A Reader's Respite has been getting a bit fed-up with blurbs lately. We recently picked up a book (yes, a real paper and binding book - the Amazonian Devil Device hasn't dragged us completely over to the dark side yet) that was plastered with no less than 6 blurbs on the cover. We could barely discern the title of the book underneath all of the gushing fountains of allocades.
Intrigued, we flipped the book open to read a few paragraphs.
Major suckage.
We flipped ahead a few chapters. More suckage.
Disgusted, we plopped the book back on the shelf and pondered the blurbs.
Being fairly well-read people, I would imagine that most of us recognize the authors who blurb on covers. Is blurbing merely a way to promote their own work?
Publisher's Weekly recently addressed this very subject. If you missed it, read here.
So what do you think? Have you ever purchased a book solely due to a blurb? Do you ignore blurbs? Inquiring minds want to know.
Oh, and we do have a winner of Eileen Goudge's book, The Diary!
Zap us an email with your mailing address!
To tell you the truth, I pay no attention whatsoever to blurbs. They influence me not even a little.
ReplyDeleteMr. BFR sometimes falls for blurbs, "Look! So-and-so, the author of My Favorite Book, says this is the best read of the year." I usually answer with a "Yeah, right."
Days later, Mr. BFR refuses to admit I was right as he slips the book, half read, back onto the shelf.
You can rest assured that I buy no book based on blurbs ever, except to recognize the more blurbs, the crappier the book most likely. They annoy me, and destroys the cred of the person that wrote them, at least in my little mind. So if we, the discerning blogging public, hate them, or at best ignore them, what they hey?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Rhapsody! Are you going to tell us what book had the glowing blurbs?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Rhapsody!!!
ReplyDeleteI admit I used to get influenced by blurbs, I have in fact bought a few books based on them. But not anymore. I do look at blurbs but I give them much less importance.
As much as most of us would like to say we never look at blurbs, I'm sure, just like advertisements work, we subconsciously pay attention to them. The last few years, most of my book research has been online or random so the impact of what is actually written on the book has gone down, but ultimately even if the blurb doesn't convince me to buy the book when I stare at it (and it never seems to), if it's a book that I sincerely want to read and I see this sort of "back up", I'm more likely to buy it. Especially if I trust the quote and the author. The blurb is not the reason for the purchase but it adds itself as potential evidence for a books' worth, just like the summary. And anybody who pretends that these quotes have absolutely no affect on them is clearly pretending. But I agree with you: just blurbs drive me up the wall and books with more than one succeed in dissuading me. As for the Publisher's Weekly article, very interesting. I hadn't come across it.
ReplyDeleteI have recently had the experience to wall bang several books in the last few months where each and every one of them had a glowing blurb from the same author. I guess it helps to get their name out and from some discussions I've read some authors may be expected to do it for other books from the same house.
ReplyDeleteI disregard them entirely - although not all readers do. There was a discussion on Amazon recently where readers were wondering about a book and one commenter stated that it must be good because --------------- said it was on the cover.
I'll read blurbs mainly for amusement and to allow myself to cackle a bit before I put the book back on the shelf. I learned many many many many moons ago that, the more blurbs, the more suckage.
ReplyDeleteThank you for bestowing the random grace of the universe upon me! I'll email my mailing address. Re blurbs, I too have been horrified. In fact, two of the last books I recently reviewed got not so good reviews *because* the marketing was so totally alien to the contents of the books! So I guess I do pay attention. Perversely. In the face of all evidence to the contrary...
ReplyDeleteI ignore the blurbs. I hate when there are 4 pages of blurbs before the novel starts as well, or when there are a slew of blurbs on the back cover instead of a summary. I usually toss those back out of disgust.
ReplyDeleteI pay attention to blurbs only when they're by one of my favorite authors... and none of my favorite authors are particularly frequent blurbers, so it's rare that they matter much to me.
ReplyDeleteArguing with the blurbs has provided a good jumping-off place for many a review, though!
I was about to write how I barely notice the blurbs, but then I remembered the last time I was at the bookstore and I did actually read loads of blurbs. Some I just smiled at as I put the book back down but others made me go 'hmm' (before I put the book down as well) It probably depends on the person blurbing..
ReplyDeleteI will admit that I do read the blurbs and I throw them into the mix decision of whether to buy a book or not. Certainly, I would not buy a book just based on them, but if it is an author who I really trust, and whose blurbs do not appear on every third book, it would make me feel a bit more positive.
ReplyDeleteThe blurbs snag me if they're written by an author I know of ("Ooh! If Christopher Moore call this a knee-slapper, it must be hilarious!") or a book critic, but other than that, I think I ignore them. (I think?)
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for blurbs if there are a number from authors I respect.
ReplyDeleteI recently read Beyond Suspicion by Tanguy Viel because I’m a hopeless Francophile and the jacket blurbs (mainly from magazines) promised a tale worthy of Chandler, Hitchcock or de Palma. With the bar set that high, I probably should have walked away immediately. Instead, I dove into a mystery with a plot hole that left me angry and unfulfilled. I felt cheated by the blurbs.
I think the blurbs sometimes make a book feel dated. In other words, not a classic read and re-read in a few years book. You never see blurbs on WAR AND PEACE! :)
ReplyDeleteI ignore blurbs but occasionally will glance over them once I finish the book. Not very common though.
ReplyDelete