What influences ebook readers to pick the books they read?

Mark Coker conducted a survey of ebook readers at Mobileread Forums, giving people 12 answers to choose from:

• I browse book covers, and if it grabs me I investigate further
• I browse paper books at brick and mortar bookstores, then search for the ebook online
• Recommendations from fellow readers on online forums, blogs, message boards
• Personal friend/family member recommends it to me
• I look first for my favorite authors
• I read free ebooks, and if I like the author I buy their other titles
• I browse randomly then look at reviews
• I’ll sample anything, and if it grabs me I’ll download/buy it
• Bestseller lists for my favorite genres/topics
• Retailer recommendations (incl “people who bought this bought that”)
• Reviews/recommendations from traditional media (newspapers, television, magazines)
• Other

Most of the 315 respondents (29%) selected: “Recommendations from fellow readers on online message forums, blogs and message boards” and 18% of people selected  “I look first for my favorite authors”. The rest of the responses were evenly split.

In this age of modern technology it seems that people value the opinions of  online commentators more than those of friends and family members.