Category: Other

What persuades you to buy a book?

Post author By Jackie
Post date November 11, 2009
53 Comments on What persuades you to buy a book?

Book bloggers are continually adding to my wish list, but it takes something special for me to be persuaded to run out and buy the book straight away.

I recently realised that I am far more likely to buy a book based on a one line recommendation in the comment section of my blog, than when I see a full review somewhere else. The most extreme example of this was my recent Science Fiction Challenge post, which resulted in me buying three books.

I also find that I am persuaded to buy books based on tweets directed at me. If a trusted person sends a tweet similar to the one below I am highly likely to get hold of a copy.

Book A is the best book I’ve read this year, and I’m sure you’ll love it.

It doesn’t make sense that I am more likely to buy books when I have such little information about them, but I think it is the passion behind the message that makes it so powerful. The fact that this person I trust for book recommendations selects just one book and champions it above all others, specifically to me, makes it something very hard to ignore.

What is most likely to persuade you to buy a book?

Do you find your own comment section a valuable source of book recommendations?

Or, do you need to know much more about a book before deciding to purchase it?

Other Recommended books

The Best Books of 2009

There aren’t many weeks left in 2009, so I thought that now was a great time to share my favourite reads of 2009. I was surprised to see that the only author I had previously enjoyed was Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – the rest were all new to me. The books I was most looking forward to at the start of 2009 (The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins) were all slightly disappointing and failed to make this list.

Stone’s Fall – Iain Pears (Literary Mystery)

The Wilderness – Samantha Harvey (Literary Fiction)

2666 – Roberto Bolaño (Literary Mystery)

Legend of a Suicide – David Vann (Literary Fiction)

The Island at the End of the World – Sam Taylor (Fiction)

The Help – Kathryn Stockett (Fiction) .

...

Heliopolis – James Scudamore (Fiction)

How to Paint a Dead Man – Sarah Hall (Literary Fiction) .

The Glass Room – Simon Mawer (Literary Fiction)

The Ghosts of Eden – Andrew Sharp (Fiction)

The Thing Around Your Neck – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Short Story)

The Invisible Mountain – Carolina De Robertis (Fiction)

Other books which I have heard amazing things about are:

The Housekeeper and the Professor – Yoko Ogawa

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

I’m not sure I’m going to fit these in before the end of 2009, but I’ll ensure that I get copies as soon as they are out in paperback/appear in my library!

Are there any other 2009 books which you recommend I read?

What is your favourite book of 2009 so far?

Blogging Other

Do leaders make better bloggers?

Post author By Jackie
Post date November 4, 2009
75 Comments on Do leaders make better bloggers?

On Sunday I posted a link to 50 blogging lessons. I found the whole list interesting to read, but I was surprised to see:

12. If you’re not a leader, don’t even bother. Your writing will show it. The best bloggers are natural leaders and exude confidence. You have to be if you hope to stand out in a world of infinite choice. It’s basic sociology, why else would anyone listen to you.

Forgive me for this generalisation, but I don’t have an image of bloggers as leaders. I picture the average blogger as someone who enjoys their own company, with no desire to lead anyone.

I would describe myself as quiet and thoughtful, not a natural leader – saying that, I do end up leading lots of things, but this is more due to the fact that no one else will volunteer, rather than any aching desire to run things!

I am self confident though – I don’t have any problem with stating my opinions, however controversial they may be. I think that this lack of fear may be a better indication of the quality of the blogger. The best bloggers always seem to be first in the queue to state their opinion whenever there is a controversy, while the people with less popular blogs seem nervous about taking sides.

I think that the ability to experiment with new ideas, (rather than copy things other people have already done) is the key to great blogging – perhaps it does take someone with leadership qualities to do this?

Do you think leaders make better bloggers?

Have you noticed any link between confidence and blog quality?

Blogging Other

My RSS Feed is Broken

My RSS feed has broken and so new posts are no longer showing up in Google Reader. I am trying to fix it, but have no idea what caused the problem, so it is proving difficult. My husband normally sorts these technical issues out for me really quickly, but he’s gone to Turkey on business and so won’t be able to help me out until Sunday.

I’ll be adding a new post each day, so please check back regularly to see my latest posts.

Hopefully I’ll get it sorted soon.

Other

Links I’ve stumbled across this month

Post author By Jackie
Post date November 1, 2009
30 Comments on Links I’ve stumbled across this month

It has been a long time since I last posted a set of links, so I apologise that some of them are a bit old, but if you haven’t seen them then they are still worth looking at!

Scribbit has a great post about how blogging has changed over the years.

The Wonder of Whiffling takes an interesting look at words in the English language. I’d love to read the book, but the website has a few quotes to keep me going until I get a copy!

I love looking at bookshelves, so enjoyed having a glimpse at Neil Gaiman’s bookshelves.

There is a lot of wisdom for both new and old bloggers in this 50 Blogging Lessons To Know If You’re Starting Today post.

Toast It Notes – Are they madness or genius?

I found this free tool for checking the load speed of your blog. I discovered that mine loads really slowly, so am working on that! It highlights exactly which parts of your blog are causing the problems, so it is a very useful tool.

Books I’ve been persuaded to buy

Between Mom and Jo, by Julie Anne Peters recommended by Amanda from Zen Leaf.

I only discovered Amanda’s blog during BBAW. This was the first book review I read on her blog. I knew that she would become a favourite when her first post persuaded me to part with my money. She describes it as “the best book about GLBT issues I’ve ever read.” I love the fact she describes it as being emotional and stereotype-breaking. I hope that I enjoy it as much as she did.

City of Refuge by Tom Piazza recommended by Wendy from Caribous Mom

City of Refuge looks at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Wendy says that it “leaves the reader with hope and a glimpse into the enduring spirit of a community.” She gave it 5 stars and as we have a similar taste in books anything she likes has a strong chance of ending up in my TBR pile. This one went straight onto the list!

The Monk by Matthew Lewis recommended by She from A Book Blog. Period.

I was very intrigued when She described The Monk as an “18th century version of a screwed up soap opera. No… Jerry Springer.” I hadn’t heard of it before, but I hope to read it very soon.

Did any of these books attract your attention too?

Tags Monthly Summary, Summary

Other

October Summary and Plans for November

Post author By Jackie
Post date October 31, 2009
27 Comments on October Summary and Plans for November

I read 11 books in October, and overall the quality was outstanding. My major achievement this month was finally finishing 2666 by Roberto Bolaño, over 6 months after starting it. It felt like hard work at times, but now I have finished it I can appreciate how amazing this book is. I highly recommend it to anyone who can dedicate many hours to studying a lengthy piece of literary fiction.