Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons I Buy A Book

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is ten things that make me pick up a book. I’m a book nerd. I spend an embarrassing number of hours ogling covers and reading summaries of random books I encounter on the internet. What makes me throw my money at a bookseller? Here are ten things that capture my nerdy little imagination.

Reasons I Buy A Book

1. The book is covered in nature

Yes, I judge books by their covers. My favorite covers have nature on them. Trees, deserts, oceans, whatever. I’m not picky. I learned last year that if you slap a night sky on a book cover, I’ll grab that thing faster than you can blink.

2. The book is about weirdos in the wilderness

If I had to sum up my reading aesthetic with one phrase, it would be “weirdos in the wilderness.” I love books about odd people in remote locations. Marcus Sedgwick knows what I mean.

3. The book is dark

Fluffy books are fun sometimes, but I need death and destruction to keep me going. I want morally gray heroes and worlds where nobody is safe.

4. The book has a nonlinear or unconventional narrative structure

Family sagas, historical/modern timelines, narrators who withhold information, unique formatting. I don’t care. If it’s different from a traditional linear narrative, I’m trash for it. Give it to me now.

5. Deep, dark secrets

We all have those tropes that never bore us, no matter how many times we come across them in books. I love characters with secrets. If the characters are hiding something, I will stay awake past my bedtime to find out what it is. I’m nosy like that. Just don’t make the secret obvious. There’s nothing more disappointing than reaching the big reveal and going, “Well, duh.”

Brimstone has some explaining to do.

6. A stranger comes to town

Another trope that never bores me. Don’t you love it when a new character shows up and disrupts everybody’s life? I do. New people keep things interesting. Especially if they’re evil, and you can’t trust them . . . .

Umbridge threw a spanner in the works, didn't she?

7. The book is compared to other books I love

I know some readers hate when a synopsis says “For fans of _____.” (Probably because every young adult book compares itself to Harry Potter. I’m sorry, but 99.9% of you books are not Harry Potter. Sit down and shut up until you find better comparable titles.) I actually like when books are compared to other books. I’ve definitely bought books because they sounded similar to other stories I love.

I bought this because it supposedly has all the stuff I love.

8. The book was longlisted for a major award

I’m one of those pretentious humans who pay attention to literary awards. When the ALA announces its awards every year, I’m sitting in front of my computer with my notebook and Goodreads open. I also follow the Pulitzer, Man Booker, National Book Award, Women’s Prize For Fiction, Goodreads Choice, and a few others.

9. An author I trust wrote it

If I liked an author’s previous books, I’ll probably buy their next one, even if I’m skeptical about the synopsis. A good author can get me interested in any subject.

I'm slowly making my way through all of Atwood's fiction.

10. My blogger friends loved it

I rarely discover books completely on my own, and I’m very susceptible to peer pressure. If my blogger friends are all reading and loving something, it’ll probably end up on my must-read list. When it comes to books, I’m like an insecure middle school girl. I don’t want to be left out! I want to read what my friends are reading! I want to be one of the cool kids!

Bloggers made me read it, and I loved it.

What makes you read a book?