tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post2776031282637610588..comments2024-03-15T12:14:33.129+00:00Comments on Biblibio: What's it all about?Meytal Radzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15805413335735169073noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-33261499224058959812009-12-09T20:12:54.592+00:002009-12-09T20:12:54.592+00:00I most likely pick up a book because 1) I am famil...I most likely pick up a book because 1) I am familiar with the author whose works I have enjoyed; 2) a trusted book blogger has mentioned the author; 3) the blurb intrigues me; and 4) the book speaks about a subject that I'm passionate about. But sometimes it is frustrating if the plot doesn't live up to the intriguing glimpse.Matthttp://mattviews.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-44145773480064285982009-12-09T14:35:46.884+00:002009-12-09T14:35:46.884+00:00I like not knowing much about the plot -- plot doe...I like not knowing much about the plot -- plot doesn't matter as much to me as characters and voice and style, so I get impatient with book reviews that are mostly plot. Comparing the author to other writers is much more useful, I think. So I don't really need to know what a book is "about" -- instead, I'd like to hear about just about everything else!Rebecca H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10825532162727473112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-12419845926856861982009-12-08T21:05:13.466+00:002009-12-08T21:05:13.466+00:00I am a total sucker for books sounding good and us...I am a total sucker for books sounding good and usually will stay hooked through the reading of the blurb/book review/jacket only to find in the first paragraph that I would kill myself if I had to read such bad writing for longer than a few words. This happened recently with A Train to Paris. I was all primed to actually buy this one - I usually filter my purchases through the library first - and then read the first paragraph and gagged. Another thing that really gets me is when all the characters have the same voice. A book could have all my favorite elements, but if the writing is poor, the characters cardboard, the book's dead in the water for me.Sarahhttp://www.redroomlibrary.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-41195771785510101352009-12-08T14:43:52.308+00:002009-12-08T14:43:52.308+00:00I'm very picky about the conditions of the boo...I'm very picky about the conditions of the books I buy in bookstores too.<br /><br />I usually buy books based on whether I've read and enjoyed the author before and/or what I have heard about the book from trusted sources and/or whether the premise of the book seems like one I would enjoy. I've gotten to the point where I seldom randomly select books from the bookstore shelf looking for something that sparks my interst.<br /><br />What books did you get by the way? :)Stefaniehttp://somanybooksblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-919937560963299942009-12-08T09:53:42.622+00:002009-12-08T09:53:42.622+00:00#1-Often times reading blind is the best way to re...#1-Often times reading blind is the best way to read a book. No expections, no disappointments. If I enjoyed another work by the author then I usually prefer to read blind.<br /><br />#2-A book sounds good if reading the back cover makes me want to read what's inside the covers. It doesn't always work out but that's okay. There are lots of other choices out there. The hard part is not being pulled in by all the hype presented by those with a stake in the book's success. An honest opinion is always appreciated but manipulation rarely is.Petuniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14059145750315789676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-42470886436779201262009-12-08T03:48:54.236+00:002009-12-08T03:48:54.236+00:00On the one hand, I almost always know what books a...On the one hand, I almost always know what books are about before reading them, because I do so much meta-reading and am not bothered by spoilers. But on the other hand, while this doesn't diminish my enjoyment of a book, it may make it less likely I'll pick it up to begin with. I'm always saying to myself, "I'm just not interested in a book about [a fictionalized de Tocqueville/a teacher and his students/a woman trying to get ahead at a fashion magazine/etc.]," when in fact I don't actually place that high an importance on plot when I do like a book.<br /><br />Of course that touches directly on "sound[ing] good." It's a tough question. I've come to rely almost exclusively on branding, whether that means the author's "brand" (name) or the publisher's. Lately whenever I've gone outside the confines of that it's been for one of my reading "flights," where I'm led from reference to reference by the books themselves. So I guess I've sort of lost a lot of faith in the idea of sounding good--too many books that have sounded quite good from book-specific marketing that just don't turn out to be very special (but then, hardly anything does).nicolehttp://www.bibliographing.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-45568119097263036252009-12-07T14:12:29.052+00:002009-12-07T14:12:29.052+00:00Hah, I bet you take newspapers from the middle of ...Hah, I bet you take newspapers from the middle of the pile too! (So do I!)<br /><br />I too have often wondered what makes me pick up a book, and really I have no idea either. It must resonate with something in our subconscious minds, I suppose. I'll be interested to see what theories anyone else has!rhapsodyinbookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07041412748239010264noreply@blogger.com