Choosing A Book? What Do YOU Look For?

Choosing a book to read is different for just about everyone.

Whatever your favorite genre is to consume, you likely have a set of tests or paces, conscious or not, you go through when you pick up a prospective book. Some might be mere preferences, while others are absolute deal-breakers. So think about it for a minute while I tell you a few of mine and maybe we might have some common ones.

1. Cover. Okay, let’s start with first impressions. While you’ve always heard that you can’t judge a book by its cover, it certainly has the potential to draw or repel a reader. This is important for that first roving glance of the shelves. This is not necessarily a deal-breaker, but some book covers automatically tell me it deals with subject matter or time periods I have little or no interest in exploring, so I move on to something that does catch my eye. The cover would also include the jacket book summary and praise from other authors I like or Literary sources (like Booklist or Kirkus Reviews) also add to my interest. 
2. Print style. Maybe it’s just because I’m getting into my early 60s now, but if the print is not a reasonable size (does NOT have to be large print) and readable font style, I’m pretty much done. You shouldn’t have to work that hard to enjoy a book.  
3. Readable Chunks. This is a HUGE thing for me. Mind you, it’s not a dealbreaker, but when I see this kind of formatting, it highly increases the chances I’ll pick it IF I’m already liking it by the cover summary. Now, I can read other stories from back in the day when this was not so prevalent, but this kind of parsing out the story allows the reader flexibility to binge on it or find the off-ramp if it’s late and they need to stop. Many authors do this as a way to indicate scene changes within a chapter. I realize the story flow doesn’t always allow for this, but it prevents the reader, the next time they pick up the book, from having to back up so much to refresh their place in the story. 
4. Narration/Dialogue Mix: “Show, Don’t Tell” has been a longtime mantra especially when it comes to fiction. A good mix of narration and dialogue make the characters come to life and are a big part of storytelling. Narration is obviously important to move a story along, provide context, and even hop into a character’s head, but dialogue is equally important to flesh out the story, show emotions and even divvy out backstory bits through character interaction. I’m reading a novel (The Lindbergh Nanny) right now that’s a little heavy on the narration side, but it’s well written so I totally don’t mind. But that might be an exception. I guess I would call this a preference, but a strong one. 
5. Sampling The Text: I typically read maybe the first chapter, then a couple of places in the middle (shorter clips) to see what the point of view is and if it tells the story well. I also look at technical things like can I identify dialogue from narration easily. Some books in an effort to be more contemporary or hip don’t use quotation marks to set off dialogue. I guess this is for effect. I acknowledge that many people don’t have a problem with this and that’s fine. To me, this would be a deal-breaker. I want a good story that’s told well, not an attempt to employ a unique writing model that takes away from what should be king…the story.

Those are my top five filters for considering what I’d like to read. So what are yours? Or maybe what is at the top of your test list. The DEALBREAKER…SACRED COW that has to be there for a book to pass before all else?