The Friday Five Challenge is an interesting exercise for writers ~ it shows the little things that can put potential readers off that click-buy. We click on a book because the cover appeals to us, but can be put off a purchase by the blurb, the price, or the reviews.
Anyone with a blog can join in ~ here's what you do:
IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….
1) Go to any online book supplier
2) Randomly choose a category
3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which instantly appeals
4) Read the book bio/description, and any other details
5) If there are reviews, check out a couple
6) Make an instant decision: would you BUY or PASS?
You can check out others' contributions on the #FridayFiveChallenge hashtag on Twitter, or see links at the end of this page.
*********
Friday Five Challenge posts by others:
The 49p catch-a-drug-baron thriller chosen by Rosie Amber looked so good I bought it myself!!
Expensive witches on Between The Lines
Oh! Look at those vegetables on Shelley Wilson's blog!
Lost In A Book considers time management...
This week the weather has been gorgeous and I've been thinking alot about when I lived in Norfolk, where I long to be in the summer! So I put Norfolk into the search. I could have picked any of the lovely covers, but decided to skip past all the non-fiction books about the county and choose what I assumed to be a novel set there. The first cover that appealed to me was that of THE DUNE by Bruce Beckham
Analysis
Cover
Well, I liked the title and the picture on the cover! I think it was the title that appealed most.
Well, I liked the title and the picture on the cover! I think it was the title that appealed most.
Price
£2.39 for 258 pages ~ both reasonable and average.
£2.39 for 258 pages ~ both reasonable and average.
Blurb
A shy, academic teenager, Luke spent the long, hot summer of 1976 working on an isolated bird reserve in Norfolk, England. Like most young men of his age, he found his thoughts preoccupied with the opposite sex and, gradually, peculiar events unfolded around him that seemed designed to take advantage of this Achilles heel.
36 years later, the discovery of human remains at a coastal archaeological site sheds shocking new light upon his experiences of 1976, compelling him to reappraise his memories and, finally, to return to East Anglia in an attempt to unravel the truth of a tale of witchcraft, intrigue, murder and love.
The Dune is a smouldering coming-of-age novel that slowly burns to an explosive, violent and unexpected climax.
The whole 'coming of age' thing doesn't appeal that much to me, but so far I'm still interested, because of the setting, the 1970s and a bit of historical intrigue.
A shy, academic teenager, Luke spent the long, hot summer of 1976 working on an isolated bird reserve in Norfolk, England. Like most young men of his age, he found his thoughts preoccupied with the opposite sex and, gradually, peculiar events unfolded around him that seemed designed to take advantage of this Achilles heel.
36 years later, the discovery of human remains at a coastal archaeological site sheds shocking new light upon his experiences of 1976, compelling him to reappraise his memories and, finally, to return to East Anglia in an attempt to unravel the truth of a tale of witchcraft, intrigue, murder and love.
The Dune is a smouldering coming-of-age novel that slowly burns to an explosive, violent and unexpected climax.
The whole 'coming of age' thing doesn't appeal that much to me, but so far I'm still interested, because of the setting, the 1970s and a bit of historical intrigue.
Reviews
12 on Amazon, an average of 4.3, ranging from 2* to 5*. Only one of the 5* looks like a definite friend's review. It's got flashbacks, which I love, and some say that there's too much detail about the birds, but I think I might like that.
12 on Amazon, an average of 4.3, ranging from 2* to 5*. Only one of the 5* looks like a definite friend's review. It's got flashbacks, which I love, and some say that there's too much detail about the birds, but I think I might like that.
Would I BUY or PASS?
Hurrah, it's a BUY ~ I've downloaded it on Kindle Unlimited, anyway!
Update from a previous Friday Five Challenge post ~ on July 3rd I chose to download THE OUTLAWS by Jason Vail (click for link); I started to read it and it was quite good but I felt the dialogue was too modern for a historical novel, and it didn't grab me enough to make me not be able to stop reading it. I might go back to it, though.
Hurrah, it's a BUY ~ I've downloaded it on Kindle Unlimited, anyway!
Update from a previous Friday Five Challenge post ~ on July 3rd I chose to download THE OUTLAWS by Jason Vail (click for link); I started to read it and it was quite good but I felt the dialogue was too modern for a historical novel, and it didn't grab me enough to make me not be able to stop reading it. I might go back to it, though.
Friday Five Challenge posts by others:
The 49p catch-a-drug-baron thriller chosen by Rosie Amber looked so good I bought it myself!!
Expensive witches on Between The Lines
Oh! Look at those vegetables on Shelley Wilson's blog!
Lost In A Book considers time management...
Oh yes, that would be a BUY for me too! I love the cover and the tag line.
ReplyDeleteLooks great, doesn't it? I've written it on my TBR list :)
DeleteIt does look and sound appealing. I will await your update with interest.
ReplyDeleteWill be a while, Liz - I got the 'update' (see above!) idea from you, a good one!
DeleteI'm not sure... to me the cover says sea not dune and it doesn't hint at the thriller / suspense hidden in the book. Plus how is it coming of age when the characters is 36 years + his teenager years? Perhaps the flashbacks are the main part which keep it coming of age. It confuses me so I would PASS.
ReplyDeleteI hear what you're saying re all that! Looking at it again, I'm not so keen on the cover, but I liked the title and the knowledge that it was set in Norfolk. If it hadn't been, I don't know that it would have caught my eye.
DeleteThis is good it shows all our individuality what works for one won't for another.
DeleteYou had me at sorcery! It would be a BUY from me too ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh yes, you love your witchery, don't you!
DeleteThink I'd buy too. Actually love the cover, as well
ReplyDeleteI shall make a report once read, Judith!
DeleteSounds compulsive! I'd go for it too. Great idea...to look for novels set in places you like 😊
ReplyDeleteI like deciding what to put into the Amazon search every week, Val! x
DeleteI like the look of this one, I like the photo on the cover rather than the title etc, anyway sounds intriguing though I'm not so keen on the sorcery. Being indecisive I shall say PASS particularly as I have a thousand books on my list already. However I shall be happy to re-evaluate that decision once I see your review of it :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd with all my thousand books to be read, it may be some time! Though I still intend to have a reading month once the WIP is sent off for proofreading :)
Delete