What Makes You Take A Book Home?

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of random browsing at the library, waiting for interesting covers or familiar author names to jump out at me. This had me thinking, what gets you to read a specific book?

I know we all have favorite authors or series that we follow, but aside from that, what makes you bring home a book from the library or bookstore? You can usually find me in the fantasy/sci-fi section of any given bookstore, scanning the shelves for eye-catching covers or intriguing titles. If I don’t have anything specific in mind, I just see what manages to grab my attention.

However, I also have a folder on my phone with screenshots of books I’ve saved from Instagram and many times I’ll look for these. Sometimes someone will post a gorgeous cover or a little blurb and that will pique my interest. Or someone might make a personal recommendation, so I’ll make a note. Some of these, I’m a bit unsure of so rather than look to buy them, I’ll add them to my Library list. But lately, I’ve been distracted from my list by the new arrivals section at my library – much like browsing in a bookstore, I let the books jump out at me.

Naturally, I have an Amazon wish list a mile long, but somehow I never seem to reference this when I’m out shopping or trolling library shelves. Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this?

Funnily enough, despite running a blog where I primarily review books, I don’t often read book reviews or let them influence my buying/borrowing. The only times I really read reviews are for books I’m unsure whether I’ll like or not – I’ll browse a few to see if I can sway myself one way or another. Or, if I really hated a book and I seem to be in the minority, I’ll slog through countless glowing reviews to find the few souls who shared my opinions so we can talk shit together.

Anyway, I’m wondering what you do! Do you cover-buy or rely heavily on reviews and recommendations from the online book community?