Slightly Off Topic: What Blurbs REALLY Say About a Book

How much stock do you put in the blurbs on a book cover? You know, the ones from other people (typically professional book reviewers, authors, or other celebs) who have read the book, saying things like "fantastic, sweeping narrative," "a great novel of our times," or "I just couldn't put it down!" Do you pay attention to them? I think they're interesting, not so much because of what's said (they often seem cut and pasted from one book to another) and more because of who says it. I think who is chosen to advocate for a book can be pretty telling.

Before I get started, please note that these occasional rants of mine are not based on any special knowledge of publishing, but rather on my own personal opinions and impressions.

Take as an example a book I finished recently, Tatsea by Armin Wiebe. The sole blurb on the book cover is from a school counsellor in Wha Ti (where the book is set, a couple hundred years earlier) . On the author's website there are a few more blurbs. One is from a cellist in a youth orchestra. This makes me think Mr. Wiebe is having a tough time publicizing his book, or is gearing it towards a very specific niche market. This is really too bad, because the book is fantastic! (Check out my review here)

My favorite blurbs are from authors that I like. For example, every book I've read that is recommended by Stephenie Meyer, I have loved. The Hunger Games, The Mortal Instruments series, Austenland, The Girl Who Could Fly... all great books. Tamora Pierce has recommended some great books, though I can't remember any examples right now. So I guess if you like an author's writing style, there's a good chance you'll like their reading choices.

When I read B As In Beauty, I noticed that almost all the blurbs on the cover were from celebs like Daisy Fuentes. I don't quite know what to think of these blurbs. I guess it's no different than someone like me telling you I liked a book, or trading on the celebrity status of an author like Stephenie Meyer, but it feels more contrived to me.

Finally, you have the blurbs written by traditional journalists. You know, the ones from Time Magazine, The Globe and Mail, The New Yorker and the like. This is going to sound terrible, but I usually don't even read these blurbs. They may be a good indicator of whether the book will win lots of awards, but in my experience they are a terrible indicator of whether I will enjoy reading the book. Also I frequently feel like the author of the blurb is just trying to sound smart, and that drives me crazy. Another reason why I love book blogs! (Check out my post about book reviews in general)

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little post today. What do you think? Do you read the blurbs on book covers? Which ones do you give the most credence to?