How Do Readers Decide What Book to Read?

As an author I have often asked myself this question, how do readers decide what book to read? I know what draws me to a book. The cover is the first thing to catch my eye, followed by the blurb. I know that may not be true for everyone so I asked my blog followers and friends on social media what makes them decide to read a book. While about 10 people said the cover was what attracted them first, I did get some varied answers. I will share them in this post but will not be using the names of the people who provided the answers unless they gave me permission to do so.

Rich said:
Different things. I like a well told adventure story is my favorite fiction.

So while different thing draw him to a book by his answer he is most likely to pick up an adventure story. Genre is what makes him pick the type of book he reads.

Another of my readers had this to say:

 I read a lot of books and the first thing that attracts me is the cover. Attractive covers catch my eyes. Then I check the genre and read the back cover to get an insight of the theme. All in all, I read all genres.

So while she has no is drawn in by the cover first she ultimately chooses to read the book due to the blurb.

Yet another reader had this to say:
I like a lot of historical fiction or classic novels so I usually use good reads to narrow down books I might like to read. I go to the library a lot so I just look for those books or if there is a cover or title that catches my eye while I’m there I will usually scan over the back cover or couple pages to see if it sounds interesting.

This person has a genre preference as well! She usually reads historical fiction so typically she will read that genre. However, if a book catches her eye due to the cover she will then read the blurb. Meaning if it is not in the genre she usually read, she is interested in the cover of a book first.

Danica said:
This is a very hard but a very good question. My shoe shopping addiction is now a book addiction. So I buy and buy books without finishing them all. Why? Simply because the book’s words failed to connect to my soul. I stopped checking the cover. The title is important too but sometimes, even if the title and the blurb were so captivating but after reading the first few lines, I would just put it down and say, it is just a waste of money. I need to at least read the first few pages. Having a nice cover, title and blurb sometimes just can’t justify the reason to which books to read. Now, it’s the title and the first few pages of the book. It is okay to use my name should you decide to publish my answer. 😊

So, even though she may be attracted to the cover and blurb the most important thing to her is if the book can keep her interest in the first few pages. If it can’t she doesn’t care about how attractive the cover or blurb is.

As an author, I find these answers interesting because it gives me insight into my readers or potential readers. I have gotten to know their personal preferences better and can take them into consideration as I write my book, design a cover, and write the blurb. I find it fascinating the way different people go about choosing a book. What draws you to a book? Share in the comments!

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