Every bookish blog I visit has their own form of discussion feature while I’m sitting here alone, thinking, hmm, what can I do to make my blog more exciting and unique? So I decided, why not start my own feature where I can talk about random bookish topics? And so, Let’s Speculate was created.
The topic I chose for this week is What Makes You Want to Read A Particular Book? There are tons of books out there and so little time, so I’m wondering, what makes you read a particular book?
1. The stunning, breathtaking, beautiful cover.
For me, almost everything is about the cover. (Shh, let me ignore the don’t judge a book by its cover quote for a peaceful minute.) The cover of the book attracts me to the book, making me want to read it. Dream of it. Devour it. Need it. It doesn’t matter if the book with the stunning cover receives tons of bad reviewers from other reviewers, I still want to give it a try because of the cover. (You book covers are the death of me and my wallet.)
2. The book is original.
Vampires? Been there, read that. Zombies? Been there, went through that. Angels? Done so many times. Mermaids? Ehh. Sister assassins? Ohh, I want. (Hopefully Mind Games is worthy of my love!)
3. Fine, the book has vampires/zombies/angels/demons/whatever in it. But here’s the thing: the book contains the author’s own fresh creation of vampires/zombies/angels/demons/whatever that has never been done before.
The vampires in Black City is a great example of this. Elizabeth Richards actually made vampires worthwhile to read about again. Imagine this: vampires with long silver hair (I want!), long bat-like wings, and even two non-beating hearts. Yes, they still suck blood, but can you sincerely say that you’ve read other vampire books like the ones Elizabeth Richards created? I think not.
4. The book is hyped.
There’s a good side and a bad side to this. The bad side: the hype is overrated. In truth, the book is horrible or not that good. The good side: the book is definitely worth the hype. Hell, you’ll even join the hype and the fandom.
Mostly, out of every ten hyped books I’ve tried, I feel that only two of the ten books deserves the hype, so now I’ve very careful about reading hyped books.
5. A movie is coming out “based” on the book.
Admit it, we all do this. We want to see that movie coming out next week based on a book (Beautiful Creatures anyone?), but you want to read the book first to have something to compare the movie to. Sometimes it ends well and sometimes it doesn’t and you’re better off without watching the movie. (Ahem, The Lightning Thief anyone? I want my blond haired Annabeth!)
6. The book is recommended to you.
I usually don’t trust in any recommendations unless at least ten people came up to me and recommended the same book to me. No, it’s not that I don’t like you, it’s that I’m very picky when it comes to what I read.
7. The book is thick.
I have this obsession with thick books. I like it when a book is thick. No, I don’t mean Harry Potter thick, but Grave Mercy or Days of Blood & Sunlight thick. (They don’t really count as “thick” books if the font is big.)
So these are the reasons why I read a particular book. What are your reaons?
I love this post! I’m definitely a sucker for gorgeous covers. I recently bought Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce without knowing too much about it (besides the fact that it was about Red Riding Hood… or something like that) because I ADORE the cover. And hey, if I don’t like it, at least it looks pretty on my shelves, right?! I love originality and I always want to read a book when the movie comes out soon. (Though I did NOT enjoy, or finish, Beautiful Creatures and I HATED Percy Jackson!) And there are some people whose recommendations I take seriously, so that helps too :) Phew, I didn’t meant to type an answer this long haha!
I know! Gorgeous covers literally rule my world – I buy a book that I haven’t read before with a gorgeous cover, hated it, but still worship it because of the cover.
& type as long as you want, I love reading comments! ;D
ahhh! my post disappeared!
I love all this speculating! lol! i have to agree with you about needing lots and lots of people to recommend a book to me first, before I will read it. I’m trying to be more flexible with that…take more book chances.
Plus, I get really intrigued by cheap (under $3.99) books on amazon that have lots of positive ratings.
i know i told you on good reads but my blog nominated your blog for a Liebster…it’s basically like a giant Qand A and a chance to nominate other small-ish blogs that you love.
Kind of fits with your “let’s speculate” actually. :) how it works is here: http://www.fictionsnoop.com
Ohh, okay! I didn’t know where to look because I couldn’t find your blog on your google profile! & thanks again for nominating me! (:
I love your list!
Hmmm. I love thick books (Gone with the Wind and The Count of Monte Cristo!-long type of books)!
What makes me read is when the synopsis grabs my eye. Not necessarily the cover, or based on recommendations. Everyone likes different books so I’m quite picky when it comes to that.
Uh, I so agree with you about the Lightning Thief movie. Plus, they left out Clarissa! She should have been there.