The Next Best Book Club discussion

So, after browsing aimlessly for new books to add to my TBR shelf, I decided to start a lovely new topic and ask..

How do you choose books that you want to read?

Do you choose by recommendation by your friends and family? Or do you choose based on the blurb on the back of the book? Or do you read the blurb and a few lines/pages of the book itself?

So come on people, how do you choose?

Before joining this book club, I would select a book based on its cover and blurb. I know, don't judge a book by its cover, but what first attracts most of us is the physical, whether it be books or people. At some point, I had built up a long enough list of authors I liked, that I could also begin to pick up a book based on the author.

Now, that I'm here, it isn't as much the recommendations, as a person's just posting that they are reading such and such. I've begun to start looking at a person's shelves who I think has similar reading tastes.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Before joining this book club, I would select a book based on its cover and blurb. I know, don't judge a book by its cover, but what first attracts most of us is the physical, whether it be books o..."

I also have a sneeky peek at others shelves from time to time, but in general, I try to read the blurb and then read a page or two, if possible.

When I worked at the public library, we were only allowed on book-related websites. So I used to peruse amazon.com for hours at a time in between patrons. I would look up a book I had loved to read recently and then scan through their "recommended" books and I could spend hours going from one book to another and I'd have a list of 20 or more books. I would read the synopsis or sometimes just add a book because of a cool cover...
I don't do that as much, because I get too many suggestions here on goodreads from groups and friends. My mom every once in a while will suggest a series and if I'm really desperate for a romance I just stop in the public library, see my old boss and get her to point me to a new series she'll think I like. Of course, I rarely run out of books to read lately with nearly 500 TBR books on my goodreads shelf.

My favorite local bookstore is B&N (I know, it's corporate and big box). Once there I always go to their "summer reads" section, and their "school reads" section. During the summer months, from those sections, I can usually pick up enough books to last me through the colder months.

Katie Flora wrote: "My favorite local bookstore is B&N (I know, it's corporate and big box). Once there I always go to their "summer reads" section, and their "school reads" section. During the summer months, from tho..."

I love bookshops. My favourite is Waterstones. I could spend all day there, but I'm never allowed to.

For the longest time, I have relied on the Hugo and Nebula Awards for introduction to new books and authors. Then I follow authors that I like. Personal word of mouth for other recommendations. References in favorite periodicals for history and current events.

But like Fiona, Goodreads groups have really helped in introducing me to new authors and books. I am learning what other readers here like, and how much they correspond to my hopes in a book. Friends' (and others here) recommendations have really helped.

Before Goodreads I was a random book chooser..things I heard were good or things I had to read for class. Now..I have an endless supply to choose from..I'll generally read group reads first..and then I've been trying to read all the books I own..but sometimes if I've heard so much chatter about a book on here..i bump it up and read it.

When I choose a book, the first thing that catches my eye is the book design & the title. I can usually read the description from the back of the book to see if it's the kind of book im interested in. Theres been a few times though when I thought I would like a book and I did not.

I've also taken to going to Borders and taking pictures on my cell phone of books that look interesting. Then, I add them onto my goodreads and when my library trip comes up, I see which library has those books I want to read next...

I also like to choose Hugo and Nebula award winners, Pen/Faulkner or National Book Award winners, etc. I read Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, which has short stories and book reviews that also give me ideas of authors I might like. I pick up lots of ideas also from GoodReads and Bookcrossing. This year I made a short list of my TBR's that have been on that pile too long, and I'm trying to read at least those that I really specifically went out and acquired on purpose because they looked so good. One of those I'm reading now -- "The Ministry of Special Cases" by Nathan Englander.

Wow...what a good question, with a million different answers :).

I have a laundry list of authors that I love to read, so when one of their new books comes out, I pick it up as quickly as possible.

I also go to the library and peruse through the new fiction section and pick out ones that "look good". Like most of you said, I don't judge by the cover, but I will pick it up if it looks inviting.

I also frequently go to Borders and bring a pad of paper and pencil with me. People must think I'm nuts, but I go through the books on the front displays and write down the ones I want to read.

I take suggestions from friends as well, but most of my friends aren't big readers like myself.

like most people who have responded, i have a few methods i use:

1. authors that i'll always pick up (james patterson, jennifer cruise, jodi picoult, jeffrey eugenides, etc) so their new stuff automatically goes on my list.

2. BookPages is a great resource. i usually get the print version at the library, but i've also started using their website.

3. My mom belongs to Book of the Month and Doubleday Book Clubs, so she saves the fliers for me to flip through. Again, old standbys always jump out, but that's a great way to get the idea of the story, especially if it's a new author or someone you don't normally read.

4. Recommendations from my mom. We have very similiar reading tastes, so she always has good suggestions!

5. To a lesser extent, what i see here on GR. i have an obnoxious TBR, and it's hard to take it all in, so i limit what i take for suggestions from GR to things like group reads and constantly suggested titles.

I started my huge reading spurt with the Randomhouse Top 100 list of novels - they have two lists, the "official" list created by the website writers, and then the "readers' list". Both lists are drastically different but have great books on them.

I started with that list and have branched off when a friend recommends a book or I see something online. However, I am usually the one recommending books to other people!

My dad (who is more of a non-fiction reader) wanted to get back into fiction reading so I suggested "World War Z" and he was hooked.

Christina wrote: "I started my huge reading spurt with the Randomhouse Top 100 list of novels - they have two lists, the "official" list created by the website writers, and then the "readers' list". Both lists are ..."

Christina, I love that Top 100 list also, primarily because of the official vs. readers' lists.

I'm also a whore for other lists, like the 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die. More recently I discovered Art Garfunkel is a voracious reader also and has kept a list of books he has read over the years of performing with Paul Simon, and I'm dork enough to want to read all of the books on his list someday also.

There are a few people I will always take recommendations from - my best friend, my oldest brother and my boyfriend (though sometimes hesitantly in his case because I'm not as large a sci-fi/fantasy fan, though I have branched out because of him thanks to Dune). Other recommendations from people I do not trust in a literary sense tend to fall by the wayside.

I find going to bookstores and checking out Staff Picks are a great way of finding books/authors I might otherwise not pick up. I think B&N and Borders have a section like this, but I prefer the picks at used bookstores (the few and far between, sigh) as they tend to be more obscure and less flashy than those in new bookstores.

Oh the ways! Books choose me as much as I choose them. There are a handful of people whose recommendations are top-notch...a wander through the library, a pluck from the shelf...browsing at the bookstore...a patiently waiting book on my shelf whose time has come.

I get a lot of my recommendations from The Poisoned Pen, a mystery bookstore in Phoenix - they've recently started posting their newsletter on their website, and they have a blog as well. Great short recaps with enough editorial commentary to help me decide what looks good.

I also rely on friends, family, and online groups to pick things out. Although really, the last thing I need is more recommendations - I really need to spend the time reading instead!

I have a couple of ways:

1 - I hear about a book or Author and then have to see what they are all about

2 - I read a review about a book and have to find out what it's all about

3 - I get a book recomended

4 - Movies! I have read alot of books because they've come out as movies!

And finally - OOOOOOOOH Pretty cover!

i always have several on my TBR list, but i only decided what i'm reading, about half-way through the book i'm reading now. normally i like to pick a book that's at least a little different than the one i'm reading now. or, if there's been alot of talk about a certain one, i'll try that one out. sometimes, i don't know what i'm gonna read next until i just have to pick one. then, i just look at my books for about 15-20 minutes (just looking, not picking them up or anything), then i normally can narrow it down to about 2. then, i wait for about 1/2 hour then i just know. weird, i know...but that's how i do it.

Usually a combination of reputation and synopsis. I'd never rent or buy a book I'd never heard of. First i find books that are well known or highly rated somewhere or other then if the synopsis appeals to me i read it. Sometimes length is a factor though. Much less likely to read anything over 500pp.

This approach means i've been reading a lot more sci-fi recently. Most sci-fi novels have really interesting synopses whereas many classic novels its like "spoilt rich girl needs to get a job", "buttoned down, henpecked middle age man leaves his wife", YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNN.

Generally, I get suggestions from my book blogs, and recommendations from sites like this. I then go to the store, look at the cover/price point, and read the first line.

Last year, I picked up a book where I had to read the fist line six or seven points to untangle what the author was trying to say. Gotta say, haven't found a book yet which beats Westerfeld's "The sky was the color of cat vomit."

I also like looking at the displays. Typically if you walk around the back of the Twilight display tables, you find a couple non-vampire books.

Speaking of displays, every time we drive past my favored indie bookstore, I notice they haven't replaced their summer reading display. That empty metal rack in their window irks me every time we drive by (3 bookstores on our route into town)

That's quite a first line, there, Amy!

Before Goodreads, I would choose books based on the cover and the blurb on the inside. Sometimes I would read a book based on any buzz about it at the time or if I see an interesting book at the library. Now that I have joined Goodreads, I look at other's reviews, the best seller's list sometimes and also books that are coming soon on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Many, many methods :)

Sometimes because of a recommendation, a high rating from a GR friend or because I've heard lots of positive things about a book.

There are certain authors I like to keep up with, so I also go by that.

Books I have to read for classes--and I'm an English major, so there are lots of those.

If a novel is being made into an adaptation, I often like to read the novel first.

Sometimes in a bookstore or if someone's just reading a book I will see a title/cover/blurb that looks interesting adn will add them TBR.

And then as I actually read the books I try to mix up heavier and lighter reads.

I used to pick up a book based on whether it was by an author I'd already read.
If i was unfortunate enough to see the movie before the book I'd often look for the book too.
I also like a good mystery or suspense, so if the books sypnosis sounded promising, I'd pick it up.

Now I like to browse goodreads( I spend way too much time on here)
I like to read reviews and wont pick up a book if numerous people have commented on how badly written it was. I've added a few TNBBC group reads. I like to browse goodread user bookshelves for books that catch my eye, and occasionally I like to read through others 100+ challenge lists. I've found quite a few that I've added to my 'would like to read' list this way.
I've only been on goodreads since March and I have nearly 400 books on this list now.

I also like to use reading list books (eg: 1001 books to read before you die)