BTT (#37) ~ choosing books

Today's prompt from Booking Through Thursday:

"What makes you choose the books you read?  Genre?  Reviews?  Certain authors?  Covers?  Recommendations?"

By the covers, to some extent.  Look at these two book covers.

. . . The one on the left looks like literature, and the one on the right looks like chick lit.  Look closer, though, and you'll see that both are the same book.  I wouldn't look twice at the one on the right, but I might read the back cover or dust jacket information of the one on the left.

• Genre?  Yes, as above, I don't generally read breezy beach books.
• Reviews?  Sure, if a book blogger I trust recommends a book.
• Certain authors?  I notice a new book, if I liked her previous books.
• Covers?  Yup, see above.
• Recommendations?  Of course, especially from like-minded friends.

This topic makes me realize that I don't read like other book bloggers.  I read too many "kinds" of books.  Mostly, I read books on the subject of my professional life — books on theology, which makes me wonder why I have 73 followers.  Those books are obviously chosen by subject matter, as I go from one scholar to another, or from one theologian's book to her next book.  I'm a teacher, a writer, and sometimes a teacher of writing.  And that determines another kind of reading.  I also read fiction for fun.  For this Booking Through Thursday, I simply assumed Deb @ BTT was really asking, "How do you choose the novels you read?"  That's what you, my readers, are probably interested in, anyway.