What makes you buy a book?

pickarooney

What are the main criteria and the deciding factor for you when browsing in a bookshop? Assuming you'd never heard of a book before, what makes you put it back or purchase it?

I'm kind of shallow in that I'll first be attracted by a cover, then a catchy title.
A particular book might be the best thing ever written but if it has a dull cover there's little chance I'll pick it up. The back-cover synopsis usually clinches the decision.

Tiddlers

I'm the same. A cover will draw me in but the synopsis has to win me over before I buy it. A dull cover is probably why I've read very few of the 'classics'. And I studied English Lit in college.
A book which has recently caught my attention is Miso Soup by Ryo Murakami.The synopsis convinced me to buy it but I haven't read it yet.

Books by his namesake Haruki Murakami also have very attractive book covers and equally enticing synopses!

Eliot Rosewater

While in a bookshop I would generally look at the "classics", whether in the classics section itself or more often in fiction (i prefer the modern stuff). I usually get my recommendations from here or "top x" lists, and the fact that a book is published in one of the classics imprints is really another recommendation too.

A nice cover can be the clincher though! For when I buy the book later online that is, I rarely buy books in the shops themselves. I'm all for supporting local businesses, but when were talking about a 35-40% price difference its just not feasible for a cash strapped student like myself.

Plowman

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pickarooney

Assuming you'd never heard of a book before

This rules out classics and recommendations.

K4t

I don't really buy books to be honest, just use libraries mostly. However, if I am buying a book I'll make sure to read a few reviews first and read the opening page or two. That's all.

Denerick

Call me a complete and utter ponce, but a trip to the bookshop is a ritual for me. Although I haven't had money in yonks and have therefore been catching up on my backlog, I like to spend a good bit of money whenever I do wander into a bookshop. The following is taken into account:

1) I have an authors name in my head - ie, Aldous Huxley, Umberto Eco, Oscar Wilde, Isaac Asimov etc.
2) I gravitate towards the fiction section.
3) I pick up some of the authors books and read the back and the synopsis.
4) I make a quick decision.
5) Then I'll wander over to the bargain section.
6) There's always at least one good book you might of heard of in here.
7) Then I peruse the classics.
8) I tend to always buy a classic as they are so cheap.
9) Then I spend a good hour in the history/politics section.
10) I read most of the back covers!
11) I might buy one book, usually an inoffensive sounding biography.
12) Then I have to pay *sigh*

Some days I'm pretty certain that I've OCD, because if I don't follow that ritual my head might simply implode...

Aidric

I usually read the book review sections in the weekend version of The Irish Times or the comprehensive one in The Sunday Times. If there is a movie adaptation coming up that interests me I'll pick up the book on which it's based. I'm a big fan of Crime Thrillers so that's usually my first port of call.
I agree with others saying it's good to put a few classics in to the mix now and again. Easons are selling the classics for €2.50 at the moment. I picked up Hard Times by Dickens and Catcher In The Rye by Sallinger yesterday to re read them as I'd taken them in school all of ten years ago.

Eliot Rosewater

pickarooney wrote: »

This rules out classics and recommendations.

Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself


Do people here mostly buy their books in bookshops?

[-0-]

I do most of my shopping online so I head over to amazon and check the reviews there before buying from the likes of booksunlimited or O'Mahony's.

I also search this forum for people's reviews. :pac:

Tiddlers

I rarely buy books online. Usually buy books in second hand book shops. Chapters is my favourite.They've a great selection and often they have fairly recent releases in the second hand section.I only buy books new if it's something I really want or need which is rarely the case as I'm quite a compulsive buyer and I seldom pay attention to reviews.. I do love the smell of a brand new book; I dislike the cost though!!

Quality

If I am not buying a book that has been recommended or that I have seen reviewed, I will either buy by author, Or I will cruise the book shops for their recommendations, I shop in Waterstones, They have a book shelf with Local recommendations... and a little synopsis of each book,

i also go for books that maybe up for certain awards, like the costa awards or the orange book awards.

Plowman

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MadRush

if a title in any way resonates with me....i usually buy it....!

like Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

landsleaving

Tiddlers wrote: »

A book which has recently caught my attention is Miso Soup by Ryo Murakami.The synopsis convinced me to buy it but I haven't read it yet.

Pick it up, it's a great read, really draws you in. Bit strange and at times violent though so if you're not into that kind of thing steer clear, otherwise I'd recommend it

buck65

Surely you neglected to mention one of the biggest booksellers. Newspaper reviews.

pickarooney

buck65 wrote: »

Surely you neglected to mention one of the biggest booksellers. Newspaper reviews.

Surely you neglected to read the first post properly

Tiddlers

landsleaving wrote: »

Pick it up, it's a great read, really draws you in. Bit strange and at times violent though so if you're not into that kind of thing steer clear, otherwise I'd recommend it

His writing seems to be a bit similar,probably slightly darker than Haruki Murakami and I love his books. I've seen the film Audition, which he wrote or is based on one of his books, and I thought that was brilliant. Right up my street!

shqipshume

pickarooney wrote: »

What are the main criteria and the deciding factor for you when browsing in a bookshop? Assuming you'd never heard of a book before, what makes you put it back or purchase it?

I'm kind of shallow in that I'll first be attracted by a cover, then a catchy title.
A particular book might be the best thing ever written but if it has a dull cover there's little chance I'll pick it up. The back-cover synopsis usually clinches the decision.

Well usually if you haven't heard of a certain book the cover and title are there to capture your attention.Nothing shallow in that.What would be shallow if you decided not to have a look at the synopsis because of the cover.
I am same except i will not judge the book on cover if it doesn't look to good,Many a book i have read like Silas marner and catcher in rye their covers woeful.:D

landsleaving

Tiddlers wrote: »

His writing seems to be a bit similar,probably slightly darker than Haruki Murakami and I love his books. I've seen the film Audition, which he wrote or is based on one of his books, and I thought that was brilliant. Right up my street!

Ah if you liked audition you'll love Miso Soup definitely.

Amazotheamazing

No one else (well maybe Denerick) gets the "must buy a book' compulsion? Doesn't matter what, that sick electric feeling when you know you need to buy a book you heard about briefly 5 years ago off a guy who you'd just met after 12 pints but seemed like a decent skin?

Charlie Byrnes bookstore in Galway is great for it, O'Mahony's in Limerick. Always feel Chapters promises a lot but delivers so little.

Honestly, my book buying is controlled by a poor impulse control system in my brain, also affects cd's. I have books I bought years ago that I'm getting around to reading now, and sometimes I'll buy a book and finish it in the next few days. It's a sickness, I should get help.

pickarooney

I get about 45 minutes every 6 months when I can go to a bookshop in Ireland and buy some English-language literature. I usually buy about 5 or 6 (number of pages comes into play regarding suticase packing for the return flight!) from the 'reduced' section, most of which I'll have never heard of before and figure if one or two are decent then it's a win.

buck65

pickarooney wrote: »

Surely you neglected to read the first post properly

Fair point but I assumed that you meant a book/author you never heard of before seeing a review or the book in the shop.

kickarykee

I couldn't name just one thing cause it's always something different ...
Sometimes I just buy a book because I like it's cover (of course after reading the cover text to see whether it's at least likely to be my kind of thing, but still), others it's because I know the author and love her/his work ... a recommendation, cause I know the story from a movie or something, because I love the topic in general (e.g. lately I've been into noetic science a lot so I basically read everything that's got to do with that ... blogs, books, magazines, etc.) ...
There's really no such thing as the "ultimate reason"

Blush_01

I like pretty colours, interesting blurbs, familiar authors, books I've heard vague recommendations about, books I've been meaning to pick up, special offers, multi-buy discounts, something totally unusual, something similar to what I usually buy, interesting covers, different paper or cover textures, pretty fonts, but it's almost always fiction. I don't like hardback books if I'm reading a thick books as a rule because they're harder to hold when I'm curled up in bed.

My reasons for picking up a book, and going on to purchase that book are so dependent on time of the month (how close it is to pay-day is a big factor on what I can buy); how good or bad my day has been; what kind of offers are on; how much time I have to browse; whether I've seen it before and considered it; what the writing is like (usually from a quick glance between the covers)... a lot of the time I don't have a conscious reason for buying what I buy.

I'm a bit of a book whore - I'll read almost anything once. I love Vibes & Scribes, Chapters, Hodges Figgis, Waterstones, O'Mahonys, even Easons.

t wex

[-0-] wrote: »

I do most of my shopping online so I head over to amazon and check the reviews there before buying from the likes of booksunlimited or O'Mahony's.

I also search this forum for people's reviews. :pac:

Make sure you buy in store
Booksunlimited have taken my money and not sent out the Book.
Booksunlimited are pure Cowboys!!

I bought a book from booksunlimited on 05/09/2012 online and haven't recieved a thing.
I've been on the site since and the book is now on sale!!! So somebody is definately maintaining the site. I think they have put it on sale to catch a few more fools out because they have noticed a demand.

I have emailed them, tried ringing all of their shops but lines are disconected.

My only hope now is to dispute the purchase with VISA.

Sorry for hijacking an old thread but I'm going to add my experience of booksunlimited to every reference of them I can find to save other readers from having to deal with them.

Paddy Samurai

If I’m in a shop usually Genre /Cover /Authors name is what draws me . Then it’s the synopsis and price that decide’s if I buy it. If it’s too expensive and I like the book , I take a photo on my phone and search for it on-line later. The exceptions are the bargain table were the synopsis is the deciding factor.or the second hand section where I look for a particular Books/Authors that are scarce or out of print.

If buying on-line it’s usually Genre followed by reviews, and synopsis .Otherwise recommendations from fellow readers help make the decision , as usually you have choice over the price you pay on-line, unlike a shop.

I usually buy 90% of my books on-line.