First, I want to say—congratulations to all the talented
writers who participated in the Round Robin “Her Fatal Valentine!” (dum, dum,
dum… that title really needs a sound effect.)
A Round Robin is a kind of improvisation games for writers. Like
most improv—when it works, it’s like magic! And when it doesn’t, it’s still darn
funny. If you haven’t read it, you are in for a treat. Skip on down the blog to
February 4th. I’ll wait…
Back already?
Don’t you love a good book recommendation?
There have been dire whispers about Barnes & Noble in
the news again. In my local shopping center, what used to be the Borders has
just re-opened as a (shudder) Sports Authority.
There are still several independent bookstores near me,
thank goodness. But I’ve been thinking about how I used to find books in the
old days. (Loitering in the Borders for hours.) Versus how I find things today,
partly because I read a quote recently that said, “how we discover books is
broken.”
I’m not sure if it’s broken—but it’s definitely gone old
school.
Word of mouth seems to be the way I find new books. Recommendations
from friends. Book sellers I trust.
Groups with similar tastes can be helpful,
unless they get very big. Goodreads was recently profiled in the NYT—let the
marketing begin! That place is going to get even crazier in the next few
months. Shelfari seems to be under the radar for now but I fear the coming boom. Smaller communities seem to be a more reliable source for me.
I first heard about “50 Shades” on one of my favorite author’s
Facebook pages, back when it was still available online for free. She regularly
asks her facebook fans to post “what are you reading?” A hundred people may respond.
I’ll skim the answers for books I don’t recognize.
Another trick I have is to cast a wide net. I’m sure you’ve
seen the best-of-lists that come of at the end of the year. Or the lists of award
winners for mysteries, fiction, romance, science fiction. But I rarely grab the
winners first. I search for all the nominees/also rans/next outs. Many of my
favorite books are the ones that didn’t win—because they were a little too quirky,
or the author too new to generate enough votes.
Now that I can’t sit in the Borders for hours, I need help.
I need new ways to find books. (And don’t say: “Amazon Recommended for You.” Geez.
Where do they come up with some of those? )
I’ve shared a couple of my favorite tricks. How do you all
find new books to read?
6 comments:
Agree wholeheartedly re the Round Robin. A hugely talented bunch of authors pulled it off brilliantly. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I buy most of my books via word of mouth. My sister (ex-librarian) reads several books a week and I get recommendations from her. As I don't have as much time to read as her, that keeps my Kindle well stocked. As for the Amazon recommends - enough said. :)
I live in a small town with one independent bookstore, one chain bookstore (Coles) and one used bookstore. I troll them all. I also exchange books with my boss. We have a bit of a book exchange at work where anyone can bring in books and leave them in the lunch room. I've come across some new authors that I quite like that way.
I generally find new books from word of mouth. I've got some on my 'to buy' list that have stuck out for some reason when I'm skimming review blogs... mostly for me, though, the problem is finding the money to buy all the interesting-looking books, so I've fallen back on the same method I used as a teenager: using my local libraries. My closest library is 9 miles away and is smaller than my house, but I can always find at least one book that catches my interest - and it's a great way of challenging yourself to read outside your usual comfort-zone because, hey, nothing to pay! If I stop in on my way home from work, it doesn't even cost me in fuel!
The Round Robin was terrific! I was so impressed. I am lucky enough to belong to a book group in which we have several ladies who keep up with reviews and always recommend great books. Another way I kept up last year was with a book-a-day calendar. Here's one for 2013 - http://www.amazon.com/Book-Lovers-2013-Page-A-Day-Calendar/dp/B008M1ABBW
@Shirley. So...does your sister hire out? :)
@Marcelle. I like the exchange idea. Have you heard of the free-book movement? People leave books on the bus and subway for other people to take as they please. Isn't that fun?
@sandra. Another good old-school source! In our town, we can even request books from other libraries via inter-library loan. So my small library is bigger than it looks!
@ Wynter. Great tip! Book a day is something I haven't tried.
Thanks guys...that was fun!
I'm afraid I'm not much help here. I go by word of mouth. Hangs head in shame now but, it's difficult for me to try new authors. So if someone I know says this is a good but I take their word for it and try it. I read the blurb and also take advantage of the first pages free read. If it doesn't snagged me in the first pages I don't bother.
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