What Makes You Buy A Book?

How much does a cover influence whether or not you buy a book? If you've heard it's a good book, but you don't care for the cover, will you still buy it? Unfortunately, many times my answer is no. I have to like the cover at least some or I'll put the book down and choose another.

If I like the cover, I'll proceed to the back and read the blurbs. If I like what I see, I'll open and read the first page. Sometimes I feel an immediate click and know I want that book. Other times, I waver and flick to a few other pages, not reading them entirely, just kind of checking.

If I see books that seem interesting in bookstore windows, they're usually hardcovers. Since I can't afford them, except in special instances, I order them from the library.

Of course, if a book happens to be written by a friend, that's a different story. In that case, I'll buy the book, get it autographed and save it as I do all my autographed books.

I can't say that I buy books from reviews, but I have from word-of-mouth, or if it's by an author I like.

What about you? What makes you buy a book?