Tuesday, April 2, 2019

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?







44 comments:

  1. Great list! I agree, I love it when characters reveal secrets that are an actual surprise, and "weirdos in the wilderness" sounds like it needs to be a whole genre on its own.

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    1. I wish weirdos in the wilderness was its own genre. It would make finding the books easier. And it would probably become the only genre I read.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  2. I relate to all of these so much! Especially nonlinear structure and night skies on the cover. And authors I trust, of course. Great examples for each category too.

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    1. Thanks! I don’t know why I love night skies so much. I seem to own a thousand books with stars on them.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  3. Those covers are lovely! And wilderness is definitely one of the ones I forgot on my list, survival in general and pretty nature is a win

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    1. I love survival stories. When I was a kid, those were the only books I’d read.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  4. Great list!! Secrets for sure. That always gets me. Yup blogger friends are responsible for so many books I pick up!

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    1. I don’t know what I’d read without bloggers. They choose a lot of books for me. I can’t be trusted to pick good ones on my own.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  5. To get me to buy a book: put the Eiffel tower on it and make it look pretty lol.
    Blogger friends definitely increase my TBR!

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    1. I haven’t read many Eiffel Tower books, but I do own a blanket with the tower on it. I’d like to see it in real life someday.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  6. I see some similar reasons. And I love dark books as well and heck, it would be hard to pass up weirdos in the wilderness.

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  7. Ha! I can't say that I've read too many books about weirdos in the wildness, but now I want to start.

    My post: http://www.lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-things-that-make-me-pick-up-a-book/

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    1. You should! Weirdos in the wilderness are always fun to read about.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  8. Ha. Weirdos in the wild. That's great. I also like that whole stranger comes to town one. :)

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    1. “A stranger comes to town” is one of the best tropes. You never know what’s going to happen. It could go so many different ways.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  9. I love family sagas and dual timelines (which kind of falls under your #4). I don't really go for the book comparisons because I've been let down too many times by those. But a trusted/go-to author? Definitely! That'll always make me pick up a book.

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    1. I’ve also been burned by book comparisons, but I can’t help being drawn to them. If a book is compared to one of my favorites, I need to read it!

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  10. Of course you'd like nature and wild and ...for someone who loves to walk in the wild it was a given LOL

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  11. Ooh, yes. I like an interesting/non-linear format too. Whenever people are complaining about that, it is always a pro for me. If the author uses the structure right, it can add a whole additional layer of greatness to the story.

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    1. YES! Exactly. When people complain about the structure, I know I’ll probably love the book.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  12. I like covers with something related to the outdoors on them, too. I definitely also go for books with secrets, because I want to know what the big deal is, haha!

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  13. Blogger friends who love a book? Yes, a huge reason I read books.

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    1. My blogger friends have convinced me to buy so many books. I rarely find books on my own anymore.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  14. This is so hard for me because I feel like half the time I have no idea what draws me to a book! I barely read synopses, so usually whatever the attraction is was something I read like, 3 years prior in a Publisher's Weekly "book rights" post hahah. But I do enjoy a LOT of these on your list- especially the weirdo Marcus Sedgwick one haha

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    1. I’m probably the only blogger who pays zero attention to those publisher announcements. I’m constantly caught by surprise by books that other bloggers have known about for years. I’m like, “Why did no one tell me about this?!”

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  15. I love a good nature cover! That's a great point. Hadn't thought of that before. And blogger recs/ ravings are a pretty good source of books for me too. What would I do without blogging???

    When The Sky Fell On Splendor is a book I may have to acquire.

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    1. When The Sky Fell On Splendor is a fun book. I have no idea what I’d do without blogging. Probably read a lot of classics like I used to.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  16. Since you love dark books, have you read Godblind? I loved it! Red Sister is a great trilogy as well.

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  17. Secrets get me every time! And an author I trust even if the plot is usually an auto no for me. I always figure they'll do it right. I love the idea of paying attention to awards but I'm not so good with the follow thru.

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    1. My favorite authors can make me love anything. I trust them completely with my reading life.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  18. I wouldn't have said that I love nature on my book covers, but the ones you posted are all gorgeous, so I guess I do! :-)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I’m glad I convinced you of the brilliance of the nature cover. :)

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  19. I also judge books by the cover. Covers are no 1 reason why I even want to read what the book is about.
    Books set in small towns are always my favourite.

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    1. I love small towns too. And if I like the cover of a book, I’ll definitely read the synopsis.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  20. Yes, bloggers have made me pick up way too many books haha.

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  21. I look more for content than for covers, although covers and titles can be a good clue that the content will be a story I'm interested in.

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  22. I'm all about horror, scares and tension in my books! No fluffy stories for Chuckles!

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  23. When my blogger friends love a book, I know I tend to be more likely to reach for it. I can see you like your dark subject matters and also your dark secrets - and I tend to enjoy those kind of books too. We have some things in common!

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  24. I still have to get a complete copy of The Ghosts of Heaven. I had the sampler from Netgalley and I loved what I read. For some reason I thought it was mentioned recently that he had published something new, but I see TGoH was his last offering. I was told I woukld like Robert Levy's The Glittering World if I liked Marcus Sedgwick, and I've seen people say that about liking Levy, too.

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  25. I love unconventional structure stories! It's neat to read something different! And I love books with secrets. It feels like a mystery. <3

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