The 'What Makes Me Pick Up A Book' Tag - #AmReading

I've got another book tag to do today, which I got from Cat over at The Strawberry Post when she did it a couple of months ago.  Check out her post for her answers to the tag, as well as some details about where she got it from.  Then check out the rest of her blog for some wonderful poetry and fantastic book reviews, among other things.
 
As Cat says, this is quite a short tag compared to many, but with some great questions.  Let's see what they are, and what my answers to them would be, shall we? Maybe then you'll consider playing along, either in the comments section of this post, or via your own blog.  If you do the latter, please make sure to let me know, since I'd love to read your answers, and hate to miss them just because I didn't know you posted them. ~
 
1. Do you judge a book by its cover? 
No.  Though I admit that's probably at least mostly because I can't see the cover, since images on the cover would have been the thing that first got my attention when I could still see, so I expect I judged books by their cover a lot when I could.  Although, a nice cover would have only grabbed my attention, and not guaranteed the book would come home, since I'd need to like what I saw on closer inspection too, so would have looked at the things I now use to judge a book by: title and blurb. 
2. Focusing on just the cover, what attracts you to pick it up? When I could still see, something bright that stood out would have gotten my attention, or something with an animal or fantasy creature on it.  Basically, if I thought the picture was pretty, the colours were bright enough to catch my attention, or I spotted a picture of something I liked, I'd be interested.  That's not to say I didn't look at books that didn't have those kinds of things on them, but those would have grabbed my attention quickest. 
3. Do you read the synopsis first, or do you prefer to go in knowing nothing about the book? 
If by "synopsis" you mean blurb, then yes, I'll read that first.  At least, I'll read it before I buy the book.  If I've had the book for a while though, I might not remember what the blurb said by the time I'm reading it, and don't bother checking it out again.

 
4. Do you have any auto-buy authors? 
David Estes and Michelle Paver.  I've read stuff of theirs from a couple of different genres, and it's all been excellent, so I wouldn't hesitate to buy something just because they wrote it, regardless of genre, and without checking the blurb.  Most authors I'll at least want to take a look at the blurb first, but not them.
 
5. Are you more likely to buy a book if it has specific elements/themes? Yes, but isn't everyone? Whether we mean to or not, we all have themes or elements we revisit through our various favourite books.  Which ones I look for depend on the genre though.  Like how acceptance when you're different (such as if you have a disability) or coping with circumstances out of your control (such as an apocolypse or war) are themes in a lot of what I read, and I'm more likely to pick up a paranormal about werewolves and witches than angels and demons, and adding talking animals to a fantasy will get my attention quicker than not.  That's not to say I don't stray from those elements and themes.  I definitely do.  But including one of my favourite elements or themes in something is more likely to get me to read something than if you didn't.
 
6. Do you ever read a book that has generally negative reviews just to form your own opinion on it? Not intensionally for that reason, but I won't let negative reviews stop me from reading something if I like the look of it.  Although, I will go in to it with pretty low expectations if any of those negative reviews came from someone who I know has similar book tastes to my own. 
7. Do you ever buy a book just because another booktuber/blogger has talked about it a lot? Sometimes, but not just because they were talking about it.  If I like the look of something, and people I know - and trust the bookish opinions of - are talking about it a lot, I'll buy it.  In fact, I've heard about many a great book that way.  But I won't buy it just because they liked it if I don't like the sound of it from the blurb.
 
8. Is there anyone who’s book recommendations you always trust?
 Yes.  I trust the opinions of a couple of people I'm friends with on Goodreads.  They've steered me in the direction of many a great book in the past, so I'd be willing to trust their opinions in the future too, and always keep a close eye on what they're reading - and what they thought of it - in case it sounds good enough that I want to read it too.  That's not to say I'll buy it just because they enjoyed it, since the blurb has to make it sound good too.  But a good review from one of my Goodreads friends, combined with a book blurb that gets my attention, will guarantee it makes it on to my "to-read" shelf, and maybe even mean it will be something I buy and read very soon.