Things That Make Me Pick Up a Book

I am super picky when it comes to choosing books. There are so many and I'm scared I don't have the time for them all! I want to prioritise the ones I think I'll love, and I think setting myself a yearly book buying limit has really shaped the way I approach books.

Of course, there are no set rules as to what draws me to a book, and sometimes I can't help but impulsively pick one up because I need to read it now. I found that there were a few things that did seem to be regular influences though, so I am here to share them with you.

What Makes Me Want to Read a Book?

1. A Good Synopsis

This is first and foremost the most important thing for me when deciding if I want to read a book. If a blurb has a good hook then I am sold. Lately, I've been finding that a lot of Fantasy books sound the same to me, particularly with YA, so when there's something in the concept that sounds totally different I am immediately interested. V.E. Schwab is the Queen when it comes to this. I know authors don't write their blurbs, but every book of hers has a dark and magical twist that makes it impossible not to get excited for. Two supervillains hell-bent on murdering each other? A story with 4 Londons in parallel universes? Monsters that are born from bad deeds that are somehow less monstrous than humans? All excellent synopses that are impossible to resist.

2. The Cover

Look, I'm petty. I like pretty things, pretty book covers especially, so if a cover is sparkly and magical I want it. I own both books in Laini Taylor's Strange the Dreamer duology and have not found the time to read them yet, but they're so pretty that I had to have them. I haven't even read book 1 so I really didn't need to get Muse of Nightmares too, but they're just too gorgeous and I am a weak soul.

3. It's Not Book 1 of 10000

I don't have time for long series'! There are loads of books that sound awesome, but they drop pretty quickly from my TBR if I hear the author has plans for 6 or more books. There are definitely some exceptions to this (plus I'm more chill with spin-offs because they aren't essential, so I don't have to read them if I'm happy with where the original book/series left off), but I personally like it when stories stay contained. Plus I could read so many more books in that time and discover so many more new worlds!

4. It's Written by an Author I Already Love

I always have my eye out for new releases by my faves. I want to support the authors I care about, plus I trust them to give me good stories. Even if one of their books turns out to not be my thing, I still always anticipate what they're going to write next.

5. The Hype

I'm not going to pretend that hype doesn't influence my reading decisions. I might have never picked up Six of Crows had bookstagram not been flooded with beautiful pictures and Goodreads with glowing reviews, and I would have missed out on a really epic story.

Tied to this is also friend-hype. I'm really lucky to have lots of book-nerds in my life (if they weren't book-nerds already, they became ones after keeping me around for so long). These friends know that I'm really picky about what I read because I already have a stack of books waiting for me at home, so if they try to sell me on a book they really sell it. Alternatively, they just buy me the book, which is the most convincing way of saying 'you need to read this'.

Also linked to hype is reviews. I tend to avoid reading too many big reviews before picking up a book because I don't want it to influence my own reading, but sometimes they provide an insight that I might not otherwise have. This is especially the case with own voices reviewers. I've seen bloggers I know really hurt by the content in books that represent them, and it makes me less inclined to seek those books out. I try to not take reviews as authorities, though. There are stories that have represented me that I loved, whilst others found them inauthentic. I've also seen multiple own voices reviewers have contrasting opinions on the same book.

Basically, when it comes down to it, if I see people I know saying a book represented them honestly then heck yeah I'm going to read it! But I still like to keep in mind other perspectives.

Inspired by the Top Ten Tuesday prompt: Things That Make Me Pick Up a Book

What makes you want to read a book? Are your reasons the same as mine or are they completely different?