Hey guys! It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, which is currently being run by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. We knew instantly that we wanted to take part in this weekly meme because both of us love making list, so this is perfect!
This week’s (April 2nd 2019) topic is: Things That Make Me Pick Up a Book
Since there are two of us running this blog (Melanie and Mireille), we’re going to break these memes up between us and each pick five!
The Cover
I’m a cover whore – I love a good cover that will look amazing on my shelves.
Illustrations
This isn’t really a common one but I’m a sucker for illustrations, especially in middle-grade novels or special editions YA books.
Author Auto-Buy
I have so many auto-author buys, so that is probably the easiest reason to buy for me.
Themes
Does it have pirates? Vikings? Necromancers? Blood Magic? Then sign me up! There are many themes I adore and it’s always so exciting when they get on trend.
Reviews
I don’t have a lot of faith in random Goodreads reviews for many reasons – it could be a full post within itself! However, I do trust reviews from certain reviewers/friends that I know have very similar taste as me. That can certainly push me to pick up a novel.
The Cover
I am a sucker for a beautiful cover. If it appeals to me there is a good chance that I will buy the book.
The Author
If it’s an author that I like or love, I will be getting anything they write. I have a couple instabuy authors. Some could be coming out with a phone book and I would buy it (**cough*Jay Kristoff*cough**).
The Hype
Of course like a lot if people are raving about a book, especially my friends I will end up buying it.
The Synopsis
I do sometimes read the synopsis and based on it decide if it’s something that I might be into.
The Controversy
If a book has controversy around it there is a chance that I will pick it up to see what the fuss is about.
tbrandbeyond.com 
Okay, I totally snorted at “I’m a cover whore – I love a good cover that will look amazing on my shelves.” and really, I FELT THAT. That being said, I agree with you both on a lot of these things!
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Yes, completely! I feel like we need to be friends lol
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Ooh illustrations. They are a fantastic feature. (Also maps. I really like maps. Which are kind of an illustration, I guess, especially because a lot of them are really stunningly done.)
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Oh yes, I love maps so much as well! They always look extra beautiful when they are on the end pages of books. They are also really helpful.
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I hadn’t thought about the synopsis but that’s such a good point. That definitely makes me want to pick up a book!
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I’m a COVER SNOB (hopefully in still a good way), so I’m all about the COVER BUY! (Though I do plan to try and be better.) Auto-buy authors are another favorite of mine as well. So long as they keep writing stories that make me smile, I’ll keep buying their books! 🙂 Thanks so much for the Finding Wonderland visit.
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Yay! I’m glad lots of others are cover snobs as well. I have quite a few autobuy authors but you’re right – they have to keep putting out good stuff to stay on the list.
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Thank god I am not the only one who is a slave to beautiful covers. I’ve already seen it on several lists–it’s on mine too. XD And auto-buy authors are a definite must buy.
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Good way to put it because I am a willing slave lol
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I’m a definite cover whore too! That’s a sure fire way to get me to pick up your book, even if I’m not totally in love with the synopsis.
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Super guilty of that as well
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I totally agree with the cover, author, and hype!
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Certain themes always get me too, and covers. Totally. I am so susceptible to a good cover!
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Oh, hi…. I think we have similar taste on hoarding books, hehehe…
https://www.fiksimetropop.com/2019/04/top-ten-tuesday-sepuluh-alasan-saya.html
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I have a couple of autobuy authors as well. When I was in boot camp, there was this girl who could sing so well, I said that she could sing the alphabet and it would be amazing. My autobuy authors could write about the alphabet and I’d know it’d be good.
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Illustrations is certainly a great reason to pick up a book. I love a book with pretty illustrations and as such am a sucker for all those classic editions and illustrated pjo/hp coming out haha.
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Oh me too! The Barnes and Noble Collector’s Editions are to die for. Even though I’m in Canada, I’ve ordered many and had them shipped here are stupid prices lol
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Mine are: Book cover, Book blurb (I want to be teased but don’t want to be bored by the lenght of it), recommendations from reviewers that I trust, a genre I enjoy and a few auto-buys.
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I love this list!
I don’t really trust random goodreads reviews either, but reviews of the people I follow are really important to me when deciding whether I want to pick up a book. And so are covers – which might seem odd because I mostly read ebooks, so I don’t even really have to look at the cover, but some covers are so intriguing that I have to know the story.
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I agree completely. A cover can make you look into the book more and I love when it really matches the story well.
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I share a lot of the same reasons for picking up a book! Mostly the synopsis, auto-buy authors, and positive reviews. 🙂
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I totally agree about covers! I love a good cover :).
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Seems like everyone does – shows how important it is.
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I definitely agree with you on controversy. If it hadn’t been for that awful review of RUN by Kody Keplinger, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up as quickly as I did, but it ended up becoming one of my favourite books.
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It really can be interesting to read a book with controversy. There are times I’ve agreed with what was said and times where I thought we must’ve been reading completely different books!
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Yes, illustrations! And maps.
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I definitely pick books up because of their cover or author (sometimes both!) as well.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2019/04/02/top-ten-tuesday-205/
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I completely agree about reviews. Goodreads in general can be sketchy but there are plenty of bloggers whose opinions I really trust or who I know have quite similar tastes.
My TTT this week.
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Exactly, you just have to know who are the reviewers are just trying to be edgy and who are the reviewers who actually want to give their honest opinions.
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Very true. And you can usually tell pretty easily who’s just playing for attention.
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I’m seeing hype a lot today. If a book has a lot of hype, it interests me but I usually stay away from it until it dies down.
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Yeah a lot of people do that. I’m always behind so it’s kind of exciting when I can jump on a hype train and get to talk about the book while people are still interested in it.
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Honestly, the synopsis is the most important part. A well-written synopsis will grab my attention in a heartbeat!
My Top Ten Tuesday post.
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Yes, it has to sound interesting or what’s the point!
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Covers — yes! I didn’t include it on my list, but I definitely fall prey to all the hype; I usually read those just to see why everyone can’t stop talking about it!
My TTT: https://www.hungry-bookworm.com/2019/04/02/top-ten-tuesday-things-that-make-me-pick-up-a-book/
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It’s SO HARD to resist a pretty cover. *sigh*
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
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It really is. Commented on your blog 🙂
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I’m finding myself drawn to books that have controversy, too. The ones that get a massive amount of hate from a few people, but positive reviews from most. I need to find out what is going on.
And I’m definitely a cover whore.
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We can be whores together!…. That doesn’t sound right LOL
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And this is why I love you.
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So great to find out I’m not the only one who struggles to resist a gorgeous cover! 🙂 Good list. Why didn’t I think of illustrations?
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Totally agree with all of these, I love a good cover!
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I love covers so much, maybe too much. I will always add a book to the TBR if the cover blows me away.
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Same, same and same LOL It’s getting hard now though because covers have really upped their game in the last couple of years and there are so many beautiful ones floating around.
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They really have!
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I’m also sucker for pretty covers and also books that has hate to love trope, morally grey characters, and anti-heroes.
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Lots morally gray! They are so much more interesting to me.
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For me, I would say Description, Goodreads Reviews and Author
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Very good choices!
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I’ve noticed this one everywhere today and so many of you say cover – more often than not, I’m reading an ARC book file that doesn’t have a cover and don’t know what it is until much later when the media kits are sent 😉
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It probably matters more if you are a physical book buyer. I am both but I own hundreds of physical books and I display many so books also double as decoration for me. Many of them really are works of art.
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Oh yes, I am HERE for beautiful covers and auto-authors! I can’t not have the next book!! 🙂
This was my TTT: http://goodeyreads.com/2019/04/02/top-ten-tuesday-things-that-make-me-pick-up-a-book/
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I’m impressed by people with auto-buy authors — the only authors I have that level of confidence in are dead and/or stopped publishing last century. Seems like an exciting way to live!
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Oh, yes. The cover is definitely one of the first things that makes me pick up a book!
My TTT post!
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Even though I write reviews I tend to find the three star ones are the ones that make me pick up a book. I also love a gorgeous cover too.
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I love that we have a lot of the same answers! I totally forgot about themes and illustrations!
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covers do attract !
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Covers totally make or break my decision on buying a book
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I’m guilty of the controversy appeal too. 😂
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Oh my gosh, I love the little illustrations you find in middle grade books 🙂 Great list!
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