What motivates you.....

[KanoasDestiny]

....to read a book? (Friends and family, store display, advertisement, reviews, cover art, bestseller listing, or something else?)

 

[Jill]

My mom's recommendation, summaries from Audible (and/or audio samples) that sound good, reviews on goodreads.com, a heads up from a friend, interesting looking cover art and (my all time favorite) a new book by an author I already enjoy

 

[MountainWoman]

The author, the subject matter and sometimes the reviews on Amazon.com. If available, I get a sample sent to my Kindle and go from there. I also have to say I'm attracted to cover art. Might not be the way to go (don't judge a book by its cover) but beautiful art is very attractive.

 

[lucky seven]

Since I have always enjoyed reading, it's generally the subject matter or the author. I couldn't stand Lonesome Dove the book until I saw the mini series. Those actors brought the charaters to life for me and I was then able to get through the entire book and really enjoyed it. It is now one of my favorites to read. So I would also have to ad that sometimes a movie or mini series will get me into a book as well. I loved Eaters but probably would never have read it if I wasn't watching the walking dead.

 

[KanoasDestiny]

I am mostly drawn to the cover of a book, followed by the summary of what it is about. Friends, family, and strangers can rave about a book or series, but if I see the cover and don't like it or the summary, I usually won't read it. If it's an author that I like, I might collect some of their work, including books I wouldn't normally read. I almost always read the reviews of a book before I buy it, but there have been many times where I bought the book regardless, because I thought I might like it. I've also passed up a lot of books because of something negative that I've read about them. Like Karen said, I tend to rely on movies too. I had seen four of the Harry Potter movies, and two of the Twilight movies, before I ever read any of the books to either series. If it wasn't for the movies, I'd probably still be oblivious to how good the books are.

 

[lucky seven]

I'm probably the only person here that hasn't read any Harry Potter books or seen the movies!

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Nope, Jill hasn't either. They are the best books ever! (hint, hint)

 

[ohmt]

I have never read any reviews, but I started my love of reading when I was in elementary school and would have to wait at the library for 3 hrs every day after school until my mother was done with work and could come pick me up, so reading reviews wasn't really an option. When I think back on this now it was a little bit of a strange situation. Most parents send their children to a daycare....my mother chose the library lol. She knew me too well I think because I spent every day reading. I never brought any books home so I had my own little hiding place in the library where I'd stash the books I was reading so no one else would take them. When I was finished with one book, I would go to the next aisle and pick one from there. Most of the time I would pick a book that I thought might be interesting after reading the summary. But, sometimes I would switch it up and pick the thickest book or the book with the plainest cover (those two tend to coincide). I spent a lot of time at that library-from 6th grade up until 10th when I finally got my license! It made me fall in love with reading.

Anyway, back to the question...I seem to follow the same criteria as I did when I was younger, though most of the time it is just whether or not I think I'll like it after reading the summary. I tend to gravitate towards longer stories because I like the development and detail. From there, it's all up in the air

I do have some favorite authors whose books I always read, even without reading the summary (Tamora Pierce, Phillipa Gregory, Orson Scott Card, etc).

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Amanda, that seems like an awesome (smart) way to spend time after school. Not only did your mom know that you were in a safe place, she also helped encourage your love for books.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I'm probably the only person here that hasn't read any Harry Potter books or seen the movies!

Nope. You are not the only. Never have. Never will.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I am mostly drawn to the cover of a book, followed by the summary of what it is about. Friends, family, and strangers can rave about a book or series, but if I see the cover and don't like it or the summary, I usually won't read it. If it's an author that I like, I might collect some of their work, including books I wouldn't normally read. I almost always read the reviews of a book before I buy it, but there have been many times where I bought the book regardless, because I thought I might like it. I've also passed up a lot of books because of something negative that I've read about them. Like Karen said, I tend to rely on movies too. I had seen four of the Harry Potter movies, and two of the Twilight movies, before I ever read any of the books to either series. If it wasn't for the movies, I'd probably still be oblivious to how good the books are.

I tried to introduce a reading friend to "The Cat Who..." mysteries by Braun. She loves cats, and the books are not gruesome, so I thought she would be interested. Not! She didn't even look at the cover or wait to hear about the story, but just stated categorically that she never read mysteries.

If my mother raves about a book or movie and tries to coerce me to read it, I generally dig my heels in and won't read it. We like books for different reasons, and if she tries to convince me to read something for a certain reason, I'll get mulish.

I'm ornery. If she just hands me a book and says I might enjoy it, I'll try it out.

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Marsha, your mom must love Harry Potter?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Marsha, your mom must love Harry Potter?

In this case is isn't ornerinesss but my own idea!

 

[lucky seven]

Marsha-I'm not even interested in giving them a try.

I used to love those Cat Who books, I did think the last one was boring. What were the names of those cats?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Marsha-I'm not even interested in giving them a try.

I used to love those Cat Who books, I did think the last one was boring. What were the names of those cats?

KoKo and YumYum. Just reread the Cat Who Turned Off and On, so it's fresh in my mind!

I only like the first ones. They were sort of still good when he got rich, but after awhile they got boring.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I tend to pick up a book to read the back based on the title, sometimes the cover will attract my attention too. I will look for specific authors, but somtimes (often) I can't remember the name(s) when I'm looking, so I end up browsing shelves for something new. On Amazon I do sometimes go by the reviews, if it's a new author or one I'm not sure about.

Anyone else spend "hours" on Amazon when you go to look up one book, and then browse the bottom row of recommended books and go from one to another adding too many to your wishlist.... I have multiple wishlists on Amazon just for books!

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Anyone else spend "hours" on Amazon when you go to look up one book, and then browse the bottom row of recommended books and go from one to another adding too many to your wishlist.... I have multiple wishlists on Amazon just for books!

That's one of my favorite things to do! I currently have six book-related wishlists on Amazon.