When buying a book

Most of my happenstance books (ie: 3/4 of my novel collection) were chosen by:

1. Noticing the cover and/or title (I'm an artist/graphic artist, so sue me for being shallow...)
2. Reading the synopsis on the back cover/inside flap.
3. Possibly noticing the author...if it's somebody I recognize.

There's always the odd book you find mostly at used book sales and antique shops that doesn't have a dust jacket, therefore no synopsis. In that case, I do flip around the book and read some of it, but it's hard to get a feel for a book in that way. My grandma, on the other hand, reads about 1/4 of the book in the store before making a decision -- something I really can't do.

I never have really liked checking out books from the library, but since UT's library system is so freaking amazing I've come to appreciate it more. I don't like to check out things mostly because I don't usually read stuff that I'm interested in for at least 6 months to a year, oftentimes longer. So...yeah. Checking out a book for a few weeks doesn't really jive with my habits...

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Hydra

even if it never gets read I derive great enjoyment from just feeling and smelling it. That sounds creepier than it really is. Some books just smell good... I dunno if it's the paper or the ink or what.

Heh, I do the same thing. I also "pet" books, which also sounds creepier than it really is. It's kind of amusing to teach people in the bookstore how to do it, though. I have a lot of novels that fall into this category.

There's nowhere I can't reach.