of my writer-friends probably do — the rest of you, maybe not so much), here, in order, is what tipped the scales and resulted in today’s purchase:
- cover art
- title
- back cover copy
- blurb by author I know & love (Courtney Summers)
- blurbs by others I’m familiar with but haven’t yet read (Stephanie Kuehnert and Kody Keplinger)
- first page
If the blurbs were from people I hadn’t heard of, I still would’ve opened the book and read the first page based on cover art, title, and back cover copy — ultimately, the voice has to grab me on page one — but the blurbs definitely helped in this case. (Full disclosure: if I’d noticed before I decided to buy that the publisher was Harlequin Teen, I may have put the book down again, cuz I’m totally not a romance person. Shame on me for being so biased.) (ETA: I checked out Harlequin Teen, and they publish a much wider range of books than I’d assumed. Never assume. Never assume. Never assume. I hope I’ve learned my lesson. 
)
So what’s the book?
SAVING JUNE, by Hannah Harrington. Hannah, I’m sorry I hadn’t heard of your book before. I should’ve been paying better attention, lol. But now I’ve heard of it, bought it, and am looking forward to reading it! Yay for new books! 
Entry filed under: authors, Books, Bookstores, IslandGirl Home, YA fiction. Tags: .
10 Comments Add your own
Leave a comment
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed
1.
catknutsson | January 9, 2012 at 3:20 pm
I’m looking forward to reading SAVING JUNE too! (Hannah’s an agent-mate) The cover is really lovely….
2.
Shari Green | January 10, 2012 at 1:30 am
Oh cool – yay for agent-mate’s books! I’m happy to pass it on to you when I’m done.
3.
Angelina C. Hansen (@AngelinaCHansen) | January 9, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Thanks for sharing your book buying process. Very similar to my own. ^_^
4.
Shari Green | January 10, 2012 at 1:29 am
5.
Cassie | January 9, 2012 at 4:09 pm
One of my favorite parts of actual book stores is scanning the long isles of spines to figure out what book intrigues me. I think your blog definitely caters to that. Thanks for sharing. That book looks really good (just based on cover).
6.
Shari Green | January 10, 2012 at 1:29 am
It’s a great cover, isn’t it?
Thanks for stopping by, Cassie.
7.
Medeia Sharif | January 10, 2012 at 5:12 pm
I just added Saving June to my wish list.
I love stumbling on books online or in stores. I find many unexpected jewels that way. I also pay attention to what’s on your list.
8.
Shari Green | January 14, 2012 at 10:51 pm
So fun finding those unexpected jewels!
9.
Diana Stevan | January 10, 2012 at 8:03 pm
I love the cover, too, and I do stop and consider a book based on that alone and go from there. It’s exciting finding something you hadn’t considered before. I’ll look forward to hearing how you like it on goodreads.
10.
Carol J. Garvin | January 11, 2012 at 10:14 am
It’s always exciting to discover a new book!
Unless I’m looking for a specific book, or something by a specific author, the cover of a book is what first attracts me. Then it’s the title that draws me to read the back cover blurb. Obviously our processes are similar.