#FridayFiveChallenge Would You BUY or PASS? SPRING by Skye Gyngell #CookBook

This fun feature is a mini workshop. We look at book covers just from their thumbnail pictures at online selling book sites and make quick fire buying decisions. We look from a READERS Point of View and this exercise is very EYE OPENING.

From the book cover we will browse the book description, price and some of the reviews BUT we only have 5 MINUTES.

WE PLAY POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS

Join in and see where it leads.

Grab a coffee and spend 5 Minutes on this exercise.

In today’s online shopping age, readers often base their buying decisions from small postage stamp size book covers (Thumb-nails), a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they really spend making that buying decision?

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

My Friday Five Challenge is this….. IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description for this book,

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

(then write a little analysis about your decision)

Share your post, use #FridayFiveChallenge @rosieamber1 and I’ll help share all relevant posts.

As we moved into February this week my search term was “Spring” I’m not a winter lover so I always look early for signs of Spring and the promise of Summer. This book caught my eye straight away for it’s book cover.

Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Book Description

Published to celebrate Skye Gyngell’s groundbreaking new restaurant in the heart of London, Spring presents a collection of mouthwatering original recipes from the new restaurant’s menu – beautiful breads and pasta dishes, exquisite seafood and meat dishes, colourful salads and vegetables, enticing ice cream and desserts, original preserves and refreshing non-alcoholic drinks. Crab salad with chilli, pumpkin, curry leaves and lime, Pappardalle with oxtail ragu, Guinea fowl with faro and parsley, Kimchi and Warm chocolate and espresso puddings are just a few of the delectable recipes on offer.

But Spring is much more than a collection of new recipes from this talented chef. It also provides a fascinating insight into the creation of the restaurant itself, from Skye’s first visit to the space at Somerset House, through the design and development of the site to the opening of the restaurant. She describes how the menu evolved, from the early days testing recipes in her kitchen at home to the opening in October 2014. She also reveals details about the other aspects that give the restaurant its unique character: the decor, art, staff uniforms, table settings etc.

Beautifully illustrated throughout with Andy Sewell’s evocative photographs, which capture the essence of Skye’s inspirational food as well as the dazzling atmosphere of the restaurant, Spring is set to become a classic.

Price; £19.24 Hardcover only $89.65 Hardback (used copies from $16.46

Number of reviews; 3 on Amazon.co.uk

This from one reviewer;

“I recently had a fantastic meal in Spring and was eager to buy the book. It is, like the restaurant, beautiful, and worth buying for the photography and background to the restaurant development – very interesting. I have also enjoyed Skye’s previous books.

However, I’ve only cooked one recipe,bitter chocolate and espresso cake, and discovered too late that the butter listed in ingredients had been missed from the method. The result ended up on the birdtable, as I frantically made something else before my guests arrived. Pretty poor editing, and doesn’t leave me with confidence for the rest of the recipes. ”

Will I BUY or PASS?…..PASS

Analysis

The book cover spoke “Spring” to me straight away, but it certainly didn’t shout cookbook, I thought more along the lines of dance. The review about the recipe edit, added to my decision as did the very hefty price tag, although it may compare with other recipe books and the photos will add to printing costs. Still I’m not a big cook book fan, I haven’t heard of the chef or the restaurant, so a PASS from me.

Here are links to other bloggers taking part in today’s challenge.

Barb has the results of last weeks US versus UK book cover Poll

Cathy has the 2015 Costa Book Awards winner The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

Shelley has a mystery The Exclusives by Rebecca Thornton

Liz went in search of a genealogical mystery and found Blood Tied by Wendy Percival

Paula’s found a book for picky eaters You Have To F**king Eat by Adam Mansbach

Guest Author Bonnie Clyne

Today my guest author is Bonnie, welcome aboard Bonnie, good luck with that cook book too!

 

1. Tell me your name:  Bonnie Russell Clyne
2. Where do you live:  Leesburg, Florida
3. When did you start writing?  I started writing around the age of 10, which we now call “journaling.” Back then we considered it more like “diary writing.” I had a little blue manual typewriter (this was the mid-1960s), which I used for my writings. My writings contained details of what was happening around me in my family and with my friends/acquaintances, and all my thoughts/feelings about it.
4. What type of books do you like writing the most? So far I’ve completed two writing ventures, my published autobiography (“Buzzards to Butterflies”) and a soon-to-be-published cookbook. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing these two books, and I’m contemplating doing an inspirational fiction novel for my next project.
5. Pass on 3 tips about writing or publishing:  As a beginning author, I’d have to say that one tip is to write about what we know, such as our experiences in life or our expertise in a certain field. My second tip would be to realize that we can take some of our real-life experiences and intertwine them with imaginative fictional situations for our book’s characters. My third tip would be that self-publishing is a great way to start, rather than waiting forever to be accepted by a conventional publishing company. We could wait forever!
6. What was the last book that you read? How would you rate it?  The last book I read was “Separate Fountains” by Patti Wilson Byars. I found it to be an immensely thought-provoking read, telling the story of growing up in Georgia in the years just prior to the Civil Rights era in our nation’s history.
7. Now choose just one of your books and add a link to it:  My autobiography is called “Buzzards to Butterflies” which tells about growing up in Illinois starting in the 1950s, as well as the current events happening in the would around us each year. I experienced a myriad of character-building events in life but emerged victorious in spite of it all!  The link is www.facebook.com/BuzzardsToButterflies

Bonnie Russell Clyne

Leesburg, FL

If you would like to be a “guest author” contact me, there are no catches and It’s easy to answer the same questions as my other guests, plus you get the chance to plug one of your books. I love meeting everyone from across the globe, keep writing!

Rosie