Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Things that Will Make me Instantly Want to Read a Book

~ Beth (Reading Every Night)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week there is a new topic for bloggers to choose and list their top ten. This week’s theme is Top Ten Things that Will Make me Instantly Want to Read a Book.

I add a lot of books to my to-read list, I think I’m safe in saying we all do because we’re all well aware of the never ending TBR list issues, but what is it that makes me add a book I’ve just discovered onto my to-read list? There are a lot of things; each book has made it onto my to-read list for a different reason but there are definitely the main ones, number one normally being the cover.

Top Ten Tuesday

The Cover…

…Like I mentioned earlier book covers can be a huge reason I pick up books. When I’m in Waterstones looking through the bookshelves it’s the covers I see first, and if one catches my eye I will only then check out the blurb. There have even been a few rare books that have had such a beautiful covers that I didn’t even read the blurb before deciding I needed to buy them.

The Genre…

…Although I primarily read fantasy I don’t add every fantasy book I come across onto my to-read list. There are only two genres I do that for; time travel and fairytale retelling stories. It doesn’t matter what the rest of the blurb says, the second I spot a reference to time travel or fairytales on a book it’s an immediate add to my to-read list.

The Author…

…We all have auto-buy authors who can release anything, even their shopping list, and we’ll immediately run out to buy a copy of it for ourselves. For me two of those authors are V.E. Schwab and Samantha Shannon. In fact it’s got to the stage where I own multiple copies of their books with different covers, because why not?

The Hype…

…I get seriously sucked into the hype that surrounds certain book releases, the more I see of a book on WordPress and Twitter and Goodreads, etc. the more excited I get for it. Strange the Dreamer was the last hugely hyped up book that grabbed my attention, seeing all the pre-release reviews and ARC photos on Instagram only made me more and more excited for its release.

The Comparisons…

…This is something I have been burned by in the past, but despite that I still can’t resist it. We all see the marketing campaigns, the books that are described as ‘the next …’, and for me it certainly creates a buzz. One of the reasons I was so excited for the release of Caraval was because I’d seen it compared to The Night Circus, which is one of my all-time favourite books.

The Reviews…

…Every so often I come across a review on Goodreads that is so glowing and full of praise that I immediately need to go out and pick up that book, without checking out any other reviews or even the blurb. It was how I discovered Bone Gap, and my love of the magical realism genre, and how I discovered The Bone Season, which very quickly became a favourite series of mine.

The Recommendations…

…Not recommendations through reviews but recommendations from one of my best friends. She very rarely recommends books to me, we have similar tastes so eventually we get around to the same releases, but when she goes out of her way to suggest a book to me I know it’s going to be amazing. The last one was Red Rising and that was certainly a brilliant read.

The Setting…

…Fantasy is my most-read and favourite genre, and as such the world-building always plays a huge part in what books I love and what books end up being so-so for me. The main reason I ended up picking up Labyrinth Lost was because the world it was set in was described as reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland with Greek mythology influences. I was hooked from that description alone.

The Movie/TV Tie-In…

…I am all too aware that most times the movie is not as good as the book, and in the cases of some the movie doesn’t even come close to comparing. In most cases it’s seeing a film is being released that inspires me to finally get around to the book it’s based off of. I finally added 13 Reasons Why to my to-read list after hearing the TV adaptation was available on Netflix.

The Blurb…

…Not the whole blurb, although nine times out of ten that is what pushes me to add books to my to-read list, but sometimes there are phases that jump out at me and I just can’t resist. A book I will be featuring in my Waiting on Wednesday post tomorrow had the phase ‘a travelling carnival of debauchery that caters to the strangest of dreams and desires’ in the blurb, and I was hooked.

So what do you think? Did you take part in this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, if so let me know what things instantly make you want to read books.

56 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Things that Will Make me Instantly Want to Read a Book”

  1. LOL. Every single one of these make me want to read a book, too! Especially the cover, the blurb, and the reviews. Also, the author. Those are the top things for me. If I like all those, I’m pretty much sold on the book. The other elements are flexible but they still play a really huge part for me. It’s so easy to get swept up with all the hype and excitement surrounding an upcoming book, but usually it works out for the best. And I never really realized this, but comparisons do really influence my decision too!

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    1. Yeah it does seem to be that way for most bloggers, and readers in general. I guess when we see the cover first that obviously has a pretty big influence on if we pick a book up or not. Same later with the blurb and the reviews. I can be pretty flexible on the other parts as well. At times that is. Most of these reasons are my list of things a book need to pass, so to speak, to make it onto my to-read list. I always seems to get swept away with the hype but honestly it’s more rare hype doesn’t work out for me than does you know? 🙂

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      1. It’s crazy how much covers influence our decision to pick up a book. But that’s no surprise. Visuals/images are usually the first thing we’re attracted to. Also, covers nowadays are so beautiful. Our standards have been raised LOL. Well-written blurbs that don’t give too much away are the best and reviews are so important. A plethora of bad reviews can easily drive any reader away but a ton of good reviews is always a wonderful thing! And I’m usually grateful for the hype. I love seeing all the excitement around a book. It usually works out for the best anyways for me too so I usually let myself be carried along with all the hype! 😀

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      2. Well yeah, and also when you’re in a bookstore you don’t usually have the time to read the blurb it every single book in the store, at least I don’t, so you do have to rely on covers to attract you to certain books. They really are, but they always seem to get better. It seems like each month a new book comes out I have a new favourite cover. 🙂
        Definitely agree with you on the blurbs and definitely definitely agree with you on the reviews. I have been put off a few books simply because of all the negative reviews I’ve seen for it.
        Sometimes I find other people’s hype can make me excited for a book I maybe wouldn’t have looked at otherwise, that’s always kind of fun! 😀

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      3. Yup! Also, who doesn’t love a beautiful cover on their shelves? It’s all about the aesthetic I tell you lol. So happy we’re getting all these gorgeous books nowadays!
        Yeah, reviews are just so powerful haha.
        And yeah, hype has definitely opened my eyes and helped me to consider books of varying genres. Always thankful for that 😀

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      4. I don’t think anyone hates beautiful covers on their bookshelves! 😀 We’re a slave to aesthetics.
        Hype’s done that for me as well. There have been more than a few books I’ve only really noticed because of the hype surrounding them. 🙂

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  2. I totally feel like instantly reading a book because of the cover! The cover is the first thing I see, honestly, and the title, which means if I like a cover I will most likely want to learn more about it and add it to my TBR ahah. And hype/reviews as well! Especially since getting into the book blogging community, if a blogger friend of mine really loved a book I will definitely be adding it to my TBR. And VE Schwab is an auto-buy author for sure! I’ve loved the books I’ve read from her and would read anything she writes, pretty much haha. ❤

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    1. Exactly, that’s why I had to add it to this list because no matter what the cover is always the first thing people see and it does influence you on whether you go on to check out the blurb or not. My to-read list has grown so much since I started blogging, just because of the hype and reviews. At this rate I’m never going to be finished with all the books on my TBR list! 😀
      At least we know all of V.E. Schwab’s books are likely to be amazing don’t we? 🙂 ❤

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      1. Right?! Our eyes are lucky seeing how publishers seem to be largely aware of this and so many YA books have such amazing covers? Haha. Oh yes, same here! If I thought I had a lot of books on my TBR before blogging…. um, yeah, nope. There are sooo many books to read and not enough time to read them all, I swear!
        Yessss she is such an amazing writer!! ❤ 😀

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      2. Definitely, I guess publishers must realise the phase ‘never judge a book by its cover isn’t really one taken to heart’.
        I don’t really have a number for my to-read list, most of the books I need to read I remember off the top of my head and there are a lot of them, that’s all I can say! 😀

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      3. I only have a number based on my Goodreads TBR, which is at around 1000-something? But not all of those books are actually priorities of mine so I can’t really pinpoint how many books I actually *want* to read from that shelf. But there are definitely still a lot of them for me as well haha. Bookworm struggles!

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      4. Wow that’s a lot. I’m still trying to update my GR, it’s pretty new, so I haven’t managed to move all my TBR list over yet but I’m working on it. Slowly.
        Yeah I get that, there were a few I likely have that are more not want to read than want to read. 🙂

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  3. Hype is always a bit of a hit and miss for me to be honest … sometimes I’ll get sucked into the hype and other time the hype completely puts me off … by I definitely agree with covers! I absolutely love 😍😍 covers and hate it when a cover doesn’t do the book justice! And auto buy authors! 🙂

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    1. I always tend to get sucked into hype for whatever book it happens to be, and luckily I’ve mostly had good experiences which I think has helps too. If you’ve had more fun experiences than good with hype that could put you off a little.
      Covers are a big one for me (and most people based on the comment) and yeah I know what you mean about covers not doing books justice, always a disappointment there! :/

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  4. Great list, Beth!! 😊♥ A lot of these are reasons why I add books to my TBR too. I can be pretty big on covers and actually used to walk around B&N with Goodreads pulled up on my phone just so I could add books to my TBR. I have so many cover adds from having done that lol. Then the genre, anything that is fantasy/dsytopia or anything that deals with faeries goes on my TBR straight away even if I haven’t read the blurb so I’m with you on that. Also, authors, hype, and comparisons! I’m such a hype reader (which we’ve talked about hype reading before). I feel like it’s just infectious whenever everyone gets really excited for a book. It makes me excited and then I just have to read it at some point. Then with comparisons, I tend to buy into them sometime and then others not. I think it depends on the comparison. If it’s compared to The Hunger Games I tend to ignore the comparison because I was burned by that one a few too many times during my dystopian craze. 🙈

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    1. Thanks so much Melissa! 🙂 ❤ Covers is literally the number one reason for me. I guess it’s just because it’s always the first thing I notice about books and all the other reasons only come into play if I love the cover you know? I feel like cover adds are over half my TBR list! 😀
      I feel like everyone must have that one (or more) genre(s) that are an ultimate add for them no matter the blurb or cover or author, etc.
      Hype is powerful when it comes to books. It does seem like for every person put off by hype there’s two or more who buy books based off it. More often than not I’ve had good experiences with hyped books, has it been the same for you?
      Yeah I have to admit I do the same with THG comparisons. It seems like the majority of books are compared to that series just because it’s such a popular one, but there are others I tend to buy into, mainly The Night Circus comparisons! 😀

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      1. You’re welcome!! 😁 Covers are probably the number one reason for me too. If I see a cover a lot and it’s gorgeous there is a bit chance it’ll end
        up on my TBR for that alone lol.
        It’s been the same for me with hype, more often than not it works out. There are those rare times where it doesn’t work out at all but they’ve been far and few between. I think it’s because when I’m really excited that can sometimes tend to overshadow what I don’t like about a book. Like with Red Queen, I bought into the hype big time and loved it but then now I see more about it that I don’t like.
        Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking about THG comparison just being there because it’s popular. For me I have to admit that I completely buy into anything that says “For fans of SJM” because I love ACOTAR so much. (I still need to read ToG lol).

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      2. I feel like the majority of my TBR list is purely cover love. I’m just weak for a book with a pretty cover and if the blurb sounds amazing as well then I’m sold! 😀
        I think it’s the same for me when it comes to hype. Like with ACOL I was waiting for that book for so long and I had such high expectations I genuinely think V.E. Schwab could have written anything and I’d have loved it!
        I think it’s more about what books are popular and what books are guaranteed to sell other books. All the ones that have “for fans of SJM” on have they all been something you’ve read and thought of SJM’s work in that way? It hasn’t always been for me so I sometimes think publishers are just asking what series/author is popular and pasting their name on the cover to sell more books. 🙂

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      3. Same. I think my TBR is a lot of cover love and then a lot of old dystopias I added way back when. I’ve been going through it lately to take off books and didn’t realize just how many I added only because they were dystopias when I was obsessed with the genre. 😂
        Same for me with ACOL. I think I’m big time like that with TBS as well. Samantha Shannon could write anything and I would end up loving it. I know she’s supposed to have a fantasy standalone releasing next year and I’ll be dropping everything to read it.
        I’ve not come across a lot that say “for fans of SJM” and the ones I have are still sitting on my TBR or yet to be released but are on there purely for that reason. So, I can’t say yet if it’ll work out for me or even be anything similar. But I have to agree that it could end up being one of those things done because of popularity. I’ve noticed that can happen with a lot of bigger comparisons as well.

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      4. For me it’s either cover love or author love. I don’t actually have that many dystopias on my shelf simply because I was feeling a little slumped out of that genre for so long. I used to be obsessed with them as well though. 🙂
        Oh yes it’s called The Priory Tree (something like that) I’m not 100% sure what it’s about but it’s been written by Samantha Shannon so that’s kind of all the guarantee I need to know it’s going to be AMAZING!
        I think I’ve come across one or two. I’m not that sure but I know I came across tons that had “for fans of THG” when that was the big series. It’s kind of hit or miss I think. I can’t say I’ve enjoyed all the books compared to other books I love but just seeing the comparisons is normally enough to convince me to pick it up in the first place. 🙂

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      5. Yep, the title is something like that! I think it’s The Priory of the Orange Tree and from what I’ve heard it’s going to have dragons. I’m really excited about that fact because I love dragons! 😁
        Same. Just seeing certain comparisons is enough to get me to pick a book up. Which is exactly the publishers plan whenever they use it for marketing.

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  5. I blame bloggers for a huge chunk of my TBR. Holy moly. I think if I hadn’t had all you bloggers out there in my life, I’d probably be able to cut out 500 books from my TBR, easy! But I do agree with every single reasons you put up in this list. They would all bring me to add a book to my TBR. I think the only one that has “less” effect on me nowadays is the blurb. Like trailers, I’m not too big of a fan of these. They often give too much away, so every other reason to buy a book will definitely play a bigger role in my decision to add a book to my TBR or read immediately! Great list, Beth! 😀

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    1. Yeah bloggers are a huge part of what adds to my to-read list as well. If I see an amazing review one of them has written that book then has to go on my to-read list, no matter what it is.
      Yeah someone else mentioned that about blurbs, that they can give too much away. I tend to skim read blurbs more often than not. It gives me enough information to know whether the story is something I’ll enjoy but not enough to ruin anything. Nine times out of ten I’ve forgotten what I’ve read the second I look away from a screen. 🙂
      Thanks so much Lashaan! 😀

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  6. Great list! I have some authors that are just authors I’ll read for sure – just like I have some recommendations from bloggers like you I’ll follow blindly because I have complete trust in their bookish tastes 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much Marie, yeah there are plenty of authors on my auto-read list, just because I know no matter what they release I’m bound to love it. And same here, pretty much every book you’ve reviewed that you’ve enjoyed has gone onto my to-read list, if I haven’t already read it that is! 😀 ❤

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  7. Ah, another fellow blogger who can’t stay away from a pretty cover. I feel you. I also totally agree on the genre and hype bit. I try not to let hype get to me, but at a certain point, if you hear about a book long enough, you kinda get curious, you know?

    My TTT

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    1. Ha, yeah I feel like covers are a pretty big thing for most bloggers you know? After taking into account all the other factors sometimes genre isn’t a big thing for me but hype really is. The more a book is hyped the more excited I am for its release! 😀

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      1. I know! I don’t know if you have ever heard of “While Beauty Slept” by Elizabeth Blackwell? It’s a realistic twist on Sleeping Beauty. People either liked it or didn’t. I personally loved it! The realistic aspect to the story was awesome in my opinion.

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    1. Sometimes I feel like the covers are the main reason books get added to my to-read list! 😀 A lot of the time I simply skim read blurbs, enough to get a sense of the story but not enough to ruin it with too much information. Normally a few seconds later I’ve forgotten when I’ve read.
      Ha, yeah since I started blogging my TBR list has just gotten bigger and bigger! 😀

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  10. Ah, we agree with so many of these! Will definitely be pulled into books by the cover, hype, author, comparison, and genre! I feel you on being burned by comparison; no matter how many times that book is not “for fans of Sarah J. Maas” or “like The Hunger Games,” I still fall for it. XD

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    1. Oh that’s great to hear Mikaela. Yeah I feel like cover is a major one for bloggers, or so it seems from the other TTT posts I’ve seen and the comments I’ve got so far, author and hype are two more huge ones for me. With genre and comparison it really does depend on the story I guess.
      Same here, but maybe one day we’ll discover that book that really is the next Throne of Glass or The Hunger Games series! 😀

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  12. Wondeful list! I feel the same way with time travel and retellings. Fairy tales are just so classic and it’s so nice to see it modernized. Time travel is awesome because I love so many different settings and eras so seeing them all in one book is amazing.

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    1. Thanks so much, and yeah the other genres are all hit and miss for me based on the other aspects I included on this list. Time travel and fairytale retellings are always instant adds just because of the genre. I love seeing all the history in time travel books I agree, and I think for me fairytale retellings just bring back so much nostalgia from my childhood. 🙂

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  13. Movie tie in yes! I read Me Before you and a few others because it was getting movie hype and I have to read a book before I watch the movie XD Great list all of these reasons are exactly why I’d buy a book as well 🙂

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    1. The movies may not always be as good as the books but they’re a great way to get people reading the books. I still have Me Before You on my to-read list after I saw the movie was coming out! 😀
      Thanks, and yeah these are all the reasons my bank account hates me sometimes. 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much, I agree covers and so so important. I can kind of understand that saying because there may be some brilliant books out there with not-so-great covers, but I still pick up books to read based on how pretty they are, so it’s definitely an important aspect of the book! 😀

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    1. Thanks so much Kate. Yeah those are three of the big ones, and when it comes down to it the main three that influence my decision as to whether a book makes it on my TBR list or not.
      I’ve been more lucky than not when it comes to books living up to their hype, but there’s always that odd one that doesn’t and it’s always a huge disappointment. 🙂

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