MARION HILL

Wisdom of Kammbia 3.16: Do Book Endorsements Actually Convince You To Buy A Book?

by | Feb 9, 2013 | Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing | 1 comment

blurbs

“I loved BAG of BONES. It’s Stephen King for the new millennium, with all the heart and wit showing through the suspense.” (Anne Rivers Siddons on Bag of Bones by Stephen King)

“Greg Bear’s most ambitious novel yet…..an extremely dense and complex work about nothing less than the nature of consciousness.” (Washington Post Book World on the Queen of Angels by Greg Bear)

“Rapturous….astonishing….GILEAD is an inspired work from a writer whose sensibility seems steeped in holy fire.” (Elle on Gilead by Marilynne Robinson)

“If Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man went underground, Toni Morrison’s Milkman flies.” (New York Times Book Review on Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison)

Those endorsements came from novels I have on my bookshelf.  It got me to wondering that I have never bought a book from any kind of endorsement. I’ve bought books from recommendations of friends, other blogs I read, book reviews, and even taken chances on a whim.

Has anyone else ever bought a book from book endorsements?  If you have, how did it convince you?  If not, why?  And should new writers seek endorsements for their novels.

Looking forward to reading your responses.

1 Comment

  1. Marianna Sith

    No, unless it’s a review by a critic I respect.

    Reply

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