Top Ten Tuesday - What Makes Me Pick Up A Book

Thanks to Lydia Schoch, I’ve decided to join this weekly blog hop. In all the years I’ve been blogging, I’ve never joined one before.

‘Top Ten Tuesday’, according to the host, That Artsy Reader Girl, “was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” Originally created by The Broke and the Bookish back in June 2010, it moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. Head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl to find out how to join and to check out the topics that have already been decided. New topics are announced a couple of months in advance, so you can plan ahead.

 So, what makes me pick up a book, regardless of whether I’m in a library or a bookshop?

  • A well-loved author, one I’m pretty confident will guarantee me a good read, like John Steinbeck

‘Cannery Row’ - John Steinbeck

  • Word of mouth, even though I’ve been disappointed with some recommendations but not this one – ‘The Woman in Black’ by Susan Hill.

‘The Woman in Black’ - Susan Hill

  • I try so hard not to be swayed but cover art grabs my attention. Every. Single. Time – ‘The Vagrant’ by Peter Newman, which, thankfully, did not disappoint.

‘The Vagrant’ - Peter Newman

  • Intriguing title – ‘HHhH’ by Laurent Binet. That it’s based on true events of WW2 was another point in its favour.

‘HHhH’ - Laurent Binet

  • Back cover blurb – ‘The Enchanted’ by Rene Denfeld – ‘Monsters aren’t born – they are created. A prisoner sits on death row in a maximum-security prison. We don’t know his crime. We don’t know his name. But he watches and he listens. A lady investigator unravels unspeakable crimes. She does not let men go to their deaths without a fight. And the prisoner wonders… how do we stop men like me from happening?’ Powerful story.

‘The Enchanted’ - Rene Denfeld

  • Standalone, not a series – like ‘The Elites’ by Natasha Ngan. Like most books, it was the cover that drew me in. When I realised it was a standalone, that was when I succumbed and bought it.

‘The Elites’ - Natasha Ngan

  • Size of the book – lately, I find it difficult to commit to huge tomes, so it’s nice to have something to hand I know won’t take me long to finish, like ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ by Ernest Hemingway. My first Hemingway and I was blown away with how much story he tells with so few, well-chosen words.

‘The Old Man and the Sea’ - Ernest Hemingway

  • Anything to do with horses or wolves – ‘Of Wolves and Men’ by Barry Lopez has the added attraction of mythology and tales.

‘Of Wolves and Men’ - Barry Lopez

  • Short Story Collections – like ‘Nightmares and Dreamscapes’ by Stephen King. As much as I enjoy King’s novels, my favourites have always been his short story collections.

‘Nightmares and Dreamscapes’ - Stephen King

o   This is probably a bit sad, but I’ve bought/borrowed books for the simple reason of not wanting to leave empty-handed! Sometimes, I’ve been lucky…

‘Storm of Steel’ - Ernst Junger

… other times, not so much…

‘The Book Thief’ - Markus Zusak

I’m looking forward to reading what makes others pick up books and check out books that might well make it to my teetering TBR pile!

WritingJoyTop 10 Tuesday, Weekly14 Comments