Saturday, April 28, 2012

My book selection criteria.

Television viewing has grown wearisome . . . filled with endless reality/nonsense shows, so I've been reading, and reading a lot.
But how do I select my library of books?
Well I have three measures that help me chose my books.
A) Front Cover - The cover is the first thing I see - that and the title.
However I can only think of one instance when the front cover was so compelling I knew I was going to get the book before even reading the blurb on the back . . .  Those Who Save Us, by Jeanna Blum.
The image of a young girl, I'm guess 4-5 years of age was wearing a red coat, kind of like one I remember having in Brooklyn.  It drew me! 
B) The back blurb is about 95% of the reason I select books. Rarely have I actually cracked one open in advance of buying it, rather base whether the book returns to shelves on what the blurb has to say.
C) Topic - I'm pretty consistent in this regard.
I'm a strident Holocaust-aholic, reading everything I can get my hands on.  And also enjoy books that have jewish characters. ex: The Midwife of Venice.
Religion comparison books, and those that knock religion are big on my list. ex: Dancing with Angels.
Fantasy books, and no I'm not talking x-rated. Harry Potter and books about dragons get me. I have yet to dabble into vampires.
And lastly books set in the orient. I find those so fascinating. Memoirs of a Geisha,  Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
On occasion I do select books outside my norm, i.e. The Glass Castle, The Da Vinci Code, and am always interested in memoirs.

I have a friend who never looks at the blurb on the back, but cracks open the book and reads the first page. IF that author writes in a style she likes AND catches her with a hook, she buys the book.

What about you, what makes or breaks a book being selected by you?

I'm just curious.



5 comments:

  1. If I choose books to read I see from the theme, family science and weight, the look book I did not notice

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  2. Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
    Mark Twain
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  3. Very nice book. I am very interested about online books and I am searching about the gymnastics books.

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  4. TV has become so boring that reading might be able to make a comeback. At least that is what I am hoping for. The cover is important. People say not to choose a book by its cover but we are all guilty of it. I like the idea of judging the book by style.

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  5. The cover of Broken Bird is very interesting and attractive, but I select the favorite book by the plot first.

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