Not knowing what it's about

[wildmaven]

Have you ever bought a book without knowing what it's about? 

I picked up a 1912 book at a yard sale last weekend. So far it's about a woman who had to go identify her deceased husband on a snowy night, only to pick up his killer as she drove home, whom she knows is the killer and is thankful to the woman because she wanted him dead anyway.

I've been known to go into a used book store and just run my finger along the titles and buy the one my finger's on when I stop.

It's a lot of fun not knowing ahead of time what's going to happen and I've found some new authors as a result of doing this.

[charlie]

I wish I did that more, to be honest. I've become quite particular in the sort of writing styles I like and respond to. Before buying a book these days, I will, like many, read the blurb and reviews on the back. I will also usually flick to a few early chapter random paragraphs to check the writing style.

Interesting point, Marian. I'm about to buy my next book before flying in a couple of weeks, perhaps I'll take your 'random' approach to heart and report back!

Chaz

[Caajscot (John)]

I have done that a few times as I am a bit of a book worm, the last time I did that was picking up Killing Floor by Lee Child of the character Jack Reacher, years later I am a Jack Reacher fanatic and have read all of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books ever since.

[wildmaven]

May 31, 2024 14:10:36 GMT -8 charlie said:

Interesting point, Marian. I'm about to buy my next book before flying in a couple of weeks, perhaps I'll take your 'random' approach to heart and report back!

Chaz

That'll be awesome. Buying them at used book stores makes the gamble easier to swallow if it doesn't work out.

May 31, 2024 20:52:42 GMT -8 Caajscot (John) said:

I have done that a few times as I am a bit of a book worm, the last time I did that was picking up Killing Floor by Lee Child of the character Jack Reacher, years later I am a Jack Reacher fanatic and have read all of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books ever since.

My husband likes the Jack Reacher books, too. When we're at a used book store, I often see books that fit his interests and hand them to him. He hasn't done that to me, yet.

[Robyn]

That's what I used to do as a teenager and especially a younger kid. I would go to the library and pick out the week's random picks from the staff. All sorts of interesting books! The one that left the biggest impact was Ender's Game, which at the time my dad had recommended but did not tell me what it was about. It turned out to be such a fantastic story for my young mind.

[Caajscot (John)]

As I said in a previous post up the page, what started as a random book purchase I now have the whole set of Lee Child/Jack Reacher books, 2 bookshelves of them.

[Artemis]

I do this pretty often. At one of the libraries I volunteer at I'm with the Friends, which means I deal with a lot of the book donations the library gets. I see all sorts of really interesting books and will sometimes pick some at random to read. They're often ones I wouldn't look twice at if I had to spend money on them, but when I get so many books coming in as donations that I can look at before passing on (or choosing to buy for Friends prices), I'm a lot more willing. The only downside is just how quickly my TBR grows as a result.