How to Choose a Book
I grew up in the age when a book token was a sensible sort of present which fortunately suited me very well as the kind of junior bookworm who could whizz through three library books over the weekend and be bored for the rest of the week as Library Books day was Saturday morning usually. Also, fortunately, I was quite good at lessons at school as well as the twice yearly exams and those achieving first or second place also received book as prizes. My discontent with that arose purely from the invitation to attend the Staff Room to view the selection of books on offer as prizes which revealed on occasions that either whoever chose them ought to have consulted the recipients, or indeed simply that whoever had already been had chosen (only one copy of each of course) the coveted tomes. Hence a limited choice in all senses of the word.
The library however was fine until I realised I'd read just about every single book which vaguely interested me in the children's section and many of them more than once if there was nothing better to take, and in those days that kept you there until you were eleven when you were allowed to look in a sort of in-between section and then fourteen (I think) before you were allowed into the adult section, because of course in those days there wasn't swearing and sex all over the place let alone all the gory details of murder and torture, Unless like me you made the mistake of taking home the true story of the Gunpowder Plot and what they really did to the conspirators which to this day makes me sweat and feel sick and upset. That was in the in-between section by the way. But to be let loose to choose................
In the 1990's the education authorities decided kids were not reading enough and they must be encouraged to read something, anything (especially the boys) so long as they were reading. To this end we were tasked with providing two books a year free of charge to primary kids with a budget which proved a challenge but the enormous great good fortune and privilege of sourcing worthwhile books for them, which happily fell to me. Reminded of my own reaction to sometimes being the last one to choose, I bought multiple copies at times and always made sure there were more books than kids, and bore in mind what they might want to read and not just what I thought they should although some of the biggest reward was the pleasure of seeing them discover something new to enjoy of which they'd been previously unaware.
I've always loved books, it was never in doubt if I ended up selling something for a living I would obviously want a bookshop but of course the nearest I got was a market stall, and that rather more by default than actual plan, but hey I get to choose personally all the books I stock and some of the most fulfilling times have been finding books people have on their wish list, and introducing them to ones I think they will like, witnessing customers talking to each other at the stall and recommending books or authors to each other, and to me for that matter as I certainly don't know every author or book.
I was asked about book covers by someone who was writing a book they intended to publish - what makes a good cover, how do people choose books he asked. Since everyone likes different books, that's no easy thing to work out but here's my theory based on my own experience.
You either know what you're looking for or you're browsing for inspiration. Mostly books are displayed with the spine outward so the first thing you see is the title and the colour. So that has to be noticeable either for its visual impact, or the implication, or the intrigue. In other words it needs to capture you attention whether by the wording or the colour, so that you pick it up. Then the front cover will what you see next, so that needs to have some appeal. If the books gets past first and second base, most people turn it over to read the blurb on the back, so it's important that it either hooks them by explaining the contents as something they don't want to miss, or as something they are intrigued by and will need to read to find out more. After that, many people will flick through to sample some of the contents and may be put off by the format or size of the text, or indeed the way it is written and wording. The last hurdle would be the price I suppose offset against how much the potential reader wants that book.
I have one friend who always chooses by the cover and says he has never been disappointed. I'd say I have never been let down by the quirky titles I've snaffled to find out what they're about. Of course in my line of work I'm always looking at books and cheap by virtue of being mostly second hand or wholesale if new, so it's too easy to go "two for the stall, one for me" on a regular basis and if I had to pay nine quid for a paperback I didn't know I wanted badly until I'd read it..............thank goodness for the people who do or there would be no used ones out there. I also have a friend who thinks people choose books by reading reviews of them, and since I want you to read at least some of what I like, I can't say too much but come on, how sterile, to read a review online and then almost inevitably order the book that way, without the pleasure of browsing, handling and finally taking home a physical book???
Here's an example of one I nearly didn't read : Q&A by Vikas Swarup. I couldn't decide from the title or the blurb if it was fiction or non-fiction but it had me intrigued for that alone plus the natty cover. Turns out to be fiction and perfectly titled as it reflected the subject matter as well as the structure of the story. Brilliant. Hooked. It said they were going to make it into a film. I looked at the date of publication, some four years previous and wondered what happened to that then. Couple of weeks later, I saw the film advertised, but now called Slumdog Millionaire. I did watch it and it was great but would have been better if it had not changed so much of the plot and lost the whole subtlety of the title and the structure of the book as Q&A.
I hope I've got the message across - at time you really can judge a book by its cover, but never underestimate the contents either..........
