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Happy Tuesday y’all! This week Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl is asking us to share things that turn us off reading certain books. This is a flip to last week’s topic of sharing things that turn us on to reading certain books. As I did something else last week, I thought I would combine the two topics this week and share how I select books to read.

How I Select Books to Read: 10 Self-Imposed Rule for Adding Books to My TBR

I will start by saying these rules aren’t hard and fast by any stretch of the imagination. But I’ve set rules for myself to try to keep my TBR realistic. But let’s face it, that is impossible as new books are released every week and there’s only so much time and energy one has to read books.

Now let’s look at how I select books to read!

Genre

Like every reader, there are certain genres I gravitate toward and others I will avoid at all costs. I am trying to change that and be open to reading more variety, but I’m not sure how that’s working for me.

Yes

  • Romance
  • Contemporary
  • Cozy Mystery
  • Historical Fiction

Maybe

  • Western
  • Thriller
  • Fantasy/Sci-Fi
  • Non-fiction

No

  • Horror

Cover

Please don’t start with me! I know we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but how can we not? The cover is the first thing we see. How can someone not judge it? Some things make me grab the book to look over, and others cause me to keep moving.

Yes

  • Colorful
  • Eye-Catching
  • The font works with the graphics
  • Animals
  • Food

Maybe

  • People
  • Limited colors

No

  • Blood

Author

This is pretty easy for me. If I’ve read an author before and enjoyed reading their works, I’m more likely to pick up another book by them. If it’s one I didn’t enjoy, then I’m not likely to pick up the book. A new author? I’m more likely to give it a look.

Synopsis

Another easy one. If I don’t want to finish reading the synopsis, then I will probably not finish reading the book.

Of course, that’s assuming I can find the synopsis. Sometimes they’re on the back cover; other times, they’re on an inside flap. And on the rare occasion, there isn’t a synopsis of any kind. And if I can’t find the synopsis, odds are I won’t read the book.

Hype

A book highly anticipated by everyone?

Is the book part of a celebrity book club?

Is the book all over the bookstore’s website? Goodreads?

I may keep going by if I answer yes to any of those. Why? Because I have been burned by the hype before. I’ve read books that were the “best book ever,” only to be confused because the book just didn’t connect with me. That said, I have also read books that received a lot of hype and loved them, and without the hype, I may not have given the book any attention. An example of this is Legendborn by Tracy Deonn.

Number of Pages

Once upon a time, the number of pages didn’t bother me. I would read and often enjoy books that were 500 pages or more. More recently, though, I prefer my books to be around the 350-page mark. I think the change has come about because I have read some longer books that needed more editing and could have cut at least 100 pages without altering the story.

Setting

This one is a bit more fluid. If I find out the book is set in a place I’m familiar with, I am more likely to want to read it. Some examples are Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson and When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris. Both books are set around the area I grew up in in Virginia. Both are also underrated, and you should check them out!

Another part of the setting is the time of year in the book set. I love holiday reads!

Series

Is the book part of a series? Is it the first book in the series? Are all of the books released in the series?

It doesn’t matter to me if a book is part of a series, but it does matter if it’s the first book in a series I haven’t read previously. If it’s the next book in a series I enjoyed, I will be picking it up.

Availability

Does my library offer the book? Can I find it in the bookstore? Or is it only available online?

If I have to hunt all over to find a book, do I really want to read it?

Price

This last one only matters if I’m buying the book. Books are expensive! If it is a book I will love and want to keep, I’m more likely to buy it for the cover price. But more often than not, I won’t. I’m not someone who rereads books that often, so spending the $25+ that the cover has is something I wouldn’t say I like doing. I’m more likely to head to the discount section of a bookstore to find the hidden gem.

And that is how I select books to read. How do you select books to read? Do we share any in common?

How I Select Books to Read: 10 Self-Imposed Rule for Adding Books to My TBR

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other bookish listsbook reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.

27 thoughts on “How I Select Books to Read

  1. Great list, I agree with pretty much everything you’ve written here! The hype has definitely burned me before and while I don’t immediately not pick up a book or add it to my TBR when it’s very hyped, I definitely don’t read the book immediately (most of the time not for quite a while, lol). 😂

  2. It’s so hard NOT to judge by a cover, honestly. I mean, we all try ha ha, but human anture and all that. A good cover can really draw us (or vice versa)…

    Same with synopsis. If it doesn’t grab me…

  3. This is a great list and I am the same with most of it. Horror books are off the table, I rarely pay full price for a book, the number of pages has become an obstacle for me as well. I am planning to try and read 3 books this summer over 400 pages (partly so I can clean off some of the books I have on my shelves that need to be read).

  4. I absolutely love how you set this up – you went so in depth. I might (if you’d allow me) to do a blog post on this topic. I think how you went about it is just above and beyond and really interesting to see the yes/no/maybe aspect.

    Here’s my TTT <3

    1. You are more than welcome to use this topic. I think it’s fun to see what people look for when it comes to selecting books to read.

  5. I like the way you did this. It’s fun to see the contrast in one post. I’m with you on a lot of these. If a book has an intriguing blurb, an appealing setting, is in a genre I like, and is written by an author I like, I’m absolutely going to read it!

    Happy TTT!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

  6. Great list. I really like how you broke each point down and gave some examples. That is really helpful. I agree with you on page number. I have read too many books that were 400-500 pages long that could have easily been edited down to a solid 350 pages. I always wonder why editors allow these books to be so long when there are clear edits that should be made to make the book the best it can be.

  7. I really like the way you split this up. I think hype can be a double-edged sword. There’s loads of books I’ve loved that I’d never have found on my own, but also books that if I’d read it unprompted I mightn’t have been as disappointed by?

    1. Exactly! Sometimes there is so much hype around a book that I just avoid it all costs.

  8. I loved your whole “yes, maybe, no” section of detailing the genres you read because I definitely do that too, though mine would be sorted slightly differently:
    Yes: Historical fiction, Fantasy, Non-Fiction (generally memoirs)
    Maybe: Science Fiction (depends on the type, more likely to pick up dystopia than say something set in space), Horror (light horror is okay, super gory is not), Mystery-Thriller (I enjoy these but have been burned before, so I am picky), Contemporary (I like some but generally find realistic fiction somewhat dull so again, I am picky)
    No: Romance, Erotica
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2023/05/30/top-ten-tuesday-422/

  9. Occasionally, I buy new books. Most of the time, though, I ask my library to purchase them and I borrow them. Or I buy a used copy. I’ve been surprised how easy it is to find used books online that are like new at really great prices. Have you tried reading anything in the cozy horror genre? I haven’t, but I have one on my TBR for later this year called Cackle, by Rachel Harrison. 🙂

    1. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of cozy horror. It is something I may have to look into.

  10. This is a great list, and I love how you break some down into yes, maybe, and no. I’ve always stayed away from horror, but have lately started dipping a toe into the less scary offerings, and discovered cozy horror, like T. Kingfisher.

  11. Great list! The hype is one that burns me a lot! I recently picked up a hyped book (Fourth Wing) and actually really enjoyed it! 🙂

    1. Occasionally I will pick up a hyped book and enjoy it, but it seems to be the exception over the rule.

  12. Great responses, Bonnie. Very thoughtful. I wish I thought more about some of those things before I purchase or request a book. I am also leery about hype. So many hyped books have not lived up to my expectations.

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