5 Things I look for when Book Shopping!

Book shopping is one of my favourite things to do. Online, in store, it doesn’t matter. I love looking at covers, reading blurbs, flicking through, scanning a page, looking at reviews, buying it, walking out of the store with my shiny new books or waiting patiently my the post box. But what do I look for when I’m book shopping? Here’s 5 things…

Barter Books is wonderful!

1. Radio hosts
I have a weird love for reading about radio hosts, specifically late night radio hosts. Maybe from my love for Frasier, and the feeling of quiet in the night. It’s the main reason I picked up Eleven and the Kitty Norville books. Show me a book with a radio host and I’ll probably buy it, they’re unsurprisingly rare though.

2. My favourite authors
I posted about the authors where I own most of their books and when I’m book shopping I do find myself drifting towards them to fill out the gaps in my collection. When you’re buying books, it can be comforting to know you like an authors writing style when you lay down the cash.

3. A recommendation
Recommendations come from all over the place; friends, family, bloggers, youtubers, the media. It can be tough to know who shares your taste until you’ve tried out a couple of their favourites. And I can’t be the only one that sees a book while browsing and is like, ‘Yes! Whoever loved this!’ It’s a slippery slope when you follow a lot of book blogs!

4. A good cover
I know. I know. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover and all that but really- those covers are the first thing you see when you look at a book. They’re meant to represent the book inside so when I look at a book, I want a nice cover. I’ve loved books with ugly covers too but I don’t actively seek them out when I’m shopping.

5. The next in a series
I love series. I think there’s something wonderful about getting to visit the same world without the repetition that comes with re-reading. I love fresh plots while I spend time with my favourite characters and seeing how they change and grow over three, eight, even thirteen books. So if I have the beginning of a series and loved it, then I’ll pick up the next book.