11 reasons to buy a book (UK results are in!)

[ken magee]

From a number of posts, forums and blogs, I've collected a selection of reasons why readers buy books.

I thought it would be interesting to place 11 of them in a poll and see what comes out on top and I think the result will help authors see if they hit the spot with their respective books.

I posted a similar poll on the UK Kindle Forum - I wonder will the results be the same?

[history_lover]

For me, "first few paragraphs" is more like the first few pages or chapters - ie, the sample. Also, there was no option for the book's overall rating (not necessarily reviews) which I also consider from both Amazon and Goodreads.

[J.R.Tate]

Genre has a lot to do with my choice.  I'm not a huge fan of fantasy or sci fi books, so if I see that is the main genre, I usually don't download it.  Also, I like to skim through the independent reviews of a book.  It might sound strange, but I go and look at all of the lower rated reviews first.  I feel that if a book has too many gushing reviews, that something seems suspicious with it.  I like looking at books that have diverse opinions that get people talking. A catchy blurb usually helps too. 

Covers aren't real important to me. I guess I do believe in the saying, never judge a book by its cover. 

[Aenea]

I went with Genre, Blurb, Price and Recommendations. Those are what influence me the most.

[Elmore Hammes]

I clicked several categories, but the reasons vary for a specific book. For an unknown author, the cover, blurb, price and personal recommendations I receive from friends are critical. For an author I already read, the blurb will be the primary factor.

[Lynn ODell]

I chose several, but the most important thing to me is the book description.

[Lursa (aka 9MMare)]

I went with Genre, Blurb, Price and Recommendations. Those are what influence me the most.

I went with those too. And Independent Reviews and Read others by author.

Ok, I'm just lazy 

[bxs122]

The book cover seems to always get me first.

[JFHilborne]

Recommendation, read others by author and blurb are my main reasons to buy. Rarely is it the cover, although I might not buy a book with an off-putting title (unless it's on Kindle), even if I like the blurb.

[Borislava Borissova]

Blurb, genre, recommendation, someone good written review are the ways to be attracted and buy a book. I also love to read any part, a chapter, first or not first from it, to take a sense of the writing style. If I like the excerpts even an ugly cover or one star review could not prevent me to choose the book. 

[ken magee]

With the first few chapters being so important, particularly with the Amazon 'look-inside' feature, maybe we should always start with our 'best' chapter, even it the story has to be twisted to accommodate that?

[psychotick]

The cover and the genre are what first attract me to a book. Then the blurb, the first page or two to see if I like the writing, and of course the author if I've read him or her before and liked the work.

Cheers, Greg.

[tahliaN]

Interesting results. It shows how important the blurb is. I wonder exactly what people mean by recommendations. Are they emails from friends, facebook posting, twitter conversations or good old face to face chatting. I would have thought that reviews would have had more sway.

[jwest]

This is a really interesting poll. I know for me I usually start by browsing in the genre I want to read, and then I flip the book over to read the blurb. If that seems interesting, I read the first few paragraphs or flip through a few pages. If I'm still interested, I buy it!

I'm curious to see what other people do when they are browsing for a book

[lauralouise]

This really does show how important the blurb is! I think reviews is a strange one these days, because as JR Tate said below, people are wary if a book has too many glowing reviews which seem too good to be true. Also people tend to be motivated to write a review if they really love it or really hate it! Cover seems less important to me when choosing kindle books rather than browsing in a book store. In a book store I used to sometimes feel drawn to the quality of a cover, but if you aren't going to be holding it in your hands and feeling the quality, a thumbnail illustration of the cover just doesn't matter so much.

[Lursa (aka 9MMare)]

I'm surprised that people are surprised (it seems) that the 'blurb' is so important. It's a description of the book, isnt it? It's supposed to tell you what it's about, what you are buying. Reviews/recommendations may be about quality, but some of that can come out in the blurb as well...but really....dont people want to know what the book is about before buying it?

Unless it is an author that I really like, I dont just buy books, even in my favored genres, without knowing what they are about. Do people really do that?

(And this holds true for why covers mean almost nothing to me....many times it really says little about the content.)

[amy_saunders]

The cover and title usually get my attention first and then the blurb and sampling seal the deal. I tend to be wary of books that get a lot of hype and will often ignore them completely.

[Lursa (aka 9MMare)]

Ken brings up another point. Sometimes blurbs (book descriptions) are written by a marketing team or Web site, sometimes by the author. (Sometimes we see both). I'll tell you one thing...if I know the author wrote the description, and it's not a well-written and attention-grabbing blurb....I wont buy it.

[Grace Elliot]

Interesting how little importance readers place on advertising.

My book buying falls into 2 groups
- Looking for a good read => then I will look first at a genre I love (ie historical romance) and then go by a combination of cover/ blurb and author

The other group is:
- Interesting looking books that caught my eye. These may not necessarily be HR and here I'm heavily influenced by reviews and recommendation.

[Betsy the Quilter]

Hi, just a note from your friendly moderator...this is a discussion of reasons why readers buy books.  If any author would like to discuss reaction to his or her blurb or cover, the Writers' Café is the place for that, thanks.

Betsy
KB Moderator

BTW, the main reason these days that I buy or (don't buy) a book from an author I've never read before is not listed above--my interactions with the author here on KindleBoards.  If the author interests me, I'm likely to buy a book; if not, well....

[QuantumIguana]

I won't read a book for the cover or the blurb, but that MIGHT influence whether I will look at the sample. Word of mouth is the biggest to get me to try a new author.

[JFHilborne]

Interesting results. It shows how important the blurb is. I wonder exactly what people mean by recommendations. Are they emails from friends, facebook posting, twitter conversations or good old face to face chatting. I would have thought that reviews would have had more sway.

Recommendation for me is almost always referral by a friend or someone I hear raving about a book. I read the Amazon reviews, but the blurb has way more pull for me. I've seen books with great reviews and not be pulled in by the blurb and vice versa. Blurb tells me more about the book and the writers style than a review.

[R. Doug]

I actually look at the writing and what others who have read the book think about it.  The cover doesn't mean a whole lot to me.

I . . . I'm so shallow.   

[Carl Ashmore]

Price, blurb, genre and cover 

[greatparenting]

I always download the sample and if I'm not hooked after reading for a few minutes, I pass. That works for fiction. For non-fiction, it's all about the information I'm seeking and finding a good title. I remember once a literary agent told me that no one reads self help books, they just buy them for the title. Maybe that's true.


<<edited.  Please, no self promotion outside the Book Bazaar, thanks!  --Betsy>>