Bookworm Problems

I just finished The Bronze Horseman Trilogy by Paullina Simons, (Which is for the most part excellent by the way. Especially the first book. I completely recommend it.) and am now forced to choose a new book to read. This can be a rather daunting problem when I have a “to read” list that is at least 50 books long and a Barnes and Noble not even five minutes from my apartment. I also consider buying a new book like making a new friend. So I therefore have to think about how well this new book is going to fit into my current library. Will the other books like it? Are there any other books I’ve recently read that are too similar? Is it going to be the odd duck sitting on my book shelf? These are my steps for choosing a new book.

1. What does the cover look like? I am fully aware that you should never judge a book by its cover, but anyone who tells you that they don’t is lying to you. Graphic design would not be such a popular field if what something looked like played no factor into a customer’s purchasing decisions. I can freely admit that covers play a big portion in my book buying decisions. It’s what lead me to the Bronze Horseman books. I also tend to buy books with keys on the cover. It has been my experience that books with keys on the cover are usually good books. (The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips and Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen for example) A good cover doesn’t necessarily mean a good book. It’s a fine line sometimes. A good graphic designer doesn’t always mean a good author. Still, I can’t immediately think of any truly excellent books that have terrible covers.
2. Is it part of a series? This can work for or against a book depending on my mood and the state of my finances. A book in a series means either buying another book in the immediate future or having to wait agonizing months for the next book to come out. Sometimes you just want the instant gratification of owning one new book that tells a complete story. But if I really like the characters, I’m more inclined to want to revisit them and keep tabs on their story as it progresses. But I could also just want the characters to get a happy ending and be done with it. I’m kind of upset with the Mortal Instruments Series because Cassandra Clare continued it. I was so happy for Clary and Jace at the end of City of Glass. It was like they were finally getting their happily ever after, and it was a well deserved one after everything they went through. (The whole OMG you’re my SIBLING thing just killed me.) Sometimes as a reader I just need closure.
3. How long is it? This is probably as shallow as considering what the cover looks like, but it’s a valid concern. I’m a student with a busy schedule between class, my internship and my sorority. I love Game of Thrones. It’s an excellent book. When I read it, I get really caught up in it. Then I have a paper due or a big test to study for, and I stop reading it. I bought the second book in the series ages ago and am still only half way through the first book. The problem with larger books is that they just don’t have the most readability. I prefer books that I can read in a couple of days. Or in a night if they’re really good.
4. Has the author written anything else? This kind of goes along with the series thing, but I love finding new authors that I really like. It really helps me to choose the next book I’m going to read. If an author already has several books out, I’m likely to strongly consider their work. I read The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton and really enjoyed it, so I went on about bought her other two books not long after.
5. What did Barnes and Noble recommend with my last purchase? I don’t know if this phenomenon is limited to my local Barnes and Noble, or if this is something that Barnes and Nobles every where are doing now, but the last time I bought a book there I got this handy little paper with other books like the one I’d just purchased. While it might be a bit of a waste for the amount of trees that will be killed for those little extra receipt things, they are probably also going to largely influence my purchasing decisions in the future. I like to know what other people with tastes similar to mine are reading. When I’m looking at books online I always look through the similar books to see if there’s anything else I’d like to buy.
6. What is the book about? This should probably come sooner on the list, but I read many different kinds of books. I tend to gravitate towards historical fiction, but I’ll read almost anything. I’m not a very picky reader. I think every book has some sort of literary merit. If someone somewhere thought it was good enough to publish, then I’m willing to give it a chance. This does tend to be a limiting factor for me on other books though. If I have major problems with the plot, I’ll probably put it back on the shelf no matter how pretty the cover or how much I like the author.  

Sometimes I impulse buy books. Or I get suckered into a “Buy 2 get the 3rd Free” table. Sometimes you come across the best books that way. But I rarely ever end up with a book that I didn’t really like. It takes some time for me to make a decision, but the end results are almost always worth it.