What makes you pick up a book?

by BJ Sikes

I am curious what makes people decide that a book is worth reading. After all, there’s something like a million new books published on Amazon every month (or is it every day?), which sounds like an apocryphal number really. Let’s just say LOTS. I am a voracious reader but there is a finite amount of time per day I can read (much to my chagrin). I have to be choosy about what to read. I’m sure everyone has different methods of choosing THAT book and it will depend on if you’re at a bookstore, an in person author event, or browsing online.

Whether in person or online I always start with the cover. If I hate the cover, I’m not going to be tempted to look further. Unless it’s an author I love. That will definitely boost the book up.

Next is the back cover copy (or online summary). If I’m intrigued, I’ll read the first few pages. When I’m in person, I’ll usually decide then whether the book is for me. If I’m online, I might check out the reviews to see what other readers think.

Sometimes, when I’m at an event where the author is present, they will often tell me something about the book that wasn’t obvious from the back cover text. I’ve had that experience from the other side of the table, when something I mention about one of my books gets someone’s attention and they MUST have that book. Why didn’t that info get on the cover somewhere? It’s hard to put everything on the book cover!

I asked one of the teenagers I live with how she chose books, and she mentioned that the shoutouts on the cover will help her decide. She’s a visual artist so book covers are definitely interesting to her. And a book has to be really different to catch her attention. She’s read so many books in her short life that she’s already bored with the same YA tropes.

So how about you, dear readers? What grabs you about a book and says READ ME!