The oft quoted, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” rings false. Especially in this day and age of visual over-saturation. Everyone is looking to post the most eye-catching images to garner the most likes, the most followers, the most engagement. I certainly am no stranger to this media onslaught. I recently read an article about how book designers have begun to design the covers of books in a way that is pleasing to the digital eye. As well as appealing to the world of social media.

This got me to thinking how it is that I choose books to read, especially if it is a title or author that I am not familiar with. What is the very first thing I am drawn to? It would be the cover. I am picking up a book, because something about the cover has drawn me in, has caused me to pause and learn more. After the cover, would be the title. Is it intriguing? Do I get a sense of what the book is about from the title? If those two things are still a go, then I’ll flip it over or open and read the book jacket copy. If that is intriguing, then I’m on to scanning the first page. Usually if the cover, the title, the book jacket copy and the first page fill my interest to know more, I go ahead and buy it.

There are a few authors that I read everything they write, without having to do the above, just seeing their name: John Grisham, Amy Tan, Isabel Allende, Sue Grafton, Sue Miller, Michael Crichton. They all tend to write the same type of story, so I know what I am getting when I pick those up. But the author is less important to me, as there are so many authors, and the ones I listed above, are all well-known best selling authors, who don’t need me to up their book sales. Which is why, I tend to buy books at the thrift store. There, you never know what you might come across and what new author you will find. And this is where my book selection process really comes in handy. I can apply the above to these books. And usually, I’ll leave the store with a few titles that I am eager to read. 

How do you choose books to read?