Judging books by their covers...

...and titles and recommendations. They are pretty much the only things I go on, in that order. I have read some amazing books using this method of identification of reading matter and will continue to do so. Obviously it has its failures, but few books are bad enough for me to stop reading out of protest. I do find it quite interesting when I choose a book, perhaps due to the cover art, start reading and get disheartened, only to perservere and find something really worthwhile further on. This has happened to me very recently with the Facility. It had quite an interesting title, sounds a bit mysterious, blurb is fascinating so I got it out of the library. However on my first reading I was less than impressed. I think this was more to do with the language used very early on (for effect- which it had on me, just not in the way they intended I assume) rather than the style of writing or plot content. Anyway, I've carried on reading anyway (its one of only two books in my desk drawer) and its become quite gripping. I am genuinely intruiged now about what is going on, and why and what will happen next. The characters are written quite well, apart from the 'mysterious' and evil Dr. Silk. That name for one thing! It sounds exactly like something I would have written in my GSCE creative writing unit, rather than a serious character. I'm sure Dr.Silks exist in real life, but the slippery, suavely cruel connotations it summons up are just too cliched for me to accept. But yes, apart from him, they are good and believable and have multiple aspects to them. The angle on the spin from the Government in trying to first cover up an infection, and then to assure the public it is contained, is also very interesting. I find the different ways in which people can understand and perceive a situation vary radically depending on the language and press used to manipulate this. It makes you think about how we, as a society are so often similarly deceived (or presented with a situation in a certain, biased way) without our knowledge, or even suspicion that there could be another side to the story...