Do you buy novels without reading the first few pages first?

[Thudlow_Boink]

Yes, I often buy novels without reading the first few pages first—especially if they’re from an author I already know I like, or if they’re a book I have other reasons to expect I’m going to like, and especially if I’m not risking too much money on them (e.g. a $1.99 special deal Kindle book, or a 50 cent used paperback).

In the other thread that this spun off from, you gave the parameters you judge fiction by:

@SlackerInc

If you cannot detect wide disparities in merit from the first few pages, you are not much of a reader.

There are two basic parameters I judge SF by:

1. Literary quality (as I would judge non-genre fiction like Doerr’s)

2. How interesting and original the premise and setting are, and how well they are fleshed out via world building.

When #1 is weak, it is apparent within a few sentences at most. #2 should come into focus within a few paragraphs (if it doesn’t, that is itself a weakness).

You say nothing about plot, or characters, or themes, which are a big part of why most people read fiction, and it’s not always obvious how good those are going to be from the first few pages. And you seem to be more sensitive to writing style than many readers are. Personally, I find it a turn-on (reason to keep reading) if it’s particularly good and a turn-off (reason to give up on a book) if it’s particularly bad, but there’s a middle ground where it doesn’t do much for me one way or the other.

And if writing style is so important to you, why do you only apply this criterion to novels?