Taxiday

As a couple of posters have said, the cover catches my eye first. However, I have to admit that I only look in the subject sections that interest me at the moment. I then check out the back page and then see if the author's written anything else I've read and like.
The one thing I totally ignore are the "critic's comments" as I know they find the most obscure critics to cite to con the gullible into buying it.

Indigo

The cover art attracts me first, then I'll read the blurb and if I'm still interested I'll read the first couple of pages. I recently picked up a horror book and the first sentence on the back was something like " Anne and Kate - widows of the dead..." I put it straight back down again.

duende

For me and the "unkown" new book:

An interesting title will pull me in for a closer look, but I rely often on the back cover or flap write up or a recommendation/review. Often, if the writing style is described as lyrical, I'll make an effort to seek it out.

F'rinstance, I just devoured Keith Miller's "The Book of Flying" which has a crap title (I keep wondering what the author would have called it in the belief that the publisher forced the existing title on him), but is a beautifully written tale of love and a quest. A truly magical book, making for a reading pleasure. I read of the book about 8 months ago, came across a copy, recently and read it twice in the space of a week.

A highly recommended fantasy without the bulk of the genre's cliches.

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