Before being a part of online reading groups, it never entered my mind to care which POV a book was written from. I won't skip a book because it's in 1st person, as a matter of fact, most of my faves are that pov, HOWEVER, there seem to be more pitfalls for the author and the storytelling has to be just that much sharper.
What I mean is, in that POV you really have to care about the main character to love the book, many times a book will be ruined for me because it's harder to keep the character from sounding vain and self absorbed and I agree with an earlier comment about the whole "I" thing over and over, also in a book such as romance where there may be 2 characters equally important, you feel the book incomplete because you don't get to hear the thoughts of the 2nd character.
First person books top my favorites list and that makes me give props to an author who can carry it off. Jim Butcher is awesome, The Spellman series is another I adore, and the list goes on.
The classics I remember best are mostly the ones I choice to read myself. In grade school I loved The Iliad and the Odysey, all of the Louisa May Alcott books, The Jungle Book, The Call of the Wild, and so on.
Then in Jr High and on, at our most hormonal, they had us read some of the most depressing stuff! Why is that? It's a wonder we all didn't commit suicide. Where a Red Fern Grows, The Yearling, some Steinbeck, The Red Badge of Courage, Shakespeare and so on.
The worst was in college when I took a Russian Lit class because it was the only thing offered in the summer. Good Lord! were those people depressing!
The only ones I truly regret was the entire Russian Lit class, the others I'm glad I read. It's amaazing how many times a classic has come up in conversation or in a reference in some other book. At times, they've helped me to deal with my own life,like when a beloved pet died or one of my kids was going through a heartbreak.
Ever since Mrs. Wilson's first grade class I have rarely been without a book or two going. I loved reading from the start and was the only kid on my block that was punished by being grounded from reading. Why do I read? Well, I read when I'm happy, sad, bored, lonely, have a 10 minute break or a 30 minute lunch, while I'm waiting for the dryer to go off, to find out what happens next, to visit old friends, to visit new places- times- attitudes. To be with the detective that solves the crime, the mother who saves her child, the lover who finds her soul mate, the wizard fighting for what's right and the bad girl who loves doing what's wrong. I read because it's the weekend, or there's nothing on TV that comes near being as engrossing, or the Dr. is running late or I'm line at the DMV. It would be easier to ask why I don't read.
The old adage "don't judge a book by it's cover" came about for a reason. It's human nature to do so at least to an extent.
Covers with multiple people on the front I'll usually pass over. I don't read much historical romance any more, so those are out. It DOES bother me when the person on the front is way different from the description, but the worse thing is when the author makes a tattoo or other feature a big part of the story or description and they get it totally wrong on the cover.
I like designs with no people or the torso shots with no facial features so I can use my own imagination to flesh out the characters.
Personally though,I think the title has more to do with me reading the blurb than anything, but the cover can catch my attention and make me check out the title to begin with.
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