h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Last weekend was my local Amnesty International group's annual book sale.
They collect books all year round, and one weekend a year, they sell them. Cheap. One-euro-for-5-paperbacks cheap.

I went on the Saturday. I had two big shopping bags with me.
I only filled one.

I tend to pick books rather randomly, maybe I've heard of the author, or the title catches my eye.
This time, I got a novel by Katie Reichs (from her Bones series), a few by Robin Cook (I wouldn't pay full price for his novels, but they're nice enough),
Several books by famous French authors like Joffo (him again, yes ), Kessel (who was a resistant in WW2), Martin Gray, Antoine de Saint Exupery and others,
And 20-odd books that just looked like they could be interesting.


So, let's make this interesting : how do you people choose the books you buy ?
Reading all books by a given writer ? Favourite genres ? Trusting word of mouth ? Relying on awards (looking at you now, paulh ) ?
Tell me everything !

Answer later, cooking now

Looking forward.
What is it you're cooking ?

I usually follow on from books I've read, especially if there are sequels and I have come to be interested in the characters.

Rarely do I talk to people about books, but if I do, I follow recommendations. A colleague was absolutely captivated by the Hunger Games, but the way she described it to me didn't sell it to me at all. So if you're recommending a book, it is important how you describe it.

The last books I have bought have all been Kindle deals for less than 2 Euros. It's no good going by the readers' comments there, either. I've clicked on a few that, despite rave reviews, turned out to be absolute rubbish. Some I stopped after a few pages. The trouble with cheap Kindle books is that they are full of spelling mistakes, which puts me off right away.

I always buy the latest books by favourite authors first (quite what I - and one daughter in law - are reading this Christmas without a new Terry Pratchett is a hard question).
I then sometimes reread the whole set before starting the new one. Warning: do not read all of Hardy's novels in one weekend. Especially do not accompany this pursuit with any alcohol.
I buy popular science and literary prizewinners, but mostly these days I am trying to cull from rather than add to the shelves.