Sofa Hooks

*Disclaimer: This post is a random musing of my afternoon. If you're looking for something with more depth, try this.*

I went into Borders tonight to browse for a new read. It's been a while since I walked around a bookstore without a purchase in mind. I found a ton of books that looked interesting, but I promised myself I would only bring one home. I started in the Travel section, where I looked for books on Nida, Lithuania. The Eastern Europe section isn't very big at Borders, and finding a spine that read Lithuania was almost impossible. Finally I found a LonelyPlanet titled Lithuania, Latvia, and Riga. The section on Nida has some good details on bus schedules and places of interest, so I shoved it under my arm and kept meandering.

Next was fiction. I guess you could divide fiction into several categories. In fiction you'll find Mystery, Mystery/Thriller, plain Fiction, Romance, Western, Horror, Horror/Mystery, and last but not least Science Fiction. Now, I'll admit, I'm the type of person that judges a book by it's cover. It's the first thing I see on the shelf! I also lookout for multiple copies. I figure, if a store has more than 6 copies of a book, they must anticipate it to sell and it be in demand. (And in turn usually, I conform to the majority and pick one up.) Tonight was different, I guess. I saw this dingy green paperback, and it was the only one of it's kind. The plot sounded good on the back flap, so I added it to Lithuania, Latvia, and Riga.

After walking aimlessly for another hour and browsing the entire store, I had picked up four books. It was decision-making time. Did I want Lithuania, dingy green, language, or history? I sat down in Border's comfy black leather armchair and read the first paragraph in each book.

-Now that I'm home, I realize how unfair this was for the non-fiction books. They don't have to provide a hook!-

I like getting a feel for author's writing styles before choosing. After reading the four paragraphs, I made-up my mind and chose Germ, by Robert Liparulo. I won't type-out the first paragraph which gripped me. All I have to say is, I am a big thriller buff. The intro is a bit graphic too, so I'll leave it for you to read.