# How do you pick your books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897 "2009-02-15T02:10:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/21 "2009-02-15T06:13:11Z")
Amazon reviews. I’ve bought or borrowed from the library books I’ve seen praised on this forum. I also get a monthly review of books from two bookstores I frequent. One of them sells only science fiction and fantasy, so I can buy all the SF books I want without falling into the trap of buying fantasy, a genre I don’t enjoy reading at all. ---
**Author:** ![lynne-42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lynne-42/32/3138_2.png) [@lynne-42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynne-42)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/22 "2009-02-15T06:22:50Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > See, when I hear “word of mouth”, I think _reader’s_ mouth, not publicists or the press, or even the author. You are absolutely right. Sorry if I was confusing. Readers’ mouths are what matters. It’s getting those readers in the first case which is hard for all but the well known authors. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/23 "2009-02-15T07:09:50Z")
With a ruler. And I’m not kidding. I have different standards for different types of material - I like one thing in novels, another in history, another in biographies, etc. But what _always_ remains, the final judge of whether I will pay for a book, is how thick it is. Too thin, or too many pictures, and I won’t buy it unless absolutely necessary. The more pages, the more words, the more likely it is that I will buy it. It’s that simple. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/24 "2009-02-15T07:14:45Z")
I rarely, if ever, read fiction (if I do it’s probably Stirling), so I usually walk to the history section and to go what era I currently want to study. Then I browse titles that catch my eye. Book jackets and prefaces are read, then I decide. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/25 "2009-02-15T09:03:42Z")
I keep a running list of recommendations from friends, ideas from our monthy “Whatcha Reading?” threads, things seen while browsing bookstores or Amazon, classics or ‘big-name authors’ I haven’t read yet, etc etc. It’s always nice to find an awesome author with a decent back-catalog, like Iain Banks, Arturo Perez-Reverte or Jim Crace, that can get me going for a while. I’ll browse the history or literary travel sections for random books, but I don’t tend to spontaneously pick up unknown fiction or sci-fi authors. ---
**Author:** ![Spectralist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Spectralist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectralist)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/26 "2009-02-15T09:15:05Z")
I lurk forums. If people are talking about a book and their discussion seems interesting even when i haven’t a clue what they are talking about then there’s a very good chance i’ll enjoy the book. > [@JohnT](#): > > With a ruler. And I’m not kidding. > > I have different standards for different types of material - I like one thing in novels, another in history, another in biographies, etc. But what _always_ remains, the final judge of whether I will pay for a book, is how thick it is. > > Too thin, or too many pictures, and I won’t buy it unless absolutely necessary. The more pages, the more words, the more likely it is that I will buy it. > > It’s that simple. 🙂 I’ve read that a lot of publishers talk their authors into increasing the length of a book because of how many people think this way. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/27 "2009-02-15T10:17:16Z")
I read mostly science fiction. I go to the SF section and start at A and go to Z. I look for any authors I like and see if they have anything new. If something catches my eye I’ll try a new author. I then go to other parts of the store but generally only look for specific authors. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/28 "2009-02-15T10:38:09Z")
Mostly I pick them up, read the cover blurb and if it seems interesting I randomly read a few pages here and there. If I like the writing I get it. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/29 "2009-02-15T13:36:24Z")
I buy all my books at Goodwill, so I work almost exclusively by the cover and memory of authors I have liked before. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/30 "2009-02-15T14:27:37Z")
I have several ways. I go to Borders and see what’s new. I shop by genre. I go to Amazon and see what is recommended based on my past history. I hang out at the monthly Whatcha Reading thread and see what other dopers are recommending. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/31 "2009-02-15T14:34:23Z")
First I go by author. A friend turned me on to Terry Pratchett, so I read all of his books. After reading Good Omens (co-authored between Pratchett and Neil Gaiman) I begain reading everything by Neil Gaiman I could find. If I can’t find anything by those two I haven’t read, I generally ask friends for advice on authors/books they may have liked. This is how I came across a few of the works of Richard Dawkins and Steven Hawking, which were quite good. Another deal-maker is post-apocalyptic fiction if done well. _World War Z_ was quite good, and I am eyeballing the \*Dies the Fire \*series for my next book purchase. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/32 "2009-02-15T14:55:14Z")
> [@Spectralist](#): > > I’ve read that a lot of publishers talk their authors into increasing the length of a book because of how many people think this way. I prefer to buy my books new and I read _very_ fast. Given that, if I’m shelling out $27.99 for a new novel (or $10 for the paperback) the damn thing better be 800 pages in size 6 font, nothing but blocks of text. 😉 It irritates me buying a book only to be done with it the next day. I’ll possibly re-read it, but still: $25 ought to last longer. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/33 "2009-02-15T16:09:44Z")
Like others in here, I’ll often go by author, but it’s another of my weird book fetishes - I won’t read two books in a row by the same author. I just found I got too saturated in one person’s style reading two or more in a row. The ‘reading the works of author x in order’ came about after reading one two many series and discovering that the solution to number 4 was mentioned in number 8, or knowing that Detective Plodshoe’s daughter was going to survive the accident in episod 3 because she’s in a wheelchair in episode 5. It’s not confined to pulp fiction; even some truly great authors have done things like that. And here seems like as good a place as any to mention a Penguin edition of a book I shall not mention by name, where the cover painting of the second volume was ‘The Death of character X’. The book in question had an episode early on where character X was left on the battlefield and we were supposed to think he had died - other than the fact that the painting on the second volume gave that game away. AAAUUGH! ---
**Author:** ![Nautilus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nautilus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nautilus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/34 "2009-02-15T16:22:40Z")
I use a couple different methods. When I’m browsing in a bookstore, I usually stick to books by authors I’ve already read before and liked. If not that, I’ll pick a book that’s been highly recommended to me or is on sale. For a new author, I usually try to find reviews of it on the internet or find a friend who has read it before. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/35 "2009-02-15T17:10:50Z")
I, too, judge a book by its cover. If the title is clever, that piques my interest also. I will then read the first page and look at the blurbs. If I’m still interested, I will then go the library to get it. 😃 I watch a lot of CSPAN’s Book TV on weekends. If an author sells his book well there, I will usually be interested. ---
**Author:** ![Night\_so\_be\_it](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b2d939/32.png) [@Night\_so\_be\_it](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Night_so_be_it)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/36 "2009-02-15T20:17:18Z")
I usually just ask Harold Bloom. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/37 "2009-02-16T01:19:07Z")
Lately I’ve been selecting by author–someone I’ve always meant to read but haven’t or an author whose previous works I’ve liked. I also skim through my friend’s books on Goodreads and see what they’ve read that looks interesting. NPR also has some good recommendations, but I’ve learned to take them with a small shaker of salt after the great _Cloud Atlas_ disappointment. Then there’s the “I still have credit at the used bookstore and I’ve found all the stuff I know I like” scenario. I pick a shelf at random in the fantasy/sci-fi section and skim until I find something that looks interesting. That’s how I found out about J.V. Jones. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/38 "2009-02-16T01:53:25Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I prefer to buy my books new and I read _very_ fast. Given that, if I’m shelling out $27.99 for a new novel (or $10 for the paperback) the damn thing better be 800 pages in size 6 font, nothing but blocks of text. 😉 > > It irritates me buying a book only to be done with it the next day. I’ll possibly re-read it, but still: $25 ought to last longer. Have you read any Ken Follet? He’s written some beasts. I was turned onto him by my father-in-law who feels exactly the same way as you about books. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/39 "2009-02-16T01:59:04Z")
It depends on what I’m after - if I want something light & stupid, I go straight to Pratchett, SD Perry or Laurell K Hamilton (it’s like Salad Dressing. Bad for my teeth, but I can’t stop myself). If I want something more meaty, I’ll hit up the shelves of Richard Morgan or Alastair Reynolds to see if they’ve got anything new out. Otherwise I then trawl the shelves looking for books that are a) Big and b) Interest me with their blurbs/ a random paragraph. I have been known to buy books because they’re shiny. I got Chasm City and Altered Carbon because they had that kind of “holographic” cover on them. Morgan and Reynolds are now my two favourite authors. I also bought “Deathstalker” because of the shiny cover. That… Not so good. But still enjoyable in a cheesy way. So I guess you could count that as 3 out of 3. ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897/40 "2009-02-16T02:19:32Z")
> [@Elyanna](#): > > I gather from recommendation threads, Top-whatever lists, friends’ recommendations, and Amazon suggestions. When a book has gotten my interest, I glance at its Amazon rating, summary, and sometimes comments, then put it on my “library” wishlist at Amazon, where it will sit on a queue til I get around to requesting it from the library. If I really like it after I read it, I put it on my “to buy” Amazon wishlist. Otherwise, crossed off the list. > > So it goes. This is exactly how I use Amazon wishlists, and why I love them. My library list is a zillion pages long, and I am actually nerdy enough that I keep a notebook in my purse with the call numbers of the books that I want, so that I don’t forget when I’m actually at the library (otherwise I tend to go off a bit wonky and just start gathering things at random until my arms fall off, and the librarians look at me askance for cluttering up their stacks). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pick-your-books/485897.md?page=3)