How to you choose what books you read?

[Mark]

I was wondering, since this group mostly deals with indie and small published works, how does everyone decide what books you're going to read?

Is it just a search of amazon or barnes and nobel? Is it through ads or mostly word of mouth?

Just wondering how everyone finds new books.

[★Moonrise]

Hi Mark! When it comes to review requests, I read the synopsis, and sometimes will ask the author to provide a few paragraphs--this helps me to decide which books to accept for review. I also turn to recommendations from friends on GR, Twitter, and in RL. And finally, every week I search through Amazon, blogs, and other bookish sites for new indie authors and books I have yet to discover. If something catches my eye, I will purchase it and give it a try! Yes, I am the one who takes risks with books that have yet to be reviewed, or those that don't fit neatly into any one genre (although my favorites tend to lean toward paranormal romance). I will also read mainstream books if they sound interesting. If I enjoy it, I review it, and will post about it on my blog and various social media outlets. This is how I've met many authors with whom I've gone on to develop great friendships! If I don't enjoy it, I don't review it, since my blog is designed to provide recommendations to readers. But I digress. Overall, I would say that GR and Twitter are my most reliable sources for discovering new books, since many of my friends share similar tastes in books. :-) Hope this helps!

[Wren]

I get info from several blogs on my FB newsfeed. I usually check out the books they review, though I download the sample first, but that's where I usually hear about them.

[Michael]

mine's more simple, I just roll the dice and read what's presented to me or what I see people reading if it looks like it'll keep my interest. and I have a hard time saying no, so I read a lot of stories offered to me as well. hasn't let me down so far

[Mark]

I more of a dart throwing I suppose. I usually browse amazon (they haven't made it very easy) and see what's out there. It can be tough to find indie books that aren't popular (i.e. not in the top 100 or some list) so I end up doing more digging than I once did. However, I can often find some pretty interesting reads. I get disappointed at times, but sometimes I find something really good.

[Christie]

I'm more along Lauren's lines. The cover draws me in, I see if the concept sounds interesting on the back of the book, I read a couple of pages to see if I like the writing style (if I'm at a bookstore, at this point I buy it if it seems good), I read some of the best and worst and in between reviews to find out if the weaknesses will make a difference to me, and that's it! This process usually works for me. I personally don't bother with quotes from newspapers, readers, or other authors about the book. Does anyone bother with those?

[Mark]

I don't look at the newspaper or any other kind of advertisement. Sometimes, I do use word of mouth. A lot of times that word of mouth comes from Twitter, Facebook or Goodreads.
I read a lot, usually 50 to 70 books a year, and I'm always looking for new things, new recommendations.

[Christie]

@Mark I find that Goodreads helps me find great books through other people's bookshelves as well as advertisements. On Twitter the authors I follow always promote the same book for months and months (maybe years?) on end, so that doesn't work for me. Do you find new books you're interested in through particular hashtags or just through your regular Twitter stream?

[Mark]

Regular stream. There are a few people on Twitter who have tastes similar to my own and they will occasionally tweet about a book they particularly like. When they do, I usually check it out to see if I want to read it.

[Tabitha]

I love Amazon's feature that shows what others have purchased along with the book I am currently reading; I've found new authors and some of my favorite reads that way.

Also, browsing Goodreads Giveaways is a great way to uncover fellow indie authors.

Covers intrigue me, but the blurb is the clincher.

[Brittney]

The cover and then the blurb. I don't just buy a book based on its cover, but sometimes I do over look a book because of the cover. I also like the Amazon feature where you see what others have bought..and I tend to use good reads. I watch to see what others are reading and I check those out.

[Mark]

Sounds like the blurb is ultra important. Have to keep that in mind.

[Bruno]

the back cover and also the publisher.. I find that many stick to the same genre so I will roll the proverbial dice at that point.

[Laura]

I'll read anything that isn't non-fiction. I don't care if it hasn't been reviewed before, didn't go through a large publishing company, or who the author is. I look at what all my GR friends are reading and then just browse around. I love the feature on GR that shows what other books are like the one you are looking at.

[Jojobean]

I go to Barnes and Noble and just browse. If I find a new author I check out their other books. I use the "Readers also liked" section on a book's main GR page. Also recommendations from family and friends finds me new books to read.