There are a LOT of fantastic books out there. Wonderful plots with rich characters who interact in ways that we'd never dream of ourselves. Fantastic authors with storytelling abilities that make us all wish we could write a book of our own.
... and most of them have never seen the bright light emanating from a five star review.
My taste in books has taken quite the turn since I started trying to get people to read my own work. You never know how hard it is to pull a reader away from the "Best Seller" aisle until you've got a stack of books collecting dust on the shelf. Not to say that those best sellers haven't earned their place for one reason or another (and of course I don't complain when something I've written hits a 'best of' chart), but they aren't the only books out there worth reading.
When I talk to readers about where they find their books, it's very common to hear that they make a beeline to the recommendations that they've gotten through big media. Picking a book because you liked the movie rendition is pretty common, for example.
Personally, I don't get out to see movies much any more and I haven't had a cable or magazine subscription in a couple of years. But I still don't have a shortage of things to read. Here's a short list of some of the places that I have found some of my new favorite books.
... and most of them have never seen the bright light emanating from a five star review.
My taste in books has taken quite the turn since I started trying to get people to read my own work. You never know how hard it is to pull a reader away from the "Best Seller" aisle until you've got a stack of books collecting dust on the shelf. Not to say that those best sellers haven't earned their place for one reason or another (and of course I don't complain when something I've written hits a 'best of' chart), but they aren't the only books out there worth reading.
When I talk to readers about where they find their books, it's very common to hear that they make a beeline to the recommendations that they've gotten through big media. Picking a book because you liked the movie rendition is pretty common, for example.
Personally, I don't get out to see movies much any more and I haven't had a cable or magazine subscription in a couple of years. But I still don't have a shortage of things to read. Here's a short list of some of the places that I have found some of my new favorite books.
- Facebook - I subscribe to a couple of different groups where books by new authors are the main topic of discussion. Aspiring Authors and Book Reviews by Lynn are two of the many pages I follow that always have great suggestions.
- Other Bloggers - I love bloggers that are also authors. Graeme Brown's New Voices: Emerging Author Reviews and Interviews is a great resource for learning about writing, and checking out new novels.
- The Kindle Store - Just search for "Free" in the kindle store. There are all kinds of interesting things that will pop up, many of them are promotional free copies of new titles by unknown authors.
The next time you're looking for something to read, make sure to at least glance at some of those books by authors you've never heard of. You might stumble onto something amazing - and if you take the time to give a review, I know you'll make the author's day.
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