What book feature turns you away from choosing a book?

[obiebookworm]

Well, the old adage "don't judge a book by its cover" doesn't always work for me. I am always turned off by sleazy book covers of romance books and blood and gore of thrillers.

[gali]

I usually choose books by reading the blurb or description and a bad writing can turn me off a book. Since I have got my kindle, I hardly look at the covers.

[obiebookworm]

To gali: Oh my, I forgot about ebooks! They don't usually have covers!!! I'm always thinking hardbound or paperback.

[gali]

To gali: Oh my, I forgot about ebooks! They don't usually have covers!!! I'm always thinking hardbound or paperback.

Some ebooks have covers. Anyway, I don't read romance books.

Regarding paper books, a great cover will certainly make me pick up the book and read the blurb.

[obiebookworm]

To gali: I don't read romance books, either. (Their book covers are always a re-reminder not to even give them a try!!)

[bartleby51]

The biggest turnoff for me when I'm browsing the shelves is when I can't see the title of the book because the author's name is taking up all the space.

[carag4]

If the picture on the cover would make me embarrassed to be seen with it in public (most romance novels), I used to be turned away from choosing them. This problem has been solved by ebooks

[obiebookworm]

To carag4: This is true!!

[Fran]

Those pink or lilac book covers - not because I'd be embarrassed to be seen reading one but they just scream shallow, pretentious & adolescent at me, and any book that has the words erotic or erotica anywhere on it. Life is way too short to waste it reading that kind of twaddle & I'm fairly certain I will not live long enough to read all the brilliant books I so want to read. But I don't judge anyone else who reads pink or lilac cover books - each to their own.

[obiebookworm]

To Fran: pink and lilac...LOL! That's great!

[sugarbearmama]

The quote from the author of new York times best seller. To me that means what ever they wrote before was better than this book in looking at and I should find the award winner first lol

[Craigable]

I generally avoid reading whatever's in vogue at the moment. Therefore I read a lot of lesser known works/authors. It's rare for me to read anything from the NYT bestseller list, though sometimes I read one many years after the buzz has been gratefully silenced.

[riyanj]

An unknown author asked me to read his book for a review. I'm always up for that. Until I'm asked to buy the book. I'll give you a review if I pick it up on my own and enjoyed it but don't expect me to pay you to write a review to plug your book. Especially when it's an e-book rather than paperbound.

[Aubrey_Archard]

This is actually a really good question, and one for which an answer, in my view, is hard to voice.

In my case, I would say that certain books (cover and all) just don't have the feel that I enjoy. Perhaps this is too vague an explanation for what I experience, but I've found it is not the genre, nor the cover, that really determine my interest, but the overall feel of what I'm seeing; experiencing.

[tracy19]

If the cover does not appeal to me it turns me completely off the book.