Happy Tuesday! Once again it’s Top Ten Tuesday, where we make a list based on a new topic every week. This week’s topic is Things that Make Me Want to Pick Up a Book. As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! Let’s get started!
The Cover – So I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, but sometimes I do. Usually it’s for the better though: I’ll read a book with a bad cover, but sometimes an amazing cover will make me pick up a book that I might otherwise overlook for the time being. Wicked Fox is one of those books that I saw the cover of and I knew I had to read it.
I Like the Author’s Other Books – There are a couple of authors that, if they write it, I will buy it. They could write about the alphabet and I know it’d be good. Veronica Roth is one of them. There’s also a slowly growing list of authors where I love their books enough that if they write something, there’s a good chance I will buy it. I might like most of what they write, but the occasional story doesn’t appeal to me.
I Like the Author – While this might seem like a repeat of the last reason, it’s not. If I know an author in person, interact with them on Twitter, etc. then I’m more likely to pick up their book. Walking With Angels is my husband’s book, so of course I read that one. I don’t read all of my friend’s books, but I’m more likely to.
People Keep Talking About It – If enough people tell me about how wonderful a book is, I’m likely to at least look at it to see if it sounds interesting. I heard so many people talking about how wonderful the Six of Crows duology was, and then King of Scars, that I decided to start reading Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha Verse books (they’re great, by the way).
Comp Titles – If I like a book’s comp titles, I’m more likely to want to read it. To be honest, I wasn’t really impressed with The Tiger at Midnight‘s cover, but one of its comp titles is Legend, and I just have to read it.
It’s Popular – Some people don’t like to read hyped books, but more often than not, books are popular for a reason. Goodreads has a Listopia feature which has lists of the most popular YA books from different years. My TBR is so packed that I don’t always rely on this any more, but I do sometimes.
It’s Part of a Series I Already Love – It doesn’t take much to make me read the second or third book in a series that I already enjoy. I’ll typically pre-order books like that months in advance. I’ve already pre-ordered Rebel, and Queen of Nothing became the first book coming out in 2020 that I’ve already pre-ordered.
Twitter Made Me Do It – Whoever is behind The Incorrect Cruel Prince Twitter account is a marketing genius. While I would have eventually read The Cruel Prince, it definitely moved up a few slots in my TBR because of that Twitter account.
It’s On Sale – I’m a sucker for Amazon’s monthly sales. Or if a book goes on sale for the weekend and I see it on Twitter. I won’t buy any book because it goes on sale, but if it’s a book that seemed interesting and it goes on sale, I’ll probably get it. I got Ace of Shades for only $1.99.
It’s an ARC that Fits Into My Schedule – I attempt to review one ARC every week. Sometimes I get approved for the big books that everybody is talking about. Other times, I need to find an ARC that is publishing within a certain time frame that I can download immediately. Even though I might have unread ARCs available, publishers typically don’t like reviews out too far ahead of time, so I have to wait on them. Into the Hollow was a book that was coming out at the right time and looked interesting, so I picked it up.
There are other things that will make me pick up a book, like an amazing-sounding story. Often, it’s a combination of several factors.
What things will make you pick up a book? Next week, we’ll talk about outrageous things that I’ve done for the love of books. I didn’t think there was anything at first, but… I have a few that probably most people haven’t done. See you then!
Pretty much everyone has had cover on their list today, apparently bookworms are a bunch of cover judgers, including me because I also had it on my list! I’ll also pick up books if a lot of people are talking about them, if it’s part of a series I already love or if I’ve loved the author’s other books.
Jo recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #205
One of the reasons if I ever self-publish, I will not be stingy when it comes to hiring a cover artist. They’re so important.
I agree with a lot of these – a pretty cover will always draw me in and get me to take a closer look. And definitely if it’s by a favorite author, I’m going to read it!
I have about 7 or 8 books pre-ordered right now… they’re all by favorite authors, except for one.
Sales are a very good incentive to read a book.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
Astilbe recently posted…Scales by Sean Michael
Even if I don’t end up reading them all, I don’t feel bad about paying $1.99 for a book. There’s always something to read that I’m interested in because I bought them on sale.
Hype is definitely a factor for me too. While I always try to read books that are somewhat “under the radar and haven’t liked YA books that got popular before, if they get popular, there’s usually a reason – and when I hear many people talk about them, I want to know why. Also, I can definitely relate to the “twitter made me do it” part.
Great list!
One of the good things about being a book blogger, and reading a lot… is that I can read the most popular books that appeal to me, yet at the same time, there’s still some room for a few of the books that haven’t become popular yet, but look amazing. As bloggers, we can help books become popular too!
How often are your ARC requests approved? I’m fascinated by that process.
My post.
Lydia recently posted…The Care and Feeding of Muses
Lately, I’ve gotten quite a few approved. When I first applied, most of the time they ignored my requests though. I’ve had 40 requests approved so far and I’ve reviewed 32. I think the magical number for getting more requests was writing about 25 reviews.
There are “Read now” books that you don’t need approval for. That’s the majority of what I read at first. Because I keep a post schedule, I know when I plan to review all the ARCs I get approved for, and I know that (for now) there are four weeks in the next two months that I don’t know which book I’m reviewing yet. Assuming I don’t get an email saying “Your NetGalley request has been approved” I’ll just pick a Read Now book and read one of those.
Twitter makes me do so many things haha
Haha. I love Twitter.
We have a lot of the same ones this week. ARCS is a good one, I try and get mine done in a really timely manner and it’s so fun being able to do review them early.
I remember the first couple of times Amazon accidentally got a package to me a day early and I got to read it ahead of everybody else. I thought it was so cool that I got to read it a day early. I still get that thrill sometimes over ARCs and it’s something I love about book blogging.
There are a bunch of authors, who’s books I will pick up without even checking the synopsis. I have loved their books in the past, and I trust they will deliver another fantastic story
And they usually don’t disappoint either.
I totally am swayed by covers! And yes if I like an author I will totally try their book even if I otherwise might not!
I’m surprised at how many people have covers on their list this week.
OMG thank you for making me discover this Cruel Prince twitter account!!
You’re welcome!
Sales always are an incentive to get a book that I’m interested in. But even with sales, the shipment price to get the books to my country are a killer!
I’ve heard that’s a huge problem with international book buying :-(.
I wish the international rights weren’t so convoluted. I like to read books in other languages sometimes and, outside of Spanish, the books aren’t always easy to get.
Sales are a definite one for me. I try so hard not to buy too many books because I have so many books already, but if something goes on sale and I’ve wanted it for a while I do find it hard to resist 😀
The biggest sale temptations for me are the $1.99/$2.99 sales. If I buy 5 books for $1.99 each and only end up reading one, then I still pay the price for a regular book. There’s always something in my Kindle I’m interested in reading that way.
I know, I used to feel guilty about judging a book by it’s cover, but no more. That’s why books have cover — to be judged good enough to pick up
Some people are surprised when they discover that traditionally published authors don’t have a lot of control over their cover design. Because people will look at covers and decide whether or not to buy the book based on that, I don’t want to have to decide on my cover design. Leave that to the experts. If I eventually decide to self-publish, I’m hiring a professional for the cover.
Hahaha, you’re not alone! The Incorrect Cruel Prince Twitter account is what finally convinced me to pick up The Cruel Prince too, and I ended really enjoying it!
Jess @ Jessticulates recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday | Things that make me pick up a book
And some people say that Twitter doesn’t sell books! It certainly does!
So far a lot of bloggers have added the cover as a reason! I love seeing everyone admitting this.
I also agree with it being on sale or something being popular. That does make it more tempting to pick up.
It’s strange about the covers… but it seems like a lot of the time a cover captures the spirit of the book, so maybe that makes sense?
I admit I wasn’t keen on Tiger at Midnight based on the cover, but as soon as I read the synopsis, I was sold. I hope you enjoy!
Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense recently posted…Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Nocturna by Maya Motayne
She posted the character cards last month, and they sound so interesting! It’s definitely on my reading plans for later this month!
I love that we’re all obsessed with book covers! Such a good list. 🙂
This week makes me realize how important they are!
I mean, I do feel like covers can be really helpful. (Possibly just rationalising my cover-judging ways). They can also give a sense of what the story is about and also the target audience. (Also they’re pretty. And I can be, as mentioned, a judgy menace sometimes…)
Kelly @ Wandering Through Books recently posted…Some Thoughts on Audiobooks
Like the snakes on the cover of Ninth House and Queen of Nothing. You know there’s going to be some treachery and slimy characters in those stories.
You are right. Twitter does make us pick up quite a lot of books. Bad Twitter.
Or good Twitter? It depends on your point of view…