Answering Arkansas Patti

On her blog, The New Sixty, Arkansas Patti asks several questions about our reading habits.  I realized I was too long-winded to answer in her "Comments" so I told her I'd answer her here. 

She said, and I quote:  

"Those of you who are readers will know what I am asking with these questions.  What makes you pick a book out of the kazillion in print?  Are you author loyal? Are you genre locked in? Do you rely on reviews? Do you trust completely a friends or family member's recommendation? Does the NY Times best seller list pick for you? Does the cover reel you in? I am just curious."  

Patti, I love my Kindle. I'm pretty locked in to Mysteries, especially Cozies, but I might read some other genre if it is recommended by a friend or another blogger, if I'm pretty sure of his/her tastes.  

Many times, the covers irritate me, especially on the Cozy series'. They look so much alike, I have to be careful not to buy the same book twice. I suspect the publishers do that on purpose  Bastards. 

I pay no attention to the New York Times book list, but I'll check out the Amazon.com lists of 100 free books and 100 top books that are for sale. 

I'm drawn to covers depicting cottages by the sea or set in the Cotwolds villages. I do love those  British mysteries.

For books other than mysteries, I usually depend on the "Look Inside" feature when I'm considering a book from Amazon.  I can tell within the first few pages if I'm going to like the author's writing style or the story line.   

I'm definitely loyal to certain authors, the ones who make me think,  "I wish I'd written that" and my loyalty extends to several genres.  I don't particularly read reviews, preferring to make up my own mind about a book. 

See?  This is much too long for the "Comments" section.  Thanks for asking, though.  I was trying to decide what to blog about next.

Stay tuned.