Book Synopsis/Summaries

[chigreyofthenorns]

Before buying a book, do you read the summaries or synopsis printed on the back covers?

I do this especially when I am buying books that are on sale. Though there are books that do not have summaries but the picture of the author, I still browse the Internet for the synopses.

[wayzteacher]

Yes, i definitely read the book blurb of most books that I buy.  I think it is a good way to get some idea what the story is about.  I usually do this  especially with books with authors I'm not familiar with.  It is not always infallible though.  There are times when the book blurb is so misleading that after reading the book you find out that the summary or synopsis did not represent the book properly.

On the other hand, I have to admit that if i'm in a hurry and I find a book by any of my favorite authors I don't always bother reading the blurb.  I just grab it.

[Baburra]

I usually only get books that are well known enough for me to be familiar with the synopsis, or sometimes I get it via recommendations from my friends, so I usually don't have to read the summary, but if I did see a book that interested me which I had no idea of, I do read a bit from it first. I also do look it up a bit further online if I could, because I like knowing what I'll be getting into prior to purchase or borrowing the book.

[Rosa]

Yes, I like reading the summary of the book before purchasing or even if I am picking up a book anywhere to read for the first time. Reading the summary does not always determine whether or not I am going to read the book because I may read it and don't like everything about the book but I read it anyway.

[deathbyprayer]

Of course, I don't buy books just because of the title and the cover. Even if the book with written by a well known author and if the synopsis doesn't sound that great to me I don't really buy it.

That happened to me once when I came across the this new Stephen King novel, I read the summary and I didn't really liked it. It's like a quick and dirty preview of what to expect.

[g2narat]

Before buying a book, do you read the summaries or synopsis printed on the back covers?

I do this especially when I am buying books that are on sale. Though there are books that do not have summaries but the picture of the author, I still browse the Internet for the synopses.

I think it's a good way of getting the gist of what you're about to read. I personally don't like just picking up a book without knowing anything about it. I sometimes do that when I'm familiar with the writing style of the author but that's more the exception rather than the rule. I like to have a general idea of the story before diving into a book.

[takibari]

When I'm not familiar with the author, I do read the book's synopsis/summaries. However, if someone recommends me a title, what I usually end up doing is visiting Amazon and reading the preview of the first few chapters. With a recommendation, one often already has a general idea of what the book is about. So, what I want to find out next is if the author writes with fluidity (and humor). If I dig the author's writing style, I readily buy a copy.

[NATASHA]

I find unless I am buying a book from an author I regularly read, I always look at the synopsis before as this will be the reason for me to either ditch the book or take it. It is important for me to read this first because I really dislike getting a book and then deciding half way through that I am not enjoying it. I have to read the entire book and finish what I started so summaries are of the utmost importance.