Like several others, I like originality. And if it’s something recommended by a blogger I trust or similiar to a favorite author, then I’m open to almost anything! And sometimes, like Kathy mentioned, it just depends on my mood. Wish I had better answers for you, but it’s so subjective…

As for how I pick books, I must admit that I’m sucker for a good cover and catchy pitch. However, more than either of those, I read a lot based on recommendations from friends and other internet bloggers with similar taste in books. I’ve found that staying primarily with recommendations has cut out a lot of junk in my reading.

Also, shelfari.com has been helpful when I want an immediate recommendation from friends with similar taste.

Anyways, what usually makes me want to read a book is the cover. I’m drawn to cover art. If the cover looks interesting to me, I will read it. I might not like the book after a few pages, but I will still finish it. I read Striptease in seventh grade because I thought the pasties on the cover looked funny. So, if a book seller wants to sell me a book, then the cover has to be interesting. I can’t stand the cover art for romance books, even though I usually enjoy reading them. The cover art for romance books makes me want to stay away from them. The ones that I read don’t have a lusty male on the cover, they are usually plain in comparison. On the other hand, I like covers that show action and adventure in most young adult literature. I just want something to catch my eye.

As for the question of what books to read and accept, I’ve been honing my own standards on this since I began book blogging but I still can’t quite articulate it. I have vastly cut down on the books I’ll accept. I tend to accept books by my gut reaction, by checking out the book blog buzz on a book, and/or by reading an excerpt.

I’m too willing to give a book a chance even when I suspect I might not like it. I’ve been pleasantly surprised enough that I find it hard to say, “no” if I’m not certain. But I don’t have enough time to read everything that sounds interesting!

If anyone gets anything from my rambling, let it be that I really wish all review copy pitches included an excerpt 1-3 pages long from the first chapter of the book. I would save me a lot of time that I could then spend on reading and reviewing more books.

I don’t get heaps of review copy offers, but I get enough that I’d never have time to read the books if I accepted them all. And so I rarely accept, unless it’s a book or author I’ve heard of and already want to check out. If the book or author aren’t familiar to me, I’ll do a search for reviews of books by that author to see if the authors’ books look like a good match for me. I’ll also search the publisher’s website to see what else they publish under that imprint, which gives me a idea of the types of books and authors they represent. If that all seems to fit and I’m not feeling too overcommitted, I’ll say yes. (That amounts to maybe once every month or two.)

I also tend to turn down the books that everyone is getting offered (at least I will if I know everyone’s getting the offer). I get tired of seeing the same book reviewed everywhere, and I’d rather not be part of the problem if I can help it. If such a book looks like a good fit for me, I’ll wait until the hype has died down and read it on my own.