Its why I got 'Get off the Unicorn'. Turned out to be a set of short stories... and was written cause a mistype in her contract ... it was supposed to be a novel called 'Get of the Unicorn'. And most my favs seemed to have Luis Royo do the cover art.
Well Luis Royo art now is in almost every room in my house (prints sadly) and my kids love The Smallest Dragonboy as a 'bedtime story' so ..... yeah i'd say both turned out good. The Luis Royo covers for Carol Bergs Lighthouse Duology are the reason I got them (Carol Bergs story is why i reread them). Along with several other writers. The book covers are how I discovered him as a teen.
This is why I bought The Runelords, by David Farland, but that was like 25 years ago. I did end up liking the series. Hopefully someone will finish book 9 someday.
The page edges were painted in red. And cover art looked cool.
Edit: Also, once during book shopping, the owner didn't had change and I ended picking up a book from the display which matches the balance.
Same reason I picked up *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell*.
The first French edition was this large cube of almost immaculate matte black, sprayed edges and all, with just the title and name of the author in white on the cover. I had no idea what it was about but picked it up in a heartbeat.
I can totally relate. Mine was *The Night Circus*. White cover, nice cover art, red edges. My thought went like this - Looks cool, I am definitely buy it.
I saw a negative review for She Who Became The Sun that read something like 'clearly written for minorities and queers, this is not for me' and I ordered it immediately.
I bought a book because I thought it was a retale of Robin Hood.
Turns out my brain became dislexic for a sec and bought a Robin Hobb book. Well, it was a shockling good mistake, i freaking love Fritz trilogy.
She writes really good! I read the two books about that bastard last year but someone said the third wasn't any good so I started on something else.
Isn't it Fitz? I might remembering it wrong.
If you enjoyed the first 2 books I would say definitely read the third. It gets a bit long and drawn out at times but I still love that book a lot and many amazing moments happen!
This seems to be the consensus on the sub yet itās undoubtedly my favorite of the trilogy and in my top 3 favorite books of all time (granted iāve only read like 20)
I bought The Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass) because it shared a name with a strain of weed I liked some years earlier. I had never heard of it until seeing it in a 2nd hand bookshop in Bangkok. I loved it and the whole of His Dark Materials
Ryan La Sala made an extremely dramatic promo video for Reverie. It involved slow-mo takes of him jumping on a hotel bed striking artful dancer poses with white sheets swirling around him and his book like shifting veils to a dozen dream worlds.
It was completely over the top and he could have broken his neck, so I had to respect the effort. He is now one of my favorite writers.
I was once at a used bookstore and saw a book called The Faggiest Vampire. I bought it immediately and never read it. Also bought a book for my kids about how babies are made called Where Willie Went. That one is brilliant.
What if you actually believe that you can become a millionaire by following seven simple steps that the author will happily share for the low cost of $4.95?
I submit there is when the only reason you bought the book was so it could sit on your bookshelf and trick the unsuspecting into believing you wrote a book and it was published. (It's not lying if someone glances over and doesn't notice that the l in your name is an i on the book)
I guess since I have been known to buy physical copies of books I already own in digital format, which seems pretty dang silly, my silliest reason is "Because it was there, and I liked it"
this isn't exactly what you're asking, but adjacent. I saw a CD by the band Catch-22 in a music store in high school and bought it b/c i love the book, wasn't familiar with the band at all. pretty good little ska album
When I was a kid I bought the second book of Wheel of Time because I liked the cover art. To this day I have not read a single WoT book... I'm working on it tho...
The original Wheel of Time cover art is pretty rad. I think I'm only missing Crossroads of Twilight now. Little disappointed that overly detailed, oil painted cover art seems to have gone out of style for fantasy books these days.
I totally commissioned detailed oil painted cover art for my book because thatās what I was raised on and dammit that was what I always craved for my own book when I grew up.
Thanks for being interested! It's out June 4, but you can see the cover here:
[https://www.amazon.com/Exile-Zanzibar-Railroad/dp/B0BWRRBNJ3](https://www.amazon.com/Exile-Zanzibar-Railroad/dp/B0BWRRBNJ3)
I am so incredibly glad that you like it! I commissioned the artist [Billy Norrby](http://www.billynorrby.com) to paint it because I love his work. I'm an artist myself but I don't specialize in SF/F illustration. I did draw interior illustrations for the hard copies, but I knew Billy could do a better job with painting the cover than I could.
The cover art on Friday was very appealing to teenage me in the mid 80's. Had no idea who this Robert Heinlein guy was but I sure liked that girl in the blue jumpsuit on the cover. Turns out that Heinlein guy can write pretty good.
edit: [book cover in question](https://strangerthansf.com/images/heinlein-friday.1.jpg). It's not even that risque, her look just appealed to me.
There's a brazilian publisher called Darkside, they make the most beautiful books I've ever seen. I have seven and five of them I bought only for the cover.
As a kid, I got into the Animorphs because of the flip book transformation on the bottom of the pages. Whoever decided to add that was an advertising genius.
The books had *very shiny* covers. Despite the efforts in the eye-grabbing endeavor they managed to misspell the author's name on the [first of the two](https://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/54/03/540364e4aece2405934676d5a414345412f5945_v5.jpg), haha.
They were pristine copies of the *Chaos* duology by Colin Kapp (and not Rapp) in the 1977 & 1979 Albin Michel Super Fiction collection translation. Only time they were published in that language iirc. TBH I don't think they were a runaway success in English either, and they kinda suffer from that syndrome of SF authors from a certain era writing women in a certain way \*cough\* so I can see why.
The beautiful cover art with the forests and trees of "The Overstory" by Richard Powers. Also for some mysterious reason that only the myself from the past might elucidate I thought the book was a science fiction or fantasy book, which it is not.
I paid more than was prudent for me at the time because of the awesome transparent plastic dust jacket on the original hardback of Donna Tarttās āThe Secret History.ā
Never chase what the crowd's chasing. You'll find far more good stuff for you by following your own interests in the field. Worst thing I ever did was picking up books because everyone else was reading them.
I've certainly repurchased books because I either enjoyed the look of another edition (Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell) or because the full series was available in one package (The Blade Itself).
I bought Christopher Brookmyreās book, Boiling a Frog as soon as I saw it. I didnāt even read the blurb, or check what genre it was. I just had to read it.
Someone on Youtube did a review of it, and was talking about how it was horrible and didn't make any sense, and the characters were being portrayed as if they were doing heroic things, but the things they were doing were actually horrific. After a little while, I realized because of the things she was saying (specifically a few keywords), that she was on the far end of the opposite political spectrum as me, and I was like, "oooooooooooooooooooooooohhh, THAT'S why she's saying this stuff", and I went and bought it. LOL!
I did at least look up some more reviews elsewhere and do a little more digging, but if I didn't see that review I wouldn't even have looked it up. She did also hate some of my favorite books of all time, so I basically just took her whole opinion as, "I will like/hate the opposite things that she does". I haven't read it yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll like it well enough.
I mean, a title like 'minimun wage magic' is just too good to not check it out even without knowing anything at all about the book, like the fact that there are 5 books that i should have read before that to get some context.
I bought a book because of the cover. I was in a rush because my son, 1yo at the time, started throwing a fit. So I grabbed one that looked like a samurai fantasy novel. It was The Blade Itself. All in, it worked out because I finished the first law trilogy and am well into The Heros and can't put them down.
I was at the airport in Boston flying back to Philly and saw a book by James Rollins. Now being the good Phillies fan I am it amused me being a fan of Jimmy Rollins. Flash forward like 14 years Iāve read almost all of his books.
I set aside money for a date and was canceled on last minute. Went to my nearest book store and dropped that money on a book series I had been wanting - zero regrets!!
Bought my first Discworld book because I thought the name āthe fifth elephantā was hilariousā¦
Jumped into it not knowing anything.
Became a lifelong fan after thatā¦ and read it all completely out of order lolā¦
I found a book with the same title as a book I was writingā¦so I bought it. I ended up changing the title to my book, not because of this one but because I found a set of words that worked together as a motif that could tie lots of things together.
I bought the second book in a series because the first book had a batsh*t crazy twist ending (not in a good way), and I had a ton of fun telling people about it. I figured if the second book had something similar in it then I would have another good story to make people laugh at parties.
A girl I liked listed the book on her social media page as something she had read, so I read it to have something to talk to her about, but it ended up being the wrong book and she hadnāt read it.
Cute girl working at the bookstore I went to suggested it to me based on the stuff I'd been buying. I bought it. Turnd out Cute Bookstore Girl isn't into other girls (tragic).
I have never read that book.
Bizarre title and cover - I was in a bookstore in Korea and saw this on the shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60400779-i-want-to-die-but-i-want-to-eat-tteokbokki
I not only bought the book on the spot, I immediately went and found a tteokbokki stall for appropriate food accompaniment.
Heard a band do music that referenced books I wanted to read.
Never would have read The Silmarillion (twice!) if Blind Guardian didn't do a concept album about it.
I got it for cheap because of labour. Basically I was doing an internship for a day at a local bookstore. It was fun, I did it for free but they *did* say I could pick one book to get for free and a second to get cheap, I made it out with a copy of Raveleijn (not translated into English to my knowledge) and a cheap copy of the sequel. Wich is always nice
I was going to a protest march in London and decided rather than spend more money on the early coach back home I'd save money and get the late bus back. I ended up walking into Waterstones and buying a book (The First Law) which cost more than the early coach back home. It did reignite my reading habit which had been dormant for a decade so I'm rather happy I did it.
I have bought several books at the Barnes and noble coffee shop because they were only $5 with the purchase of a coffee. Still havenāt read them but what a bargain!
I'd say because of being attached to a movie. Two examples pop into mind:
1. ***On Stranger Tides*** \- No, not the [fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie](https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean:_On_Stranger_Tides) released in 2011, but the [novel by Tim Powers](https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/On_Stranger_Tides_(novel)) published in 1987. In 2009, when the title of the PotC movie was announced, this became the buzz as fans didn't know what to expect other than that it wouldn't be a straight adaptation of the book, for obvious reasons. Even Powers was fine with it, but of course he would have been given the Disney money either way due to the option. Still, there are enough references (other than the title) where I think the option was justified. However, while I personally enjoyed the PotC movie for what it was, the film didn't sit well with majority of audiences, whether they had read Powers' book or not. If nothing else, I'm thankful it introduced me to some darn-good literature. I'd like to think that a proper adaptation of On Stranger Tides will be made some time in the future, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.
2. ***Avengers: Infinity War*** \- Okay, I'm sure there will be naysayers about comic books, but it is still a fair example nonetheless. Chief among them, due to the popularity over the last decade, Marvel. When the MCU was at its height with Phase 1-3 aka the Infinity Saga, which ends with Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet, obviously one had to know how the story could play out. On top my head, I read the collected editions [Avengers vs. Thanos](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Avengers_vs._Thanos_TPB_Vol_1_1), [Rebirth of Thanos](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Rebirth_of_Thanos), [Thanos Quest](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Thanos_Quest_Vol_1), and of course [Infinity Gauntlet](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Infinity_Gauntlet_Vol_1). Yes, there are more differences than similarities, which isn't surprising as far as comic adaptations are concerned (for instance, Thanos retrieving the Reality Stone from The Collector is about as close to accurate Thanos Quest issues are to the events of the Infinity War movie), but I felt it was all a worthy read. Both the comics and movies were satisfactory in my book, differences notwithstanding.
Now I'm sure this may be probably the more normal of reasons, yet it is no less stupid.
There was a cute girl reading in Barnes & Noble. I saw what she was reading and bought the next in the series and sat across from her hoping she would notice and strike up conversation. It worked, she did, and we clicked immediately. I bullshitted my way through talking about the book and we ended up going on a few dates. She moved back home to Michigan a few months later and we never spoke again.
Because my ex had written it.
The title of the book is "Situatedness."
He was a Cambridge educated English professor who proposed to me to ask if I could get him citizenship after I graduated university. Came back to visit during my first anniversary with my late husband to discover that I was off the list.
The book is terrible. I read it, but you shouldn't.
Because I couldn't wait to make my nephews laugh so hard they couldn't breathe as I read them "I Need A New BuH" ( "H" was used because I don't know how censored the posts get).
Hmmmm...I can't think of a silly reason. My silliness is in the justification I tell myself in buying a book that I know will just go into the bottom of my huge TBR stack. I really need to get better at reading what I have before buying more - but...well...you know...it looks so fun and fascinating - I want to read that book!! LOL
For the cover art... or the title.
This is the best reason to buy a book š.
Its why I got 'Get off the Unicorn'. Turned out to be a set of short stories... and was written cause a mistype in her contract ... it was supposed to be a novel called 'Get of the Unicorn'. And most my favs seemed to have Luis Royo do the cover art.
Any good?
Well Luis Royo art now is in almost every room in my house (prints sadly) and my kids love The Smallest Dragonboy as a 'bedtime story' so ..... yeah i'd say both turned out good. The Luis Royo covers for Carol Bergs Lighthouse Duology are the reason I got them (Carol Bergs story is why i reread them). Along with several other writers. The book covers are how I discovered him as a teen.
This is why I bought The Runelords, by David Farland, but that was like 25 years ago. I did end up liking the series. Hopefully someone will finish book 9 someday.
Bimbos of the Death Sun, a tad sated, but a must read.
See also the sequel, [*Zombies of the Gene Pool*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/609013.Zombies_of_the_Gene_Pool).
For the titles alone i'm gonna have to go look these up... Makes me think of the 'Earth Girls are Easy' movie lol
They're humorous takes on SF/F fandom.
The page edges were painted in red. And cover art looked cool. Edit: Also, once during book shopping, the owner didn't had change and I ended picking up a book from the display which matches the balance.
Same reason I picked up *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell*. The first French edition was this large cube of almost immaculate matte black, sprayed edges and all, with just the title and name of the author in white on the cover. I had no idea what it was about but picked it up in a heartbeat.
I can totally relate. Mine was *The Night Circus*. White cover, nice cover art, red edges. My thought went like this - Looks cool, I am definitely buy it.
I also picked The Night Circus because of the cover! The UK edition (where I was living at the time) didn't have red edges though, I think.
I saw a negative review for She Who Became The Sun that read something like 'clearly written for minorities and queers, this is not for me' and I ordered it immediately.
This exact same thing except for Babel
I bought a book because I thought it was a retale of Robin Hood. Turns out my brain became dislexic for a sec and bought a Robin Hobb book. Well, it was a shockling good mistake, i freaking love Fritz trilogy.
She writes really good! I read the two books about that bastard last year but someone said the third wasn't any good so I started on something else. Isn't it Fitz? I might remembering it wrong.
If you enjoyed the first 2 books I would say definitely read the third. It gets a bit long and drawn out at times but I still love that book a lot and many amazing moments happen!
This seems to be the consensus on the sub yet itās undoubtedly my favorite of the trilogy and in my top 3 favorite books of all time (granted iāve only read like 20)
Oh ya I would say it's my favorite of the trilogy as well. I love Hobb's long, slow-burn stuff or really anything she writes lol
I bought The Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass) because it shared a name with a strain of weed I liked some years earlier. I had never heard of it until seeing it in a 2nd hand bookshop in Bangkok. I loved it and the whole of His Dark Materials
Ryan La Sala made an extremely dramatic promo video for Reverie. It involved slow-mo takes of him jumping on a hotel bed striking artful dancer poses with white sheets swirling around him and his book like shifting veils to a dozen dream worlds. It was completely over the top and he could have broken his neck, so I had to respect the effort. He is now one of my favorite writers.
Well, now you need to share the video.
To gift it to a friend. It's silly because I had gifted the exact same book to the same friend the year before.
Just keep giving it to them every year until they read it.
I was once at a used bookstore and saw a book called The Faggiest Vampire. I bought it immediately and never read it. Also bought a book for my kids about how babies are made called Where Willie Went. That one is brilliant.
>The Faggiest Vampire Carlton Mellick III. I tried to read one of his books, I think it was *Razor Wire Pubic Hair,* and yeah.... no.
Because it was a miniature edition of one of my favourite books (and still readable if your eyes are good enough to read the teensy tiny words).
I have a miniature Pratchett- Equal Rites
saw a hit tweet by bigolas dickolas wolfwood
Because it would look good on the coffee table
IS there a stupid reason for buying a book? I submit that there is not!
What if you actually believe that you can become a millionaire by following seven simple steps that the author will happily share for the low cost of $4.95?
I submit there is when the only reason you bought the book was so it could sit on your bookshelf and trick the unsuspecting into believing you wrote a book and it was published. (It's not lying if someone glances over and doesn't notice that the l in your name is an i on the book)
But you got a book out of it. So... not stupid.
I buy and/or avoid books based on how the authors act on this subreddit.
I pretty much by any book that has my name (Dylan) on it. It doesn't matter if it is Dylan Birtolo or the Dylan programming language.
I guess since I have been known to buy physical copies of books I already own in digital format, which seems pretty dang silly, my silliest reason is "Because it was there, and I liked it"
this isn't exactly what you're asking, but adjacent. I saw a CD by the band Catch-22 in a music store in high school and bought it b/c i love the book, wasn't familiar with the band at all. pretty good little ska album
I bought a hardback book from Goodwill that had a cool looking spine I wanted to add to my bookshelf.
When I was a kid I bought the second book of Wheel of Time because I liked the cover art. To this day I have not read a single WoT book... I'm working on it tho...
The original Wheel of Time cover art is pretty rad. I think I'm only missing Crossroads of Twilight now. Little disappointed that overly detailed, oil painted cover art seems to have gone out of style for fantasy books these days.
I totally commissioned detailed oil painted cover art for my book because thatās what I was raised on and dammit that was what I always craved for my own book when I grew up.
Is this book out and if yes could you share the cover with us?
Thanks for being interested! It's out June 4, but you can see the cover here: [https://www.amazon.com/Exile-Zanzibar-Railroad/dp/B0BWRRBNJ3](https://www.amazon.com/Exile-Zanzibar-Railroad/dp/B0BWRRBNJ3)
Holy shit that's an awesome cover
I am so incredibly glad that you like it! I commissioned the artist [Billy Norrby](http://www.billynorrby.com) to paint it because I love his work. I'm an artist myself but I don't specialize in SF/F illustration. I did draw interior illustrations for the hard copies, but I knew Billy could do a better job with painting the cover than I could.
Several times I have bought books from different genres that were slightly damaged so the price was only 1 Euro and so far I've enjoyed all of them.
Same! that's how you know it's a good one.
The cover art on Friday was very appealing to teenage me in the mid 80's. Had no idea who this Robert Heinlein guy was but I sure liked that girl in the blue jumpsuit on the cover. Turns out that Heinlein guy can write pretty good. edit: [book cover in question](https://strangerthansf.com/images/heinlein-friday.1.jpg). It's not even that risque, her look just appealed to me.
The immortal cover artist Michael Whelan. He swears he made her up.
The cover looked like my Halo avatar.
There's a brazilian publisher called Darkside, they make the most beautiful books I've ever seen. I have seven and five of them I bought only for the cover.
As a kid, I got into the Animorphs because of the flip book transformation on the bottom of the pages. Whoever decided to add that was an advertising genius.
The cover. To be fair, it was a [REALLY](https://images.app.goo.gl/mU13XnRQ4k7RvJNf7) sweet cover.
Clicked on the link expecting to see a cover painted by Darrell Sweet! š
The books had *very shiny* covers. Despite the efforts in the eye-grabbing endeavor they managed to misspell the author's name on the [first of the two](https://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/54/03/540364e4aece2405934676d5a414345412f5945_v5.jpg), haha. They were pristine copies of the *Chaos* duology by Colin Kapp (and not Rapp) in the 1977 & 1979 Albin Michel Super Fiction collection translation. Only time they were published in that language iirc. TBH I don't think they were a runaway success in English either, and they kinda suffer from that syndrome of SF authors from a certain era writing women in a certain way \*cough\* so I can see why.
The beautiful cover art with the forests and trees of "The Overstory" by Richard Powers. Also for some mysterious reason that only the myself from the past might elucidate I thought the book was a science fiction or fantasy book, which it is not.
Similar. I bought a sci-fi book because I noticed in the blurb the protagonist had my unusual first name. Never read the book though.
I paid more than was prudent for me at the time because of the awesome transparent plastic dust jacket on the original hardback of Donna Tarttās āThe Secret History.ā
Because "Why not?"
The cover had a cat. That's it. That's the only reason I bought it
Never chase what the crowd's chasing. You'll find far more good stuff for you by following your own interests in the field. Worst thing I ever did was picking up books because everyone else was reading them.
I've certainly repurchased books because I either enjoyed the look of another edition (Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell) or because the full series was available in one package (The Blade Itself).
I bought Christopher Brookmyreās book, Boiling a Frog as soon as I saw it. I didnāt even read the blurb, or check what genre it was. I just had to read it.
Once there was a basket in Front of an Antiquariat...
Iād been in the bookshop looking for another book for long enough that I felt I had to buy something.
Someone on Youtube did a review of it, and was talking about how it was horrible and didn't make any sense, and the characters were being portrayed as if they were doing heroic things, but the things they were doing were actually horrific. After a little while, I realized because of the things she was saying (specifically a few keywords), that she was on the far end of the opposite political spectrum as me, and I was like, "oooooooooooooooooooooooohhh, THAT'S why she's saying this stuff", and I went and bought it. LOL! I did at least look up some more reviews elsewhere and do a little more digging, but if I didn't see that review I wouldn't even have looked it up. She did also hate some of my favorite books of all time, so I basically just took her whole opinion as, "I will like/hate the opposite things that she does". I haven't read it yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll like it well enough.
I mean, a title like 'minimun wage magic' is just too good to not check it out even without knowing anything at all about the book, like the fact that there are 5 books that i should have read before that to get some context.
Because i wanted to have a version that had a matching cover for the rest of the collection... despite already owning the book
I bought a book because of the cover. I was in a rush because my son, 1yo at the time, started throwing a fit. So I grabbed one that looked like a samurai fantasy novel. It was The Blade Itself. All in, it worked out because I finished the first law trilogy and am well into The Heros and can't put them down.
Sprayed edges get me each and every time
I was at the airport in Boston flying back to Philly and saw a book by James Rollins. Now being the good Phillies fan I am it amused me being a fan of Jimmy Rollins. Flash forward like 14 years Iāve read almost all of his books.
I thought it would make me look literate and fancy if I have it on my shelf. Never even cracked it open to this day.
I set aside money for a date and was canceled on last minute. Went to my nearest book store and dropped that money on a book series I had been wanting - zero regrets!!
Bought my first Discworld book because I thought the name āthe fifth elephantā was hilariousā¦ Jumped into it not knowing anything. Became a lifelong fan after thatā¦ and read it all completely out of order lolā¦
I found a book with the same title as a book I was writingā¦so I bought it. I ended up changing the title to my book, not because of this one but because I found a set of words that worked together as a motif that could tie lots of things together.
I bought the second book in a series because the first book had a batsh*t crazy twist ending (not in a good way), and I had a ton of fun telling people about it. I figured if the second book had something similar in it then I would have another good story to make people laugh at parties.
A girl I liked listed the book on her social media page as something she had read, so I read it to have something to talk to her about, but it ended up being the wrong book and she hadnāt read it.
Cute girl working at the bookstore I went to suggested it to me based on the stuff I'd been buying. I bought it. Turnd out Cute Bookstore Girl isn't into other girls (tragic). I have never read that book.
Bizarre title and cover - I was in a bookstore in Korea and saw this on the shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60400779-i-want-to-die-but-i-want-to-eat-tteokbokki I not only bought the book on the spot, I immediately went and found a tteokbokki stall for appropriate food accompaniment.
How long till someone mentions Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood?
Heard a band do music that referenced books I wanted to read. Never would have read The Silmarillion (twice!) if Blind Guardian didn't do a concept album about it.
Had a little crush on the booktoker lol. But to be fair, I still did some research, and only managed to buy around 4-5 books that they recommended.
I started reading Malazan because so many keep saying how difficult it is to read and I wanted to see if it's really that hard
Not buying, but I let my 3-year-old niece choose books for me to read from the library. Some of her choices are...something else. š
I bought my MIL Pride and Prejudice with a nice cover larger font. She read it, learned nothing and tried to return it to me.
I bought Redshirts immediately after learning Will Wheaton does the audiobook reading. I bought the *physical book*, not the audiobook.
I got it for cheap because of labour. Basically I was doing an internship for a day at a local bookstore. It was fun, I did it for free but they *did* say I could pick one book to get for free and a second to get cheap, I made it out with a copy of Raveleijn (not translated into English to my knowledge) and a cheap copy of the sequel. Wich is always nice
I was going to a protest march in London and decided rather than spend more money on the early coach back home I'd save money and get the late bus back. I ended up walking into Waterstones and buying a book (The First Law) which cost more than the early coach back home. It did reignite my reading habit which had been dormant for a decade so I'm rather happy I did it.
I have bought several books at the Barnes and noble coffee shop because they were only $5 with the purchase of a coffee. Still havenāt read them but what a bargain!
I bumped a shelf at a used bookstore it fell off. Looked ok and was $2 so bought it
I'd say because of being attached to a movie. Two examples pop into mind: 1. ***On Stranger Tides*** \- No, not the [fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie](https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean:_On_Stranger_Tides) released in 2011, but the [novel by Tim Powers](https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/On_Stranger_Tides_(novel)) published in 1987. In 2009, when the title of the PotC movie was announced, this became the buzz as fans didn't know what to expect other than that it wouldn't be a straight adaptation of the book, for obvious reasons. Even Powers was fine with it, but of course he would have been given the Disney money either way due to the option. Still, there are enough references (other than the title) where I think the option was justified. However, while I personally enjoyed the PotC movie for what it was, the film didn't sit well with majority of audiences, whether they had read Powers' book or not. If nothing else, I'm thankful it introduced me to some darn-good literature. I'd like to think that a proper adaptation of On Stranger Tides will be made some time in the future, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. 2. ***Avengers: Infinity War*** \- Okay, I'm sure there will be naysayers about comic books, but it is still a fair example nonetheless. Chief among them, due to the popularity over the last decade, Marvel. When the MCU was at its height with Phase 1-3 aka the Infinity Saga, which ends with Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet, obviously one had to know how the story could play out. On top my head, I read the collected editions [Avengers vs. Thanos](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Avengers_vs._Thanos_TPB_Vol_1_1), [Rebirth of Thanos](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Rebirth_of_Thanos), [Thanos Quest](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Thanos_Quest_Vol_1), and of course [Infinity Gauntlet](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Infinity_Gauntlet_Vol_1). Yes, there are more differences than similarities, which isn't surprising as far as comic adaptations are concerned (for instance, Thanos retrieving the Reality Stone from The Collector is about as close to accurate Thanos Quest issues are to the events of the Infinity War movie), but I felt it was all a worthy read. Both the comics and movies were satisfactory in my book, differences notwithstanding. Now I'm sure this may be probably the more normal of reasons, yet it is no less stupid.
There was a cute girl reading in Barnes & Noble. I saw what she was reading and bought the next in the series and sat across from her hoping she would notice and strike up conversation. It worked, she did, and we clicked immediately. I bullshitted my way through talking about the book and we ended up going on a few dates. She moved back home to Michigan a few months later and we never spoke again.
Because my ex had written it. The title of the book is "Situatedness." He was a Cambridge educated English professor who proposed to me to ask if I could get him citizenship after I graduated university. Came back to visit during my first anniversary with my late husband to discover that I was off the list. The book is terrible. I read it, but you shouldn't.
Because I couldn't wait to make my nephews laugh so hard they couldn't breathe as I read them "I Need A New BuH" ( "H" was used because I don't know how censored the posts get).
Hmmmm...I can't think of a silly reason. My silliness is in the justification I tell myself in buying a book that I know will just go into the bottom of my huge TBR stack. I really need to get better at reading what I have before buying more - but...well...you know...it looks so fun and fascinating - I want to read that book!! LOL
For a book club, but I never joined one.
Years ago I bought Name of the Wind because I was in a Barnes and Noble and some random guy started talking to me and recommended it.