Like a box of chocolates

As Scott's post below details, there are a number of different and viable ways to hear about a particular book. All are effective to varying degrees, but sometimes there's a mysterious X factor that pops up where, almost at random, one can hear or come across or pick up a book with no real idea why it might suit -- and then it not only suits, but becomes a favorite.

A few years ago, I was in a bookshop in Montreal doing what I usually do: browsing the stacks. I went through alphabetical order and found a few books I liked but nothing that really leaped out at me. Then, near the very end of the alphabet, I found a book I'd never heard of but a title that absolutely grabbed me: FIVE PUBS, TWO BARS AND A FUNERAL. I read mostly crime fiction, and that just seemed perfect to me: drinking and noir and nihilism. So I bought it and took it home, and whipped through the short stories in record time.

In short, I'd just discovered a new author named John Williams. I tracked down everything else he wrote and even went so far as to interview him. I now eagerly await anything he writes. All because of a random shopping trip.

It's like that sometimes. And that's what makes reading an ever-surprising adventure.

Comments

[Dan Wickett]

If I can get to a bookstore without my kids, it's usually an hour to two hour visit, most often with my head cocked at as close to a ninety degree angle as I can get it so I can read the book spines easily. Beyond the title, I have been known to be influenced simply by the look of a book. I wouldn't buy one based on that factor, but I'll pull it off the shelf, read the blurbs and a page or two of it simply because of that.

Enjoy,

[S. James]

You have just underscored the importance of physical bookstores, which unfortunately are soon to be on the list of endangered species. So please remember the next time you are reading to click and buy...there is a store not that far from you (ideally an independent but i'll even take you walking into a chain bookstore!).

Happy Reading.

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