Poll

It is known that you cannot judge a person from the outside. So you cannot judge a book like that. But, you can guess some aspects of it only by looking at it. The first impression plays a major role. SO,covers and descriptions partially influences us.

Often I check the descriptions to see if it can get me excited. Once taken, it is like said in the book "Manjaveyil Maranangal". I usually give every book the 20-30 pages to impress me. If the author can, I may read the book completely. :)

That's how I pick lots of books. Sometimes just the cover will do it for me.

Catherine wrote: "I used to do that years ago, but some of these authors now don't even have the characters match the descriptions, and it throws me off. I think it throws off the reader especially if it is a romanc..."
Update: I am also finding that the mm romance authors with a series (you know the culprits) have lost all imagination and it still bothers me if the cover does not match the characters. Like if in the book the guy is described as small and they have this big muscular man on the cover, to me it just takes me out of the story. (especially if the story is bad also.)

i do this all the time...

For me, that's the only way to choose a book! I really don't like spoilers, and sometimes even the description gives too much away. If it's the next book in a series I'm reading, I don't read the description at all.

I often judge a book by its cover. I like the surprise not reading the blurb gives...they often give WAY too much of the plotline away trying to rope in readers. It always adds an element of suspense because you quite literally have NO clue what's going to happen. I come across some duds obviously but when you use a good balance of ratings (don't read reviews until afterwards either!), Goodreads recommendations, authors you are familiar with and genres you enjoy I often find things I wouldn't have otherwise.

Chantelle wrote: "I often judge a book by its cover. I like the surprise not reading the blurb gives...they often give WAY too much of the plotline away trying to rope in readers. It always adds an element of suspen..."

Exactly!

The cover and description normally the only way I find new books. Even recommendations from goodreads and friends, will need a good description for me to give it a go.

I know really well what I like and am good at predicting, so reading the description and taking a look at the writing style gives me enough information most of the time.

Raeleen wrote: "That is pretty much how I choose my books..."

Makes sense to me. If someone invests a lot of time in the cover/blurb, it's likely they did the same for the content :)

Would I? That's like, all I do. I mean, reader reviews are pretty influential, but an intriguing synopsis trumps a bad review. And I TOTALLY judge a book by a cover. I feel like if that much effort was put into the package, the insides have to be worth something.

That´s what I normally do. Look the cover and then read the sinopsis, if I like it I read it

I always choose a book by it's cover or if my husband recommends it because he and I have the same tastes in books.

Pourquoi pas? ; )

I've read some books just for the cover alone. Have I been disappointed? A couple times. But I've also been pleasantly surprised, and wouldn't have read that book otherwise.

I think this is WAY WAY WAY more important than other things. The cover and the description is the main thing I use to choose a book (and maybe read a few pages). If the back cover is only filled with recommendations from so-called professionals, I get very annoyed.
Of course they are gonna say it's a good book!

YEP!

Is there any other way? (rhetorical question - I know there is)

Yes.

Since I am a Reviewer, most of the time the book description is my only source of information to make selections. I prefer to write reviews based on my impressions, so if there is a customer review already posted on the publisher's website, I don't read it.

I do this a lot when buying books :) But I get more excited when I have heard about it on goodreads etc. ;)

It happens maybe once a year that I spontaneously buy a book just going by cover/description, because I'm not lacking unread books and I'm not rich.
(This only goes for new books. I do it with used books for like 3€ all the time.)

Same here

My mother is the only one who reads near me, and we have really diferent reading styles so, my only way to know if i'll like it is to read the description; and well, like an artist the cover is important.

since i started here some days ago i've never thoght abaout the reviews or ratings of 3º people.

It's what everybody did before Goodreads and book blogs ;)
No, seriously, I do it a lot.

Brynne wrote: "same here. Like this one book called Eleven, I found it in my closet my mom's friend is a teacher, so is my dad and step mom. My mo0m's friend must have given it to me, but it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZIN..."

Who is the author? I can't seem to find the book and you have piqued my curiosity.

Hell yes. There are a lot of books I really liked that got some bad reviews on goodreads and a lot of books I hated that had really good ratings. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

If the author is unknown to me, and it's a hit, it's very satisfying to make a new discovery!

I prefer to read the reviews on the back cover, but if I have no access to the internet, then yes, I will buy based on the description. The cover can be anything so long as it is an appropriate image (though I prefer illustrations over real people).

I have never picked a book based solely on its cover...mostly the cover catches my eyes...I look at who the author is...I read the description and little bit from first and last pages of the book and then I decide whether I will read it or not!
I mean I really am terrified of reading a book and being disappointed by it! Reading after all is sacred to me ( I admit I have read some disappointing books anyway but I try not to!)

I pick up boxes, full of used books, that someone gives away for free all the time. I don't even read the description, I only type them all in a to-do-list-app and then of those I read one book per month, chosen by alphabetical order.

I find it so easy to find it on GR, and read a few reviews, that I don't get why I should take a chance? I mean, It's easy enough to find It, right? So unless I'm in a book store/library and don't have time to...

When someone posts on GoodReads that they've read Betty Crocker's Cookie Book (a book of recipes) or The Complete Guide to Carb Counting (a book of tables of nutritional information), for example, does that mean that they've read the book cover-to-cover? I'm not being judgmental--I have books like these on my list that I likely will never read straight through but am nonetheless interested in referring to from time to time. How do such books-including all reference books--ever become "read?" Or do they? If not, how are they to be categorized on GoodReads?

Mainly, I read books based on the description and genre. I'll take reviews/recommendations into consideration, but only a very small amount. I've disliked plenty of books that are popular and highly recommended

That is how everyone chooses a book at first: a cover and the description. If you become a fan of the author, you get excited about what they put out next. Reviewer opinions mean little because our tastes often disagree.

I mean... I do that all the time

Cindy wrote: "I do it all the time!"
Me too

All the time. Especially after cruising the. Library for a half/hour with my neck crooked so I can read the spine.

Of Course :) , If I like the book description , I want to read

Yes, absolutely. Sometimes featured reads in my library will catch my attention because of the cover and I end picking it up and turns out to be a great book.