There are millions (billions?) of books out there waiting for us to buy and read them. So why do we buy the books that we do? What makes us choose a particular book and bring it home with us or load it onto our ereader?
Well, let’s start with the two most obvious reasons:
- There are those books whose authors who we know and love. Whatever they write, we’re going to buy. It’s just that simple.
- Then there are the sequels to that first book in a series. Maybe we knew what we were getting into or maybe we didn’t realize that great premise was just the start of a longer story. Either way, we’re hooked now and must buy the next book to see where this story goes.
Beyond this, however, things get a bit more complicated. We all have a limited book budget (of both time & money) and with so much of our budget already allocated to the two categories above, what helps a book gain a portion of our remaining budget? I have my suspicions, but I thought I’d do a little anecdotal research and take a look back at five of my most recent impulse purchases to consider what persuaded me to make them. To keep things simple, I’m restricting this to my fiction choices (since the reasons for purchasing nonfiction are so different) and only those books which I have not read before (so an audio version of a book I’ve read previously doesn’t count).
Justice by Emily Conrad – I read the first line and premise on Iola Goulton’s blog as part of our First Line Friday fun. The premise reminded me of the biblical story of Mary and Joseph (minus the immaculate conception, of course). It intrigued me and was on sale, so I immediately purchased it.
The Determined Groom by Cami Checketts – This novel was recommended to me in a newsletter written by an author I enjoy and who writes in the same genre (Lucy McConnell). I don’t currently have many unread titles like this on my kindle, plus it was on sale for $0.99. So I clicked through to buy it.
The Hope of Azure Springs by Rachel Fordham – I was searching the internet for authors in my genre who’d worked with a particular publisher when I came across a blog post Rachel had written about the design of her cover. As soon as I read the premise, I knew I wanted to read her novel. (I’m a sucker for orphans and nineteenth-century America.)
Be Still, My Heart – This is a novella collection I purchased in a few months ago. To be honest, I don’t completely remember how I found this book, but I *think* I saw a link on Twitter. What I do remember is that it was a set of 7 Christian romance novellas being offered for FREE with all new-to-me authors. A no-brainer, really. I love discovering new authors and a novella doesn’t take up too much of my reading time budget.
The Story Peddler by Lindsay A. Franklin – Okay, yes, if you watched my Facebook Live video from the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference this year, you know that I have met Linsday. However, I had added her book to my TBR long before that because I’d seen its gorgeous cover all over the book blogosphere and was further drawn in by its premise. The idea of stories as tangible things was fascinating to me. Throw in a romance and I was sold.
So there you have them, five different books and five different reasons behind my purchases.
What about you? Which books have you purchased lately that weren’t part of a series you’d already started or by an author you already know and love? What motivated you to purchase them? Have you read them? How did it work out?
Let’s chat books in the comments below!
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5 Books, 5 Reasons – Why we buy the books we do.
