Musing Mondays: Curses & Parasols

Time for another Musing Mondays question, brought to us by MizB at Should Be Reading:

"What's one book you always recommend to just about everyone?"

I can't think of a single book, but there are 2 series that I rave about to anyone who will listen:



The Curse Workers Series by Holly Black
(Bk1: White Cat, Bk2: Red Glove, Bk3: Black Heart)
Genre: Older Young Adult Paranormal
What if there was "magic" in the world - and it was wielded by the mob? This series follows Cassel Sharpe, a boy with a rare power, as he gets himself entangled in "the family business." The premise is original and fresh, the writing flawless, the characters extremely interesting and engaging, and the world perfectly woven. Person: "Can you recommend a book?" Me: "Well, you have of course read Curse Workers, right?" Person: "No." Me: "Have you been living under a rock?"



The Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carriger
(Bk1: Soulless, Bk2: Changeless, Bk3: Blameless, Bk4: Heartless, Bk5: Timeless)
Genre: Adult Alternate History Paranormal Steampunk
It follows soulless Alexia and her adventures dealing with secret societies, threats against the Crown, and fashion - not to mention vampires, werewolves, and ghosts (oh my!) - set in Victorian England (or thereabouts). Tea, steampowered contraptions, parasols, proper language, dirigibles, a bit of blood, octopi, and lots of flying fur ensue. The writing is flawless and witty, the characters are real and eccentric and way too much fun to follow, and the world is perfectly constructed - you simply can't go wrong with these books. And Gail is branching off from this world with two more series - be still my fluttering heart!

So what books do you always recommend?

Musing Mondays: My 4-Point Approach

Time for the Musing Mondays question, brought to us by Should Be Reading. Today's question(s):

How do you decide to read a book by an author you haven’t read before? What sort of recommendations count most highly in making that decision?

I rarely care about the "author" when I'm choosing a book - I simply go by the actual book. Sometimes I will look to see if the author is female or male depending on the story, but that is very rare. The only time I ever care about the author is if I love the book - then I go looking for them, and more of their work.

So how do I decide to pick up a book? I have a "4-Point Approach":

1. Cover. Unless it is by a very favored author, my choice to pick up a book begins primarily with the cover. Yes, I totally "judge a book by its cover." At the bookstore or library I mainly browse anything facing forward - if just the spine is showing, it will have a very hard time grabbing my attention (unless the title is so off the wall and in such big letters I can't help but notice it).

2. Title. After cover comes title. If it's too weird, long, or plain, I'll skip right over it if the cover doesn't really grab me. One-word titles are all the rage right now, which could be considered too plain, but they are doing a pretty good job of making them unique and interesting (Paranormalcy anyone? ;).

3. Summary. And I'm not talking about the inside flap or the back cover description - I'm talking the one-two sentence summary on the back of the title page. If a book does not have this, I will most likely put it back - simple as that. Unless the cover/title looks exactly like something I'd read, I don't have the time to stop and skim the book description. If the summary really intrigues me, though, I may scan the description afterwards, just to make sure it is what it seems.

4. Subjects. If the summary is too vague, I'll glance at the subjects. These give me a better idea of just what exactly I'll be getting into. If most are to my usual tastes I'll give the book a try, but if they are all "familial relationships" and "vampires" then I have no interest in even trying.

As for Recommendations...I rarely listen to them. If someone recommends a book I've never heard of but sounds intriguing then I may look for it at the bookstore/library -  but it will get the same 4-Point Approach like any other possible read. If I'm already interested in a book but unsure if it'll be any good I may scan through a trusted review or ask someone who's read it, but otherwise I go simply on my own tastes.

This is all, of course, within the context of my favored genres, which consist mainly of Young Adult, and Suspense & Urban Fantasy trade paperbacks ("t-ps" are a genre to me ;). I rarely browse genres I don't read, and even more rarely pick up something in them for perusal.

So how do you choose what you read?