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Thoughts About Books
Mar. 17th, 2009 07:06 pmThe greatest thing I've ever learned is how to read. I love it. I'm a reader at heart. I have no idea how many hours of my life I'm going to spend reading, but it will probably be a lot. On top of that I'm a book buyer. I love owning them, and putting them in my book shelf and re-read them later, and thus spend a lot of money on buying new books. Therefore I've started thinking of what makes me want to buy a book? Because I can spend hours, and I mean this, HOURS! in a bookshop. Either I'll end up with a stack of books or none at all. What makes a book desirable to buy? Since I won't be able to know if the story itself if good, I have to go by other factors:
1) The font has to be pretty. ~Since it's the first thing I see. I don't see the title first, but the font, on the spine of the book. Personally, I'm very fond of the swirly kind.
2) The title has to be good. It's need to be catchy and get my imagination going. ~ It has to be nice, make you imagine a wonderful tale (even if it doesn't fulfill its promise.) And written in a pretty font it definitively makes me want to pick it up.
3) The cover has to be beautiful ~You want to know why Twilight is so popular? The cover is beautiful! It makes people want to know what's inside. You have no idea how important this is to me. I can't make myself buy a dull and boring looking book unless it has been recced by someone I trust have a good taste in books. Take "Catcher in the Rye". I have heard what a wonderful modern classic it is, but I haven't read it yet, because every time I'm at the bookshop another book over-shines it. It has the dullest cover I've ever seen and it just doesn't compel me to pick it up and buy it. So: The cover has to dazzle me.
4) The blurb on the back has to explain the book in a great way ~ I know that you can't buy a book because it's pretty. The story has to be good. So the explanation on the back has to summarize the story in a quick, compelling and non-lengthy manner. What I hate the most is when there is no blurb but only reviews and praise. I want to know what the book's about NOT what some celebrity thought about it.
So to summarize: The font has to be eye-catching, the title has to be snazzy, the cover has to be pretty and the blurb needs to explain the book in a nice and quick way. Off course, not everything always match. The title might be awesome while the font/cover/blurb [Rotate] might suck.
What about you? What do you look for when buying a new book?
1) The font has to be pretty. ~Since it's the first thing I see. I don't see the title first, but the font, on the spine of the book. Personally, I'm very fond of the swirly kind.
2) The title has to be good. It's need to be catchy and get my imagination going. ~ It has to be nice, make you imagine a wonderful tale (even if it doesn't fulfill its promise.) And written in a pretty font it definitively makes me want to pick it up.
3) The cover has to be beautiful ~You want to know why Twilight is so popular? The cover is beautiful! It makes people want to know what's inside. You have no idea how important this is to me. I can't make myself buy a dull and boring looking book unless it has been recced by someone I trust have a good taste in books. Take "Catcher in the Rye". I have heard what a wonderful modern classic it is, but I haven't read it yet, because every time I'm at the bookshop another book over-shines it. It has the dullest cover I've ever seen and it just doesn't compel me to pick it up and buy it. So: The cover has to dazzle me.
4) The blurb on the back has to explain the book in a great way ~ I know that you can't buy a book because it's pretty. The story has to be good. So the explanation on the back has to summarize the story in a quick, compelling and non-lengthy manner. What I hate the most is when there is no blurb but only reviews and praise. I want to know what the book's about NOT what some celebrity thought about it.
So to summarize: The font has to be eye-catching, the title has to be snazzy, the cover has to be pretty and the blurb needs to explain the book in a nice and quick way. Off course, not everything always match. The title might be awesome while the font/cover/blurb [Rotate] might suck.
What about you? What do you look for when buying a new book?
