Tuesday Book Chat | Do You Read an Excerpt or First Chapter Sample Before Buying a Book?

Posted byJenny Blake @ausjenny 18 Comments on Tuesday Book Chat | Do You Read an Excerpt or First Chapter Sample Before Buying a Book?

Welcome to the Australasian Christian Writers Tuesday Book Chat. This is where we encourage book lovers to answer our bookish question of the week.

Today’s question is:

Do you read an excerpt or first chapter sample before buying a book?

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please join in the conversation by commenting on this post or on the blog post shared in our Australasian Christian Writers Facebook Group.

Let’s chat!

I am more likely to read the blurb on the back of a book or maybe the excerpt inside the front cover of a print book. When it comes to e-books I still go by the blurb. I am more likely to read a sample on a non-fiction book.

Your turn.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please join in the conversation in a comment on this post or in a comment on the blog post shared in our Australasian Christian Writers Facebook Group.

And don’t forget: if you’d like to participate in our weekly Book Chat by posting the question and your answer on your blog, drop us an email via our Contact page and we’ll send you the list of questions for 2020.

Author

  • Jenny Blake @ausjenny

    Jenny Blake (Ausjenny) is a cricket fanatic who loves reading although not reading as much as she use to. She loves to be able to help promote good Christian books and support authors. In her spare time she is enjoying the company of her two cats, enjoys jigsaws and watching cricket.

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Published by Jenny Blake @ausjenny

Jenny Blake (Ausjenny) is a cricket fanatic who loves reading although not reading as much as she use to. She loves to be able to help promote good Christian books and support authors. In her spare time she is enjoying the company of her two cats, enjoys jigsaws and watching cricket.

18 replies on “Tuesday Book Chat | Do You Read an Excerpt or First Chapter Sample Before Buying a Book?”

  1. Hi Jenny, I always read the blurb, then the first chapter sample before buying a book from a new-to-me author. If the sample hooks me in, I’ll buy the book. When browsing in bricks and mortar stores, I’ll read the first few pages before making a decision to buy or not to buy. 😊

    1. Thanks for commenting Narelle. I very occasionally read a sample but its more likely to be when someone says there is an issue with a book. I may just check for myself.

  2. I’m with Narelle. Some authors are auto-buys for me – I don’t need a sample. But for someone new, then it’s good to read a chapter sample to see if I like the style of writing, etc. I tend to always read the blurb!

  3. Yes! I want to know I am going to enjoy it, so I am compelled to ‘dip my toe in’ first. Life is so busy that I want to make the most of my reading! And I am guilty of being very picky…. I will almost always try and find an online sample first, and I am guilty of binge reading when I find an author I really enjoy.

  4. Definitely read first! I always check the back cover blurb and try the first few pages. If I feel the urge to keep on reading, the book is a winner and I buy it!

  5. I am like many who have already commented. If the book is by an author that I know and love, I will buy automatically. Otherwise, I will read the blurb and if there’s an excerpt, read it also!

    1. Thanks for commenting. I do read the blurb and if there is an preview inside the cover. I guess I buy books that I know the author of or quite often go by reviews more so than getting a sample.

  6. I never buy a book without reading the blurb. If it’s an author I haven’t read before, I read part of the “look inside” at Amazon to check writing quality. I have been lead to buy the next book by an author by reading the 1st chapter at the back of the book I’m just finishing. It was a good thing the 1st chapter of An Echo in the Darkness was right after the last chapter of Francine Rivers’s A Voice in the Wind, or the ending would have been too hard to bear. If the blurbs for other books by the author are at the back, I sometimes read them, and I have found some I wanted to buy.

    1. Thanks for commenting Carol. I tend to read the blurbs. I do occasionally read the sample in a book.

  7. Just the blurb. If I read the chapter I’d want to keep reading the whole book and get frustrated that I couldn’t. I sometimes read reviews – mostly on Goodreads – but not often.

    1. Beth I am with you. I read the blurb and some books like Love inspired have a small snippet inside the front cover but rarely read a sample. I will however read a sample of a non fiction book. I have done it with a few pain books. Also devotionals (am wishing I did with one I recently bought even if it was really cheap but its not one I will read).

  8. Yes I agree with previous responses. I read the blurb and the first few pages to guage the quality of the writing.
    I’ve been caught a couple of times recently when I’ve only read the blurb and in starting the book I’ve been disappointed with it. It certainly pays to read a few pages first!

    1. Thanks for commenting Kaye. I remember one book I read the blurb and the book was good but the blurb game away a lot of the story. What the blurb talks about happens at about 3/4 of the way into the book. I was waiting for what the blurb said would happen to then see what happened next but as it was so far into the book it was basically the result of the book.

  9. I do read the sample if I don’t know the author to see if I might like the book. But if it’s an author who is a tried and true favorite, then I don’t need a sample because I already know that I’ll love it!

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