What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Hey there,

I'm doing a small research on how people find book recommendations. Finding interesting books has become very complex. I created a survey to study it.

https://goo.gl/forms/KV0ixLwGvBUYZiOi1

I'd love interesting discussion about how to find interesting books.

I wasn't quite sure what "specific argument concepts" meant, so I put "neutral" for that question. Also, you misspelled "length" at one point.

That aside, this is an interesting topic and I look forward to seeing what the results of your survey are and what other people have to say. I generally find that I can get a lot of book recommendations, but sorting out which ones I definitely want to read takes a bit more work. I normally try to read/listen to an excerpt of the writing in a book before buying it, because I have some specific pet peeves like what I call "Captain Obvious" writing, overuse of cliches, writing styles that are too formal/pedestrian or don't fit the subject, etc.

(For example, I've read the preview of Sarah Maas' A Court of Thorns And Roses several times, because theoretically it sounds like a book I would like, but I always reject it because I get to a clunky bit that describes the heroine "analyzing the parameters of the clearing" or something like that.)

What I do on Goodreads is keep a shelf called "prospects", separate from my "to-read", for books which I might like to read, but where I haven't read an excerpt yet. This keeps the numbers in my "to-read" shelf down and ensures that I remember to check previews.

There are a number of things that will almost certainly make me reject a book, unless maybe it's free and I feel like reading it for the lulz:

Cover
-Any dodgy computer-generated art with people who've stepped out of the uncanny valley.
-The phrase "Best-Selling Author" when I've never heard of them, especially "New York Times Best-Selling Author" (for some reason a significant fraction of terrible e-books seem to be written by NYT best-selling authors)
-The phrase "A _____ Mystery" or similar, when I have no idea who "_____" is. See also "A Cozy Mystery" or "A Mystery In Which There Is A Dog" or similar.

Title/Blurb
-Any generic title for a recent book that tells you nothing about the book's content beyond (maybe) its genre, like "The Castle of Valour" or "Shadow of Murder".
-Any reference in the blurb to "a very special boy/girl" or a "Chosen One".
-Any reference (in title or blurb) to an "alpha male" and/or billionaire.

Thanks a lot for your reply! I very much appreciate your insights and I will take them into account.

I fixed the typo on 'length', thanks. What I intended with "specific argument concepts" was to cover scenarios like this one: "I want to read something that is set on a utopia with a light magic system and a female protagonist". Maybe it does not make sense, English is not my first language. More feedback is highly appreciated.

I like your strategy to keep the 'to-read' shelf having a previous step and I personally agree with all your rejection reason. By the way, I'm reading right now 'Throne of Glass' from Sarah Maas (her other big series) and there are too much romance for my taste but her writing is OK.

I have made my best finds searching physically in airport or mall bookstores. Cover art is a big factor for me. It turns out that most good authors are really particular about their cover art and it's how I was initially attracted to Anne Bishop's "Daughter of the Blood", Ilana C. Meyer's "Last Song Before Night" and Patrick Rothfuss' "The Name of the Wind". I will pick up books that pique my interest and try reading random passages about 1/3 of the way into the book, to see if I get drawn in. I will also hunt for long sections of dialog, which can quickly select a book in or out.