# Do you read the back cover before you buy?



## Violanthe (Sep 5, 2006)

Do you read the back cover synopsis before you buy a book? The first few paragraphs? Or do you have some other method for sizing up a book before you buy it?


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## Arlina (Sep 5, 2006)

I normally find a title that interests me first, then I read the back cover. If that sounds enticing, I normally read the first few pages, then flip to the middle of the book. ha

Normally, however, if there is a book that I really want to read, my friend already has it...


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## YayGollum (Sep 5, 2006)

I read the back cover, as a matter of course! People who don't make no sense. Unless they are just deathly bored and start reading anything put in front of them, I guess. I'd still read the back first, though. Anyways, the routine for sizing a book up ---> I am in a section of the book store that I a know intimately, or I am on a mission in uncharted territories. The author's name is an annoyance, especially when it's bigger than the title of the book, garn. Why distract me with useless information? I prefer titles that tell me something about the story, not annoying little things that sound like the author couldn't think of anything better, such as the first name of the main character. The cover art has to be achingly exceptional for me to praise it beyond the fact that it does indeed contain a relevant, preferably intriguing, depiction of something important to the story. Sometimes there is a little teaser on the front, not usually, though. Yay for the good ones, though. The back is the most important part, to me. Plenty of books have been ignored if the back summary wasn't that great. If the thing passes that test, which isn't normally very hard, I check out the dedication, the acknowledgements, and any little things that might be in the back. I save reading the bit about the author for after I have read the book, since, only by then, I might have grown an appreciation for the guy. Also, any prologues will be read, unless I don't have time for an especially long one. If there isn't a prologue, I will merely skim the first few pages, then flip through the whole thing really fast, looking for anything out of the ordinary. A few books have pictures or maps or an example of a weird language or something else that stands out.


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## e.Blackstar (Sep 6, 2006)

My process:
Find a cool title or author
Read the back cover
Read the first page or two if it interests me.


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## Varokhâr (Sep 6, 2006)

Same here; I find one that looks good, read the back, then skim through it (if it's non-fiction) or read the reviews page in the beginning (if it's fiction), then decide yay or nay.


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## HLGStrider (Sep 6, 2006)

I'm a sucker and will buy anything, so I don't really have a pattern. If I did I'd have a lot more shelf space. I bought the "City of Ember" because it had a cool cover (I thought) and it was only five dollars.

I brought "Time Stops for No Mouse" because of the cover art too . . . though I did read the back first, but I think I would've bought it even if there hadn't been a back inscription because A. the title was interesting, B. I liked the cover art.

Occassionally I will go to seek out a book I've read about or heard about. 

I tend to buy two types of books, childrens' and classics. Classics I generally buy because they are on my list of things I "should" read, so I buy them based on their reputation or their author's reputation. Most of the time I know enough about the plot/theme/whatever of a classic book that the back cover wouldn't help much. Children's has a lot more to do with whimsy, title, and cover art, though since I'm already there I might as well read the back cover and I suppose that could turn me off if the description was really bad . . . but generally by the time I've taken the book off the shelf and checked the price I've made up my mind. 

I just like books.


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## Lindir (Sep 11, 2006)

It depends. If I buy a book in a series that I have already started, I don't read the back cover because I feel it would unnecessarily give too much information about something I'm going to read anyway. If it is a book by an author I have not previously read I will read the back cover to see if it might be of interest.


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## Violanthe (Sep 12, 2006)

I usually rely on reviews and recommendations, rather than the back cover.


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