A slightly more coherent and objective look at last week's stream of consciousness

Or what made me pick the books I did.

The Chinese Handcuff: After a friend loaned me Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, I was so taken by Chris Crutcher's writing and his compassion and honesty, I looked for more.

Shift: and since I now trust Crutcher, I was willing to read a book he recommends.

Gregor the Overlander: recommended by a fellow writer friend.

Ranger's Apprentice: Nathan Bransford says he was going to read it, so I thought I should check it out as well.

Blue Fingers: soft spot for all things martial arts. Although I have to say "Oooh Ninja" alone wasn't enough to keep me engaged.

Archer's Quest: Loved Linda Sue Park's Kite Fighter and A Single Shard. Plus connection to another writer friend.

Jumping the Scratch: Again, liked the author's first book. Willing to read another.

Sisters Grimm: Daughter liked the first in series, so finishing all the books is inevitable. (True for my own reading as well: enjoyed the first few of Five Ancestors so much, I was willing to go on two detours unexpectedly thrown in by the author.)

Series of Unfortunate Events: ditto.

The reason for this exercise? To find out how one book lover chooses books. And for me, it boils down to the matter of:

Trust.

Trust in a friend's recommendation. Trust in other book lovers' tastes. Trust in an author whose other works I've enjoyed.

How does that translates to my goal in getting people to buy my book? (Okay, okay, finish that thing and submit it and get it published first. I hear ya! I'm trying, I really am!)

• Get people to like it enough so they'd recommend to their friends.
• Get someone with clout (like Christ Crutcher) to like it so they'd recommend it.
• Get enough people to like it so subsequent books, whether in a series or other wise, would get a chance based on earlier works
  

Or

• Write a book about ninjas.

So that was an easy problem to solve.