How important is the blurb?

Karl, I'm also a bibliomaniac, I have somewhere in the regoin of 70 unread books....sad or what! But guess we're not the only two in these forums with this affliction?? I tell myself I will have time to read them when I retire from full time work.........can't wait! What makes me want to buy a book? Reviews in the Guardian, recommendations from friends, the blurb, and if the first 2/3 paragraphs grab me.

Well i'm not sure how much the blurb influences me. like andrea, the title and reading the first few lines has to be enough to grab me....but sometimes i'll read a bit further on in the book, like maybe the first few paragraphs of say chapter 10 and if there is something that sounds interesting then it definitely makes me want to read it from the beginning to see what got it to that point. Then hopefully it will be enough to get me onto reading the whole book to see how it turns out.

I'm not usually too influenced by the blurb. It's an interesting question though, because I can't for the life of me think what it is that draws me to open certain books and not others. Although (having thunk good 'n'hard) it's probably the title initially, followed by the opening line. If that grabs me, I can be pretty sure the rest of the book will too. One that I'll never forget: Earthly Powers, Anthony Burgess. "It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me." I just KNEW I was gonna love that book!

Anything with the words 'heartwarming' 'post-apocalyptic' 'struggle' 'moving' or 'epic' goes straight back on the shelf. And didn't Earthly Powers win some sort of award as being the best ever opening line ? I still rather like "So what's it going to be then?" from Clockwork Orange.

Did it, Andrew? I didn't know that. Bloody well-deserved too, if you ask me...did you know it was dedicated to 'Liana'? Not OUR Liana, surely? Never could get into 'Clockwork Orange'. Saw the film and it freaked me out completely. Perhaps I should try reading it again. Composed symphonies too, the ol' Burgess (never heard 'em though)

i try purposely NOT to read the blurb ... mainly get recommendations from people as to what to read ...

I am a typical "buy a book by its cover" type....I know its a dreadful admission, but you can tell a lot by the cover of the book. I tend to ignore the blurb, pretty much, and look at the first page. If I can read it, and want to read more ...really want to read more, then i'll take it. Like Fishwife, i too go by personal recommendations also...though nothing that my husband recommends generally, as his taste in books belies his usual intelligence and good taste. :o)

Don't know about the blurb, but Paul Durcan said 'often the most interesting thing about a book is its price.' OK, if i have to stick to the thread- I liked this bit of the blurb from 'Man or Mango' by Lucy Ellman: 'Eloise, in her bad-luck jumper, lives alone making lists of Damaging Encounters and how long it takes to recover from them.' 'Powerful, pervasive, and searingly honest' - Independent on Sunday. 'Lucy Ellmann is the real thing.' - Craig Raine 'Lucy Ellmann is a friend of mine and I think she's lovely' - Eddie Gibbons. Hey, I just wrote some blurb. Will you buy the book, though?

Carly Svamvour doesn't fail to please her reader in this action packed saga on the beaches of Toronto, Canada. Too bad she hasn't written something for the novel. LOL! I was making a funny ... :-)

I'm a book-buying addict (I wonder if there's a clinic for that). I must have at least 50 unread books. Seriously. I just never have the time to read them. What attracts me to a book? Bright, freaky colours on the cover. You know the type.