tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post834354708349220698..comments2024-02-10T19:58:20.327+00:00Comments on Stuck in a Book: Choosing books...StuckInABookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-8766094014530027432010-01-24T17:27:04.421+00:002010-01-24T17:27:04.421+00:00I am always exceedingly irritated when a blurb tel...I am always exceedingly irritated when a blurb tells me how I'll feel/think/react after having read the book. I'll decide that for myself, thank you very much! Along with a list of catch-phrases not dissimilar to yours, a tabloid paper or women's magazine endorsement puts me right off a book.<br /><br />Like you, I do tend to judge a book by it's cover. I feel entitled to since I'm going to have to look at the cover sitting on my bookshelf/desk/random pile on the floor. And on the occasion that I do find a book I wish to read for which the publisher has chosen a hideous or offesively incongruous cover, I've been known to literally cover books myself with paper. <br /><br />[Aside: Who else is enraged by the chick-lit covers Headline Review opted for when releasing their new editions of Austen's novels a couple of years ago?]<br /><br />Covers aside, title, author, reading the first page, publisher, and recommendations are what I tend to consider when buying a completely random book. My reading habits are obsessive though - I tend to read all of the books by a particular author, or of a particular style, circle or sub-genre and nothing else until I've exhausted the list of available published material - so I rarely make a totally random selection.Nishathttp://nishhyder.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-24559516922354332262010-01-23T16:34:01.432+00:002010-01-23T16:34:01.432+00:00Oh, gosh... So many of those terms. I don't ca...Oh, gosh... So many of those terms. I don't care for "gritty," for one, as it seems to indicate urban and violent. Also, if a book claims to be like Dickens, for example, I wonder how anyone could be quite THAT good. So, Dickensian, Faulknerian, etc. make me suspicious. "Pitch perfect" is a term that just irritates me in general, it's so over-used. So many more, I can't even think of them.Bluestalkinghttp://bluestalking.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-75746078712975781792010-01-22T17:20:14.888+00:002010-01-22T17:20:14.888+00:00My way of choosing/buying books has changed greatl...My way of choosing/buying books has changed greatly since I became active on the internet, about 13 years ago. Before that, I bought books I wanted because I knew something about them already, or books that intrigued me looking at them in a second hand bookstore, Or even, older books that looked beautiful to me. But all of them were books that I had seen, and held in my hands, before I bought them.<br /><br />Now I buy books because people whose opinions I value have recommended them to me. I must admit, age and arthritis have cut down on my explorations of second hand book stores, though we still have them in my area of Northeast Ohio and upstate New York.<br /><br />And I buy too many books. Online, it seems to go too quickly. I'm running out of places to put more bookshelves and I'm carrying bags of donation books to our local Goodwill shops.<br /><br />I try to read a recommended book in a library copy before I decide to buy. I also keep a notebook next to my computer and write down the books that are mentioned by online friends. I do this because it keeps me from buying so many impulsively. I find that just writing down the title will often calm that book lust! Ah, the problems we make for ourselves!Thickethouse.wordpresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17187303460677067276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-24753625112096491302010-01-21T23:08:55.264+00:002010-01-21T23:08:55.264+00:00Oh goodness, anything with more than one generatio...Oh goodness, anything with more than one generation of a family... no thanks. (sorry Wuthering Heights)<br /><br />Great books I hadn't heard of til I bought them randomly:<br /><br />The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson (brilliant)<br /><br />The Underground Man - Mick Jackson<br /><br />Bad books I bought because they had a hilarious title:<br /><br />A Short History of Tractor Farming in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka<br /><br />The Cheese Monkeys - Chip Kidd.<br /><br />So, by not doing any research, you win some, you lose some.Melhttp://melgeorge.spaces.live.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-87897634036480146072010-01-21T18:47:23.028+00:002010-01-21T18:47:23.028+00:00Fantastic post - those off-putting phrases were br...Fantastic post - those off-putting phrases were brilliantly funny.<br /><br />I get influenced or not as the case may be but anything and everything, but especially books I've read about in reviews. Bad covers in particular are repellent. One of the things I do do though, is to ask the owners and staff of our bookshop "What's new that I'll like then?" They know me too well!Annabel Gaskellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12210341270502698508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-57080979292625387672010-01-21T18:00:20.952+00:002010-01-21T18:00:20.952+00:00'This book will change your life' ... oh, ...'This book will change your life' ... oh, no, it won't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-75099714944264568112010-01-21T17:56:02.938+00:002010-01-21T17:56:02.938+00:00My stratagy is to look for publishers rather than ...My stratagy is to look for publishers rather than authors, especially ones with a very distinctive house style, so a virago apple always gets my attention. I discovered Persephone like that too and have never been dissapointed by them. If something is highly recommended on a blog I like or in a review I'll certainly search it out, but I can't begin to number the excellent books I've found through following publishers.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16462516965218548374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-39023117492655747632010-01-21T17:18:42.819+00:002010-01-21T17:18:42.819+00:00It's usually a good sign when it is NOT on the...It's usually a good sign when it is NOT on the New York Times bestseller list or Oprah's list.<br /><br />Mostly, I jot down titles after visiting interesting blogs, such as yours, or suggestions from friends, or the occasional review from the Wall Street Journal.Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00029895022186304294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-35781672887028154432010-01-21T15:08:56.950+00:002010-01-21T15:08:56.950+00:00In fairness, you've only agreed to read The Ey...In fairness, you've only agreed to read The Eye of the World because I've agreed to read two Virginia Woolf novels in return. Which, by the way, you have yet to lend me.<br /><br />I get put off by books that are advertised at railway stations - just like films that are advertised on phone boxes, they're pretty much guaranteed to be bad.Colinhttp://www.colinjthomas.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-2872090209889504762010-01-21T07:59:02.360+00:002010-01-21T07:59:02.360+00:00How about "A warm and uplifting story of thre...How about "A warm and uplifting story of three generations of women from a dysfunctional family" ...?Pursewardenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08093084051459231677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-1997916540705123922010-01-21T07:57:39.590+00:002010-01-21T07:57:39.590+00:00I might be drawn to an unknown book by its' co...I might be drawn to an unknown book by its' cover. I don't hold much to the blurb, but I am intereted in any comments made on the book by another author I have enjoyed. <br />I also have a good read of the first paragraph, and if I want to go on, then usually buy.<br /><br />I also gain access to new books through my book group. Each meeting some of us bring along books that we have read, enjoyed, and exchange. I have come across some excellent books this way.<br /><br />Personal recommendations and incresingly blogs, also influence my reading. Other peoples book shelves, charity shops, shelves in holiday cottages, the 10p a book pile in our doctors surgery all put books in my way to snuffle through.henriettanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-53619171732050575242010-01-21T06:20:09.428+00:002010-01-21T06:20:09.428+00:00I'm fairly good at discerning why I'm draw...I'm fairly good at discerning why I'm drawn to a particular book, and if that reason is enough to purchase it or if it should go on my library list. Unfortunately, I'm not so great at why I am turned off by books. Although I'm with you on bad dialogue. One page can put me off a book forever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-1329784034721740142010-01-21T04:52:51.637+00:002010-01-21T04:52:51.637+00:00Ha, ha! You had me laughing with all those book bl...Ha, ha! You had me laughing with all those book blurbs. For years, I'd choose books based on the Amazon lists such as "If you like this book, you might like these..." I tend to trust people who like the same books I do. Of course, now with book blogs who needs Amazon? I would never choose a book by it's cover and I would never just read anything but there are quite a lot of people like your friend who would read anything.Astrid (Mrs.B)https://www.blogger.com/profile/00504736603540947661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-68642546540773428742010-01-20T19:44:51.498+00:002010-01-20T19:44:51.498+00:00I know I shouldn't judge a book by its cover b...I know I shouldn't judge a book by its cover but I do. If I don't like the cover I would prefer not to have it on my shelves. That's why my heart lifts when I see an old green Virago. <br /><br />One thing you didn't mention, Simon, was the TITLE of the book. I've seen the other side of choosing a title while my sister has been writing her first novel. There was a name that she gave the book and we used whenever we referred to it. It is a foreign word but also the name of the main character and the sound of that name also contains some of the hard edge of that man. However, my sister is well aware that a single foreign word is probably not enough to convey anything of th ebook, or intrigue a prospective purchaser.<br /><br />I don't buy new books, my skinflint tendenceies won't let me most of the time and also I don't feel comfortable in large bookshops. I've been in the Waterstone's branch in Piccadilly that claims to be "Europe's largest bookshop" with DoveGreyReader who was in her element. However, in somewhere like that I suffer a strange mixture of claustrophobia and agoraphobia. The lighting does something to my brain and eyes and I can't see the wood for the trees or the books for the books.<br />I love secondhand bookshops and charity shops. I am excited by the 10p basket by the door. Who knows what will be discovered? Scouts jumble sale. At the end of the afternoon I can come away with 2 carrier bags full of books for well under £5. Bliss!Ruthhttp://www.craftypeople.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-14963173197618681222010-01-20T18:19:33.736+00:002010-01-20T18:19:33.736+00:00...in the tradition of...
antics (worse: zany ant......in the tradition of...<br /><br />antics (worse: zany antics)<br /><br />dysfunctional<br /><br />"[author's name] is destined to be the next [bestselling author's name]" --[even bigger author's name]Susan Dhttp://www.destevenson.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-3025207222870337652010-01-20T17:50:04.188+00:002010-01-20T17:50:04.188+00:00Thanks man.
You've made me think about this no...Thanks man.<br />You've made me think about this now. It's not a random sample. I usually do buy books I've heard of. But when I am buying a book I've heard of and wanted, it may well be in the 3-for-2. Choosing the other two unheard of books therefore involves considering some factors: <br />Who has written the reviews on the back definitely holds weight. And - yes I do judge a book by its title actually... A bizarre or intruiging title and I'll usually go for it.<br />I have come across some great books this way... but I'll have to go and look at my bookcase to tell you which.Melhttp://thepygmygiant.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-22740016121971896292010-01-20T16:50:35.596+00:002010-01-20T16:50:35.596+00:00Not ever by a cover! It seems to me that the new c...Not ever by a cover! It seems to me that the new covers are way more beautiful than the words inside. They are that too-often used 'evocative.' They are often nostalgic in a heart-tugging kind of way. And the books rarely live up to them, in my experience. A striking exception are the Wallander books by Henning Mankell. They give a good sense of what is inside. I choose to buy a book based on what I've read - often the words of bloggers whose taste mirrors mine.Nanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-56800663943703547632010-01-20T14:12:46.487+00:002010-01-20T14:12:46.487+00:00Until reading your post and really thinking about ...Until reading your post and really thinking about it, I didn't realise just how much influences the books that I read. I tend to buy books from authors I have read and loved (I am one of those people who when I find an author I enjoy, I go on a reading spree and read every book of theirs I can get my hands on one after another). I also buy based on recommendations and reviews I have read. Due to finances, a lot of my books come from charity shops and secondhand book shops. In these cases, where the choices available are quite random, I rely on the blurb, if it is the type of books I tend to enjoy, the cover (it tells you a lot about the type of book it is) and the publisher.A Bookish Spacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15352870732457077916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-40259668691002182962010-01-20T14:02:27.918+00:002010-01-20T14:02:27.918+00:00It looks as though we have a very different taste ...It looks as though we have a very different taste in books, as half of your quotes would get me interested in a book.<br />I love disturbing books with dystopic vision and have no problems if the characters aren't in your big book of baby names!!<br /><br />I'm not a big fan of coming of age stories - especially those set in Ireland during the 1890s!!<br /><br />It is great that there is such diversity in reading tastes. I'll be interested to see your thoughts on Robert Jordan. My husband loves him, but I've never been tempted to try one.Jackie (Farm Lane Books)http://www.farmlanebooks.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-87348524542701692932010-01-20T13:06:52.807+00:002010-01-20T13:06:52.807+00:00Your list of blurbs had me laughing as they're...Your list of blurbs had me laughing as they're definite choice killers for me as well. The title escapes me but I remember once buying a book because the first line was a bell ringing as the shop door opened and tea was being poured. <br /><br />Clever, charming, set in England with preferably lots of dialogue will grab me every time...and apparently, a pot of tea.Darlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07415316482631852565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-83818515720386071412010-01-20T11:53:45.742+00:002010-01-20T11:53:45.742+00:00(This should all be in past tense as I am not buyi...(This should all be in past tense as I am not buying books this year as you know.) <br /><br />I tend to buy books that have either been raved about and recommended by those that I trust. I also obvioulsy by books buy authors I love of people have said that I will love. I don't take too many risks because I already have too many books.<br /><br /><br />Oh one exception to the rule... if its won a Prize then I would occasionally just think 'oh why not?'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-19489050196932699482010-01-20T11:08:35.230+00:002010-01-20T11:08:35.230+00:00You know well that Dark Puss no longer actually bu...You know well that Dark Puss no longer actually <i>buys</i> books (I bought two novels and one textbook in 2009) so all I can say is how I approach the similar, though financially much less risky, task of which books to borrow from my local (and University) libraries.<br /><br />1) An author whose work I have liked (e.g. Haruki Murakami and Kinky Freidman)<br /><br />2) An author I have heard of but not yet read.<br /><br />3) Some completely random choice; a bit like your chosing books blindfold from your shelves.<br /><br />4) Any Cornflower Book Group book.<br /><br />I am not influenced (sorry, that has to be a reckless statement - I do not THINK I am influenced) by titles, covers, blurb, silly (or enticing) words on covers etc. Mostly, I will do what "Claire (The Captive Reader)" suggests and quickly read a few paragraphs.Dark Pussnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-85376599372265648332010-01-20T10:03:22.190+00:002010-01-20T10:03:22.190+00:00I don't choose a book by its cover. Like you I...I don't choose a book by its cover. Like you I do choose a random page to check the book:although I have to confess my favourite pages are p 29 and p78- so not really random. My local library has a reader of large print books who circles p 18. I am guessing this signifies that they have read the book, but who knows. On a side issue, maybe I live in a place where pedants predominate because I am forever reading corrections (both grammatical and editorial) I love this aspect of reading library books.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-87700048984423571862010-01-20T10:02:14.568+00:002010-01-20T10:02:14.568+00:00I'm with Lizzy on the headless women. Noooooo...I'm with Lizzy on the headless women. Nooooooo!Julienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-30653555584277958102010-01-20T07:11:09.904+00:002010-01-20T07:11:09.904+00:00P.S. I forgot to mention: covers absolutely draw m...P.S. I forgot to mention: covers absolutely draw me in, too. Of course, they still have to pass my first page test. :Dclairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14397226316253896335noreply@blogger.com