Do you read the inside flaps that describe a book before or while reading it?
I try and only read books that I’m already interested in or have been recommended to me–it saves me a lot of heartbreak over bad books! But I do read the inside flaps (or back covers) before reading, especially when I’m picking through a bookstore. If a premise or plot grabs me, I add it to my list. But while I’m reading a book, I tend to ignore the flap or back cover in favor of actually reading the book.
The most useful thing on the flap (or back cover) for me are the quotes from critics and other authors. I picked up Sunshine because there’s glowing praise from Neil Gaiman on the cover. If I’m unsure about a book, I use my time-tested strategy to determine whether it’s worth a shot or not. (This also works for DVDs, incidentally.) I check the sources of the quotes–if they’re authors I like or big name newspapers, the book will, most likely, at least be decent. If the sources are very local or only authors in the same genre, I tend to give it a pass. It’s worked well for me over the years.
Great answer!
Booking through flappers
I read the quotes as well but I haven’t paid much attention to the source of the quotes. Interesting approach.
I’ve learned it from trying to rent movies- if a local affiliate is the biggest name on there, you might want to double-check!
We differ in some aspects. I find the quotes to be, for the most part, rather useless to me. My answer: http://www.rundpinne.com/2010/01/booking-through-thursday-14-january.html
Thanks for stopping by!
Nice answer, I like the flaps.
Alayne – The Crowded Leaf.
Thanks for popping by!
I don’t usually look at the sources of blurbs and quotes, but maybe it would help me on knowing if their word is worth taking! I usually pick my books by other blog reviews, and read the flap copy afterward to compare to what I thought of the book.
Same here! The flap copy can even turn me off to a book I enjoy- Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth‘s flap copy definitely makes it sound worse than it is. I loved it.
I am a flap reader as well!! I can’t resist reading that before starting a book. Besides that is one thing that helps me decide whether I want to read a book.
Same here. Thanks for stopping by!
I read the flap after the I finish the book but I like your strategy of reading the quotes. Usually I skip them! Maybe I should look at a few…
They can prove useful!