Me, Christmas 2014, wearing a dress not made to accommodate a Christmas Dinner (random pic)
Why not try out this excellently random way of choosing your next read?
Get
yourself a cuppa (or a glass of something) and give yourself 5 minutes. (Use your own pic or copy mine or
anything else like a clock/ stopwatch etc)
In today's online shopping age, readers often base their
buying decisions from small postage stamp size book covers (Thumb-nails),
a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they
really spend making that buying decision?
AUTHORS - You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy
your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?
My Friday Five Challenge is this..... 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 has instantly appealed to your eye,
4) Read the book Bio/ Description for this book,
5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,
6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?
(then write a little analysis about your decision)
Here's my selection for this Friday: Extinct by Ike Hamill
Product description
Channel Two predicted a blanket of snow for Thanksgiving weekend--unusual, but not alarming for the little Maine island. What comes is a blinding blizzard, and a mass disappearance of nearly every person Robby Pierce knows. He and his family flee, trying to escape the snow and the invisible forces stealing people right from the street.
*** Join the mailing list at http://www.ikehamill.com to receive Ike's next book free. ***
Miles away, Brad Jenkins battles the same storm. Alone, he attempts to survive as snow envelops his house. When the storm breaks, Brad makes his way south to where the snow ends and the world lies empty. Join Brad, Robby, and the other survivors as they fight to find the truth about the apocalypse and discover how to live in their new world.
I stuck in 'science fiction'. Because I like science fiction. Not very original, but this is my first attempt at the Friday Five Challenge, so I'm playing safe.
The cover was simple and I liked the cheesy 3D effect coupled with cheesy footprints in the snow. Makes me equally cheesy, I suppose.
The product description - not bad. I like a disaster as much as the next person. Not too sure about the alien abduction slant... Don't know whether I want to sign up to a mailing list. But - hang on a minute, it's free at the moment.
Reviews look good 4.2 with 44. Seems as though more editing is required (from readers' comments). That's a shame. But, if the story's as good as it sounds, I'll put up with a few typos.
My verdict for this one: BUY (Who knows - Mr. Hamill might turn out to be a favourite.)
PS This took more like fifteen minutes - I'll be quicker next time.
