Last week we all shared what we’re reading at the moment.
Marketers and publicists and literary agents and everyone else interested in sales wants to know: how did you hear about it?
Also: where did you buy/borrow/acquire/steal it from?
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Just finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. A friend told me, "I just finished reading this book and don't know what to think – can you read it and tell me?" (Answer: Love P&P, love the *idea* of adding zombies, love that someone did it, was deeply disappointed that it never rose above being a mere gimmick. Except when Mary tried to strangle Mr Collins – that was good). Just starting the anthology Paper Cities (which I heard about when it won an Aurealis Award) and Greer Gilman's Cloud & Ashes (which I heard about when I got asked to do the cover 🙂
Oh, and: borrowed, bought from local Pulp Fiction bookstore, artist's copy
Victory of Eagles, Naomi Novik. I bought it (mass market paperback) new from a local independent bookstore.
I heard about VoE on the internet, probably Naomi Novik's LJ page, b/c when I finished book 4, I needed to know when book 5 was coming out.
As for the series itself, I first heard about it on the internet I think – saw several different people praise it, plus how can you beat "Napoleonic Era with Dragons"???
I'll go…
I heard about THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL through the movie, and a student recently complained to me that her father wouldn't let her read Philippa Gregory's novels because of the sex, so I guess they were on my mind when I decided to write a historical fiction novel.
I borrowed them from the library– I get a lot of my books there and discover a lot of new authors there as well! (And while I feel slightly guilty for borrowing rather than paying for books, I would say that discovering an author that I love at the library makes me much more likely to buy books by that author later.)
Anne Rice's The Witching Hour sent to me from a friend (when she put it in the Fed Ex box with my new iPhone).
Whilst having a sort of personal 'Shirley Valentine' type experience on Kefalonia I met a really interesting family… we got talking and by the end of their stay we were swapping holiday reads… I was given Cecilia Ahern's If You Could See Me Now and I gave them The Book Thief by Mrkus Zusak.
The Fairlawn Series I'm reading by Angela Hunt I noticed while searching books to read on Amazon.
I do alot of trading books on paperbackswap too.
Kristin Hannah's book, "True Colors" I noticed at Barnes & Noble in the store.
P.S. I also find what I want to read sometimes on people's reading list from goodreads where they give reviews on books they've read.
Just finished Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen – bought it at Joseph Beth Booksellers, Lexington, KY – This was a wonderful read recommended to me by a friend.
Also, I just read Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers that was passed to me from a friend, but I plan to buy my own copy and copies for my mom, sister-n-law, and girlfriends because I loved this book so much.
Short answer, I'm reading backlist of an author that's new to me that came to me by seeing online buzz for his books.
Long answer, I'm reading The Iron Lance by Stephen R. Lawhead (the first book in The Celtic Crusades trilogy). I don't routinely read this kind of historical fiction/fantasy, but I've read the first two books in his new King Raven series (waiting for the third to come out in paperback) after seeing tons of buzz online–book blogging websites and ads on GoodReads.com).
During my wait I'm reading his backlist (because I like him so much) and picked up a paperback copy of Taliesin book one in his Pendragan series.
Last night I finished Marco Polo. I bought it at the local thrift store because I loved the mini-series that was made off it in the early eighties. It was as good as I remembered. =o)
Word of mouth from people whose opinion and description of the book caught my attention. I hardly ever buy based on the author or the previous work. The opinions are usually something like " oh if you liked X you should read Y", folled by their synopsis. Infinite Jest is next for me. So many books so little time. And never ever on a Kindle….never.
I'm presently reading "Pride, Prejudice & Zombies" and I heard about it on a blog someplace.
I can't say I actually like this book, I've been working on it for about a month in dribs and drabs. I just read it because I heard it was a best seller and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. I suspected I wouldn't care for it much, and I was right.
Oh, and I bought PP&Z via Amazon, because I live in rural Maine and there isn't a bookstore in less than 60 miles.
Of the books I'm reading, all but two were found on the bookshelves of a bookstore.
The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis I found at my college bookstore and bought them there.
The Hobbit my mother read to me when I was a child and my copy is the one from home.
Ireland: Harbinger of the Middle Ages I found through my college/grad school's library.
The Birth of Britain I found on the shelves of Barnes and Noble and decided to buy it.
Well, I'm reading a different book now, but the book I was reading at the time of that post I read about on Fantasy Debut, a review blog. The book I'm reading now I just saw in a bookstore and then asked about it on my blog to see if it was something I should read.
Hulu does a fair amount of advertising; heard about "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" from there. Also, word of mouth. Friends are in a book club and definitely recommend books to me monthly. Thanks!
I'm reading Skin Deep by E.M. Crane. I heard about it on verlakay.com, on a thread about the Delacorte contest. I took it out at the library.
I'm highly susceptible to reading books that my friends, family, and church members talk about.
That being said, twitter, blogs, and online communities seem to be fast leaking into my friends category.
If someone I already know who has built a reputation with me talks about a book, even if they say it's a bad book, I absolutely have to read it.
It seems an online presence of books is necessary to sell.
A fan of my podcast (https://podgecast.com) recommended The Atrocity Archives to me. It was okay. Had previously been recommended Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles series which I enjoyed much more.
I'm reading Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce. Sequel to Terrier which I loved. Got it from the library. I think we tried the first Tamora Pierce book after we (my husband and I) saw it on the bookstore shelf. It was the first in the Wild Magic series. After that we were hooked and read everything she's written.
I'm currently reading Little, Big – heard about it from a family friend who gave it to my fiance as a gift last year. Now it's my turn to read it…
Next up is The Strain, which I heard about from Fantasy Book Critic… and mostly because I'm interested to see Del Toro in written form. Got it from a book store.
I bought Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Meno a few years ago because I liked the cover. This is not my usual process but it's a really good cover and I had a gift card so I took a chance.
I became a rabid fan of his writing, eating up all of his published works. My husband ordered The Great Perhaps for me (from amazon.com) when it came out. I've been struggling with it, which makes me sad.
I usually look for blurbs from other authors on books that I enjoy and go from there.
I also check out author and publishing house blogs for recommendations of upcoming books.
Life of Benvenuto Cellini by Himself
First saw it as a kid when my father pulled a paperback edition from his shelf and said it was an interesting book, then suggested I not read it. Ran across it again recently for a piece I'm working on that's set in Florence. I bought a used copy from Amazon UK.
I'm reading Warrior of God: Jan Zizka and the Hussite Revolution by Victor Verney. The publisher contacted me and asked if I would read and review the book to post on my website.
Reading Nancy Drew: Girl Sleuth, and I'd seen it at Barnes & Noble before, but bought it at a library book sale last weekend. I just finished Molokai, by Alan Brennert, and picked it up after reading his Honolulu, which I came across entirely by chance at the public library.
The book I'm currently reading was recommended by a blog. Unfortunately, I hate the book.
For the book I was reading last week, Kavalier and Clay – I heard about it on someone's blog.
For the book I'm reading this week, Diary of a Radical Mermaid, I found it on google while doing research.
I found it on my bookshelves. That's not unusual, my wife and I have somewhere between four and five thousand books, there are plenty of her old ones I've never seen.
This one, however, she claims not to have read or bought.
Maybe Pratchett is right and we're beginning to have an L-Space connection?
Mostly I re-read old books bought at the Children's Hospital used book sale.
The occassional new books I buy are usually from Wal-Mart, the result of scanning the shelf for whatever happens to look good (can't beat that discounted price on new).
I also have a list of 'to read' books to buy which came from blog and facebook friends. All of which are available only online.
I browse the "New Arrivals" at the local library. This week's pick from that display was Broken Angel, by Sigmund Brouwer; it was so good that I plan to order more of his books from Amazon. I also get tips from my sister, who's a librarian, on authors she knows I'll like.
'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell.
Recommended on a writing forum.
Bought in a charity shop for £3.
'Words from a Glass Bubble' by Vanessa Gebbie.
Knew the writer from a writing forum.
Was given at discount price from the writer.
Right now I'm reading America's Boy by Wade Rouse, A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, and I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci.
I hear about books from the New York Times book email on Fridays, my friends on Good Reads, personal recommendations and Jen Lancaster's blog. I get 90% of the books from the public library (simply place an online hold and pick them up once a week) and the other 10% through Kindle. I buy about 10 books per year, down from 100+. I don't have the storage space! I miss hardbacks, but I love the Kindle and our public library is sooo good, it's hard to buy before reading anymore.
Reading the fourth Percy Jackson series right now, but I can't remember how I learned about the original series. I think I read about it somewhere.
Before this one, I read Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, mainly because it's the Newbery Medal winner.
Before that, I read The Great Ghost Rescue by Eva Ibbotson, and I found it in a bookstore when I was reading jacket flaps for query letter writing research.
Before that, I read the first in the Sisters Grimm: Fairy Tale Detectives series, which I picked up from a bookstore shelf because the name was so almost and gave me such a great idea of what the book was going to be.
Not exactly what I'm reading NOW, but as the sources of my last few books have been varied, I thought I'd write them all. I've also discovered books at writers conferences and through agents blogs. I bought and read Evermore and The Unnameables because of the KT Literary blog.
The most 'significant' thing I read that I would never have dreamed of reading was 'Twilight'!
In the UK the press about the books was almost non-existant until last summer. On 7th August I'd never heard of Stephenie Meyer – one article, linking her work to Muse, in a Newspaper supplement magazine, and one month later I'd read the lot. Bought from WH SMITHS with a buy 2 get one free deal.
We have adverts for books sponsoring popular TV drama at the moment – that is working too.
Lots on my 'to read' shelf right now were mentioned here first.
I'm reading Ten Years After by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. It's the third book in a series I love so I grabbed it when I noticed it was available on Amazon. Most of my books I order after seeing reviews online (I especially like the review blog Fantasy Debut–fantasydebut.blogspot.com; the reviewers there seem to share a lot of my tastes).
Right now I'm reading two books. Both of them I discovered while perusing online book stores by genre.
I bought one from the Books A Million online store (And I won't be buying from their online store again because their order process is convoluted and they're overpriced… but a giftcard is a giftcard.) and the other I bought from mybookstoreandmore.com.
The thing about mybookstoreandmore.com I like the best is that they put up excerpts of all their books. For this book I thought the premise was interesting from the blurb, but as soon as I read the excerpt I was hooked and had to have the book right away!
Recently finished The Book Thief, recommended to me by my friend who teaches middle school and is always looking for great books for her students to read. It was one of the best books I've ever read. Also just finished The Hunger Games, recommended to me by a fellow writer. Loved it! And I'm reading Coop, which I found out about by following the author, Michael Perry's blog, sneezingcow.com. He's an amazing writer.
I'm reading two books borrowed from the local library: one is Hold On to Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate. Pretty sure I heard about it from some web discussion of parenting, not sure whether on a board, a list, or a blog. The other is Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism by Roy Richard Grinker. Heard of it online, probably originally from a blog, but maybe just from Google searching; I think it was mentioned in the Washington Post?
I was sitting on a bench in an Albertson's in Santa Fe NM,nursing my wounded ankle and reading my Kindle. An older couple approached me and we began a "Kindle bonding process," trading our favorite Kindle books. They told me about Diana Galbadon's fabulous series, Outlander, starting the gorgeous Scottish hunk and that woman, what's her name. I'm now on book 5 and preparing for withdrawal when I finish 6.(Though book 7 is due in October!) Never could figure out why you don't like series, Mr. B. If you hook a reader, they'll buy the entire series.
I also told the older couple about my favorite Kindle books, Numenon and Stepping Off the Edge, which I happened to write. 10 national awards between them.
"Don't Speak" x Mary Gaitskill, I read a review of in the NYTimes Book Review, then heard her speak at the LA Times Festival of Books and decided I absolutely needed to read that book. So, I bought it, read & gifted it to friend in Boston.
Likewise, Edmund White's Hotel de Luc, I read about in the New Yorker, the G&L World Wide Review and BookForum.
I met Mary-Beth Hughes and knew from hearing her read a story published in the Paris Review that I needed to read her novel, "Wavemaker II."
Likewise, Ms. Hughes suggested I read Jennifer Egan's "Look at Me" (and when I bought that, I also found Matthue Roth's "Candy in Action.")
My agent told me about Vestyl McIntyre's new novel, 'Lake Overturn,' which I plan to buy as soon as I finish Peter Carrey's 'His Illegal Self.'
Since there are about 37 books in-line, I'll stop there.
And -and! – I am also very looking forward to Michelle Huenvan's "Blame" – I read an excerpt in the Book Forum summer fiction issue.
I get a ton of my book recommendations from friends and others on GoodReads.
The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison, borrowed copy
When March Went Mad – Seth Davis – this is a college basketball book, I heard the author on ESPN and bought the book at Borders.
Reading The Slide by Kyle Beechy, new author. Heard about it from an interview with him in Chicago's free newspaper the Redeye. Got it from the library because I'm cheap
I'm reading "Ghost Walk" by Brian Keene, which I spotted on a list of the best horror novels of this decade. I'm also reading "When You Are Engulfed In Flames" by David Sedaris, after hearing a couple of podcasts with him reading passages from the book. Funny, funny stuff.
I just finished rereading a couple Dragonriders of Pern novels. My mom first introduced me to them, and now they are one of my favorite series.
I'm reading two non-fiction and one fiction books that co-workers recommended and then let me borrow.
I was reading Tom Zoellner's 'Uranium,' which I heard about on The Daily Show and borrowed from the Chicago Public Library & Updike's 'Rabbit, Run,' which I bought at Borders.
I'm reading a book from Vampire Kisses. Heard of it from 2 dif. friends.