What Catches a Reader’s Eye? A Reflection on how people find and choose books.
One day, during my sophomore year in high school, a classmate grabbed my arm and said, “I just finished the most amazing book, you have to read it!” That book was Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I trusted this classmate’s opinion, asked my mom for the book, and it ended up being my Easter present that year. I read it in one day, bought the second one and read that in one day. Then I had to wait a couple months for the third, but I was hooked.
Two years prior to that, in eighth grade, a friend of mine found her mom’s copy of The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, read it, and passed it around to the rest of our group. She had us write our names inside the front cover when we finished it to make it our own “sisterhood of the traveling pants”, but with a book. From there, I sought out other Nicholas Sparks’ books (Safe Haven is my favorite).
That same year, I checked out a copy of A Dance for Three by Louise Plummer from the school library, and recommended it to my friend. She checked it out next and loved it so much, she made her mom hunt it down so she could own a copy. (And let me tell you, that book is hard to find in a traditional bookstore. This was 2004.)
What is the common denominator in those three tales? Word of mouth. Most of the books I have read, I came across via recommendation: a friend, a family member, maybe facebook ads, etc. And according to many blogs, podcasts, and seminars; word of mouth is still the best way to sell books.
Even so, authors are also told that online reviews are important because the algorithms on those websites recommend books that have a lot of reviews. But even though that’s what the algorithm does, is that really how potential readers find books? And do readers read reviews before deciding whether to read a book or not?
I created a Google Forms survey, and 76 people responded. Here are the results:
What helps you learn about and choose to buy a book?
*Note: This was a “Check all that apply” question, so all numbers together will go beyond 76
| Recommendations from family and friends | 58 |
| Window shopping in brick and mortar bookstores | 36 |
| Online ads (i.e.facebook, instagram, etc.) | 18 |
| “Also bought” on Amazon | 19 |
| “Readers also liked” on Goodreads | 12 |
| Searching a preferred genre/trope on Amazon | 27 |
| Other | 25 |
Surveyors got to type something if they clicked other, and here are the common “others” summarized into general categories:
- Book influencers/reviewers on Instagram, TikTok, and blogs
- Websites like Bookbub
- Libraries
- Events like festivals
- Book clubs
- Gifts
So, like my own experiences, most people still rely on recommendations from trusted people. But a decent number of people are also using the internet in some capacity (Amazon, social media, etc.)
These next two responses totally threw me. Because I don’t read reviews before buying a book, I erroneously assumed most people were like me. And this has completely turned my marketing world upside down.
I was not surprised by these results. For me, 3 stars means that I enjoyed the book enough to finish, and I don’t regret spending my money on it. So I consider 3 stars a positive review. But at the same time, I know on the marketing side, you don’t choose a 3 star review to highlight. You choose 5 star reviews to highlight.
At the end of the survey, I provided space to type anything they wished to add, since I often struggle with multiple choice, because I want to explain my answer. With respect to transparency, I did use AI to help me find commonalities in the 49 responses, and come up with categories based on those commonalities. AI discovered 5 categories, and as I went through them, I deleted two of AI’s category and created a two of my own, moving some of the responses around to the following:
| Category 1: Preference for Cover, Blurb, and Initial Impressions – 14 people expressed this was important to them in selecting a book. |
| An attractive cover and a strong blurb on the back will get my attention. I’ll read a page or two (unless it’s by an author I’m already familiar with) to see if they can get my interest. It’s rare that I will read a review first. |
| By far the first thing that gets me to look at a book is the blurb and a cover, and from there, I will look at reviews or recommendations before I decide to buy. |
| Sometimes I get recommendations from word of mouth, but not often. 95% of the time, I’ll see an ad on FB or IG. If the blurb is interesting, I’ll click on it and go to the Amazon page and read through that. If it still seems worth getting, I’ll read the sample. If it still seems good, I’ll get it on Kindle Unlimited. If I absolutely love it, I’ll buy the ebook. Even rarer, I’ll buy the physical copy. Occasionally I’ll buy books not on KU, but that’s even more rare. That only happens when an author I already trust has a new release. And right now, that’s…. one, but used to be two. But I stopped liking that author’s books, so it seemed silly to spend money on a book when it was a “maybe I’ll like it.” |
| I usually choose a book based on the blurb, the cover, and the genre. |
| Cover and genre recognition are big factors for me – the “catch your eye” thing. |
| I read the synopsis or hook that is on the back or inside of the cover of the book to see what it’s about most of the time and if it captures my attention then I read it. A quick little summary of the story over reviews is usually what helps my decision more than book reviews. How I find out about the book is in all sorts of ways, wandering through bookstores, Amazon, Facebook, and every other way to find new books. |
| Most times it’s the blurb. If it reads like it’ll be an intriguing story, I’m in. |
| Cover and blurb is what usually leap out at me. Also read the first pages. |
| Excerpts on Facebook ads and catchy stock pics or video grab my attention. |
| Cover art then blurb. |
| I read a few reviews, but they don’t carry much weight. I mostly rely on the sample pages. If they grab me, I buy, if not I pass for now. |
| I usually read the jacket cover before buying. |
| I rarely read reviews because I like to make up my own mind. I look at the cover, read the blurb, read the author’s info, and read the first couple of pages. |
| If a book catches my eye, I read a page or two of the preview. If it intrigues me and is not full of typos, grammatical infelicities or clunky writing, I’ll buy it. |
| Category 2: Number of Stars Matters – 5 people explained how they use stars and averages to help them decide whether to read a book or not. |
| I would select a book with four stars and above. If there are a lot of reviews, I don’t pay attention to negative ones since it may just be a personal opinion. |
| If there’s a few 1 or 2 star reviews but the rest are 4 and up, I usually disregard the lower reviews. It’s simply the taste of the reader. I sometimes seek out books because of something I’ve heard or read in the media about a book or author. For instance, I recently read my first Emily Henry book because of an article I read online. |
| Sometimes reviews affect whether I will purchase a book, but if a book has been recommended by someone I know personally, that would have more weight, even if the reviews aren’t outstanding. I’m also more likely to look at the number of reviews and the average rating than to read individual reviews. |
| I use book reviews, but I don’t read them. Spoilers being what they are, I don’t want anything to color my expectations. If a book has a 3.5/4+ out of 5 stars, and a number of reviews north of 10, I’ll likely pick it up. |
| I think any number of stars is a positive review. It really depends on what the actual review says. After all, you can give a 5 star review, but then in the post, the reviewer can list more negative things they thought about the book than positive. |
| Category 3: Mixed Feelings or Limited Reliance on Reviews – 7 people shared their reluctance to trust reviews 100%. |
| I take all reviews with a grain of salt. I usually never agree with movie reviews. I do look at the reviewer’s bio information, if any, such as age and gender. I really try to take information from multiple sources. |
| I read the reviews, but if the blurb and book cover attract my attention, I will make up my mind based on what I think, not what a stranger says. |
| I rarely read reviews because everyone has different tastes and the people who write reviews tend to be the angry rude people. I don’t like to support that kind of negativity toward someone’s art. More often than not, I have a different opinion from the reviewers, so it does me no good to read them first. |
| I don’t always read reviews, especially if I’m familiar with the author’s work. Reviews are just opinions, and whether or not I buy a book depends on if it sounds interesting to me, and is the type of story I like to read. |
| I dislike and ignore the value of 1- or 2-star reviews without text. I think Amazon does a disfavor to authors when they allows this type of review since it pulls down your score with no reason why the book was rated so low. For example : “2 star – Clear filter – 1 total rating, 0 with reviews” – Are these trolls? |
| Reviews are all over the map. Often the text doesn’t match the number of stars I would think it merits. Some get low stars because the Reviewer has an axe to grind like doesn’t one of the characters because they are multiracial or something that has little to do with the quality of the story. I rely a lot more on friends and family recommendations. |
| I’ve worked in the publishing industry as a marketer and am wary of the techniques used to sell books, many of which are hollow and baseless, including book reviews. A positive book review is practically a given to most reviewers who receive a free copy. |
| Category 4: Looking for specific info. in reviews – 9 people said that the purpose of reading reviews is to look for specific good or negative hints on whether the book will be worth it. |
| I tend to read the actual review rather than just go by the star rating. I will disregard one or two negative reviews (there is always someone who likes to destroy an author’s confidence) but if there are a lot of negative reviews saying a similar thing, I will probably pass on it. |
| There are certain things that really bug me when I read books, and if reviews mention any of those things, I tend to avoid the book. Sloppy prose is one of those things. Most books I read nowadays are on Libby, but I will occasionally buy a book if I want to read it sooner than it will be available to check out. |
| I depend heavily on reviews to decide whether to try a book by an author unfamiliar to me. A well-written review will give me a general idea of the plot and tell me whether I would probably like the book. Even if the reviewer disliked it, a good review will explain lucidly exactly what the reviewer disliked — and it may be a feature that would appeal to me. For example, if a review complains about a story being too “slow,” with too much dialogue and not enough action, I know I’ll probably enjoy it. |
| I like when recommendations or reviews compare the books to other popular books or series that I may have read |
| I’ll look at reviews depending on how I found a book. If it’s an online recommendation I don’t know anything about, I’ll always read a review. If it’s the author or a friends recommendation, I’ll never read a review. |
| I read the reviews to see if they tick any of the boxes of my likes and dislikes. For instance, I won’t read/buy a book with a cliffhanger ending, and I’m leery of books with poor editing. |
| Book reviews give me a better idea of what the book is about. Blurbs aren’t always great. |
| Re reading reviews, I read them sometimes, but if I’m in a physical bookstore I wouldn’t. When reading a review, I don’t take it for being 100% accurate but allow for any bias I see creeping in. I like a reviewer who spells out what sort of reader would like a particular book and what sort might not. |
| I often read reviews after I’ve started reading a book, particularly one I either love or hate just to see if other people thought the same. |
| Category 5: Reliance on Recommendations or Familiarity -11 people explained they have specific trusted sources to help pick their next book. |
| I often take recommendations from the Today Show. |
| If I have read and enjoyed something else in that author’s backlist, I will often be on the lookout for a new release. I will sign up for their Bookbub or to follow them on Amazon. |
| There are certain authors I follow and their books are usually the first I gravitate toward. Also, many of the books I read are the next month’s selection for my book club. Before choosing a book, I read a few of the reviews, both the good and the bad, just to get other peoples’ opinions. What the reviewers liked/disliked may not be what I look for in a book, so I won’t not read a novel based solely on someone else’s rating. I then read the blurb and the first couple of pages and give a thumbs up or down based on how I like the book’s opening. |
| I sometimes read reviews from instagrammers with similar taste in books. |
| I am more likely to read a book based off recommendations of people I know than reviews, but I do read reviews periodically, and factor them into my considerations. |
| Authors I follow |
| I choose books when I see an across the board popularity |
| I don’t always read reviews, especially if I’m familiar with the author’s work. Reviews are just opinions, and whether or not I buy a book depends on if it sounds interesting to me, and is the type of story I like to read. |
| As a former librarian, many of the patrons I talked with chose books to read based upon book cover, familiarity with the author, recommendations by library staff and viewing displays in the library. As for reviews, I am somewhat cynical about Amazon and other larger online entities because many of the reviews appear to be a trade (I will give you a good review if you give my book a good review) or manipulated by larger publishers to get their books out there–to make money, of course. |
| I am generally searching books by favorite authors. I also tend toward books carried by my library. Ebooks there are acquired through Amazon. |
Final Reflections
To be honest, I did not get the results I wanted and thought I would get. Reviews really are just as important as all the marketing articles and webinars have been telling me. But I think I needed this wakeup call. One of my weaknesses is I can get prideful and not accept information if it doesn’t match my personal life. I’m going to have to do some soul searching for my next marketing endeavor. 😂
What responses stuck out to you or surprised you?
Anything you connected with or feel like it didn’t match you?
How do you choose books?
Let me know in the comments!
Chelsey M. Ortega 