How do you decide on what book to purchase?

Stan: How do you decide on what book to purchase?
I generally start off with a genre im interested in (we are talking fiction books here) and then visit Amazon to delve deeper with the related books and what not. I may find a book that sounds interesting but if the rating ain’t of a high quality (i generally look for books that have above 3 stars) i tend to look for others.

Do you purchase books that sound interesting no matter the rating? Or are the ratings essential?

Answers and Views:

Answer by F***y M*F**t
Amazon reviews

Answer by NekoBus
Ratings don’t matter to me, but if it’s low on Amazon I’ll think twice. I usually grab things that have been recommended by friends.

Answer by Bec
Ratings don’t matter to me because they depend so much on the reader and everyone is biased. I actually don’t use amazon to find the books I read. I use recommendations from websites like shelfari or visualbookshelf on facebook that are based on my book collection. I find that they are generally on target because they line up with the kind of books I like.

Answer by Kelley
I usually borrow from a library. I buy from a used bookshop with abandon. When I do purchase full-priced, new books, I already have faith in the quality (or I’m curious enough to disregard any ratings or reviews.) When I’m looking for something new to read, reviews mean nothing to me.

I can find something worthwhile in almost everything I read. There is no one who shares my likes and dislikes to an extent that I can trust their judgement completely.

Answer by Shannon Petruchio
I browse a lot, most people won’t come into a book store with me, it’s usually a couple of hours at least, and I’ll walk out with at least three at a new book store and probably closer to six at a used book store.
If I am unfamiliar with the book and author than I will consider the rating, but if I’ve either heard that the book was good by someone I know or I really like the author then I won’t pay any attention to it, or even if I’m just REALLY interested by the cover and description on the back I’d probably still get it even if it had a one star rating.
As far as starting with a genre that I’m interested in, I never do, my tastes are so varied. I know that I don’t like romance or chick lit and I’ve out grown young adult (mind you, I still come across a great YA book every once in awhile) so I don’t spend much time in those sections, I’ll still browse through to see if anything grabs me but I won’t search too much. If I’m not looking for anything specific I’ll just browse until I’ve got a few.