SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I'm most curious to know how members normally (prefer to) discover new authors and books. I normally peruse the Amazon or Sony fantasy section and read the accompanying synopsis of various books to see if any pique my interest...this is how I discovered Marie Brennan...who I particularly like. From a writer's perspective it's always interesting to know how fans and readers are attracted to new works. As an example...do readers find themselves attracted to the sidebar titles that are often found her on goodreads?

Lately, my "new book" finds come from reading blog posts/reviews of books. I ignore the GoodReads sidebars, my mind parses them out as ads.

That is very informative Samantha and I thank you for the feedback...in the new and often confusing environment of social media, I'm probably not the only author who is bewildered by the prospect of attempting to effectivly reach new readers...

When looking for new authors, I usually check out the new and upcoming books listed by the SF-F blogs, just to read the brief descriptions presented there without opinion. Then, if I see any titles that interest me, I'll read through the reviews on Goodreads and see what folks are saying.

i look out for ebook giveaways from new authors, if i like their work i purchase anything else they have written

A few different ways (I tried to put them in order):

* The Amazon "If you liked this you might also like this" feature, which has netted me a few good ones
* Recommendations of friends
* Browsing the giveaways for something of interest
* Seeing them mentioned in "What are you Reading" threads
* The 'New Releases' email goodreads sends out now

ETA: While I do glance at the sidebar from time-to-time, I can't think of ever having picked up a book from there.

I discover new authors various ways;
- browsing book shelves in my bookstores
- reading synopsis of other books/ authors inside books I'm reading
- sometimes recommendations I've found here by other members of goodreads book clubs.

Excellent...all of the feedback is greatly appreciated...irrespective of whatever marketing budget an author has...if they have one at all...it is difficult to appraise the value of any type of marketing. Reaching readers is one thing...yes, everyone may be cognizant of a side-bar add...but does it actually inspire them to click the link and see what is to be had there? Many people claim to be marketing experts (and believe me, I am not one of those), but it would seem that direct feedback from readers like the respondents here would seem like a good way to discover how fans hear about (and prefer to hear about) new artistic offerings. Again, thanks to everyone who has chimed in thus far!!!

These are in no particular order other than the order in which I thought of them:

* book review blogs and sites (including personal blogs, large sites with multiple reviewers, publishers' sites, commercial blogs - such as Amazon's Omnivoracious Blog - etc.)
* blogs of authors I follow who often post about other authors they are reading (for example, Jeff VanderMeer often blogs about other authors he's excited about)
* recommendations from Goodreads friends and by people in Goodreads groups

RE: Goodreads sidebar books - I don't think I've ever seen one, except in the monthly newsletter. I think my ad-blocker considers them ads and removes them, and I'm fine with that. I don't like being marketed to unless I've specifically gone looking for a product.

* I forgot one: My library's bi-monthly New Releases newsletters. (They send out separate emails for each genre for which you sign up.)

George, thanks for starting this thread - this is something I'm also struggling to get a handle on.

And thanks to the rest of you for your informative comments.

I should also say, I listen to a lot of short fiction podcasts. If they run a story that I end up liking, I will often check out the author's other work too.

In order of how much I trust the method to get me books I'll really enjoy:

1. Recommendations from friends whose taste I know -- I include in this some of the book bloggers that I follow. This is how I discovered Sean Stewart.
2. Recommendations from my favorite authors -- this is how I discovered Georgette Heyer.
3. Formal reviews on book websites -- this is how I discovered Hope Mirrlees.
4. Liking a short story in a multi-author anthology -- this is how I discovered Kage Baker.
5. Browsing the genre aisles at my local bookstore -- this is how I discovered Jacqueline Carey.
6. Hearing that the author has won one of the major awards I follow (the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy Award, Mythopoeic Award, or Tiptree Award) -- this is how I discovered Catherynne M. Valente.
7. Giveaways here on GoodReads, on Library Thing, and through the Amazon Vine Program -- this is how I discovered Terry Pratchett.

I have never been tempted to pick up a book based on an ad for it. . .

Most forms of advertising don't work on me, which includes references to favorite books in threads like this one. In fact my reaction is usually negative, the more I see a book mentioned the less I want to read it! For me to decide whether I even want to think about reading a book I have to hold it in my hand, or be looking at it somewhere. Bookstore or library shelves, for example.

Just lately, Amazon "you might also like" recommendations, and listopia lists.

Shifting to Kindle has made me more willing to take a shot at a book I'm 50/50 on, since I just download the sample and read before buying.

Very occasionally book blogs.

GR has changed this a lot, but in general I look for new authors on various award winner and nominee lists: Locus, Hugo, Nebula, Pulitzer, Booker, Lambda Literary...

People on GR keep commenting on books I must read, I'm gonna have to live to 200 at least, if all publishing stopped today.

I'll occasionally check out the sidebar ads here if the book looks interesting. I'll also check out new or new to me authors I see mentioned on goodreads, librarything or amazon. And nothing beats browsing in book stores. If I find the same book in 2 or 3 places, my interest level goes up. If my interest has been peaked, a good review from a place like Kirkus will seal the deal. Conversely, overly effusive reader reviews make me suspicious and less likely to pick it up.

I sometimes browse the racks at our library's used book store. I can find an author there and then hunt down their other books.

I mostly rely on my friends' recommendations, in real life and on here. Or occasionally something will catch my eye on Amazon's "readers also bought..." section and if the description sounds interesting I'll go and hunt out some reviews.

Without goodread, I would never have known about Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy.

Kevin wrote: "Without goodread, I would never have known about Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy."

That is *always* being recommended to me on Amazon. I've downloaded the sample but haven't started it yet...

Marc wrote: "Most forms of advertising don't work on me, which includes references to favorite books in threads like this one. In fact my reaction is usually negative, the more I see a book mentioned the less I..."

Reading this made me think I should specifiy that when I say "Seeing them mentioned in "What are you Reading" or other Rec threads" I mean books that I'm seeing for the first time, usually, which have interesting names or descriptions.

I, also, tend to have a negative reaction when the same things are mentioned over and over and over again.

Mainly online reviews - Strange Horizons reviews archive is my favourite, occasionally sfsite.com though their reviews often seem overly positive, less balanced. If I see a GR member who's tastes seem similar to my own'll look at what they're reading.

I use a few resources. Amazon, particularly their "Recommended for you" feature. I discovered a few new authors that way.

This site, and book clubs within (like this one!)

io9.com, which is a sci-fi blog, they do occasional book reviews and sometimes will list upcoming works. I got some good ones from that blog, particularly God's War and Equations of Life.

Friends and co-workers.

Lastly, going into the local bookstore.

Same for me, John. Except the friends and co-workers part, since none of them aren't readers*.

Reminds me, I need to get to God's War at some point soon too.







*and they don't exist(so alone)

Ala wrote: "Reminds me, I need to get to God's War at some point soon too."

God's War is fantastic, at least I thought it was. It was one of those books that consumed me during a weekend when I should have been practicing or cleaning my house.

They were giving it away free one weekend over at io9, that's how I learned about it.

And it's just sitting there, waiting to be read.

I need more reading time.

That's how I got my copy as well. If I had some extra cash I'd by the dead tree version just so I can giver her some money. I look forward to the next one from that author.

In the past, I would while away at Amazon.com until I found something that sounded good or I might just randomly grab something at a bookstore or library.

Now, it get most of my recommendations from one of two sources:

1. GoodReads - Belonging to book clubs here has provided me with more recommendations than I'll be able to actually read. My favorites (other than this one of course) are Beyond Reality and The Sword and Laser.
2. Podcasts - The Sword and Laser and Geek's Guide to the Galaxy offer a lot of great suggestions for science fiction and fantasy.

I usually find new authors from blogs and forums. I have to say though it usually takes me a while to get round to the books that are recommended everywhere. With the internet I've also found that if I come across a blog post or a comment on a discussion board from an author that connects in some way (even if it's a common fondness for Marmite!) I will usually look for their books.

In no particular order:

1. browsing bookstores
2. GR recommendations--especially if the person recommended something I liked before. so, I feel I'll get lucky again.
3. Winner of awards--Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, etc etc.
4. I've have such a large TBR pile, if they stopeed suggesting tomorrow, I'm still good for about three years!

One other test I use that I have not seen mentioned here: longevity and/or productivity coupled with good recommendations.

Let us say as a complete nebie to SF I were to pick up the name of C. J. Cherryh. A moments research would cofrim longevity--the starting writing in the 1970's and is still going strong today.

She has also produced over 40 novels and been nominated for /or won the Nebular Award, the Hugo Award, the Prometheus Award and so on.

Yes, of course sometime just quantity can lead you wrong--long of books just churned out. But quantity and repeated award wins and nominations usally equals very good writing.

For example, her Hugo Award Winner,Downbelow Stationhas been in print for over 25 years. You may not like it--but chances are you will not find you've wasted your time.

My main way of finding new authors remains perusing the shelves of bookstores, but one benefit of having been in the business for awhile is that on occasion I'm sent novels by editors. I've picked up a few favorites that way, such as Chris Evans' Iron Elves series.

I'm a fan of the public library system. Just pick a book, and if you don't like it, return it! I will also occasionally check out my favorite authors' blogs and see what they like to read. And now that I have a Kindle, I get some help from the Amazon recommendations; however, Amazon can be somewhat erratic in its choices.

My main source is browsing bookstores. Everytime I go to buy some books, I always make sure at least one is by an author I haven't read.

Secondary source is online recommendation through this site and several other message boards I frequent.

Final line of defense is the Amazon recommends feature, but thats really hit or miss for me, mostly miss

I have enough people thrusting books at me, both in real life and on-line, that I never have to worry about finding stuff to read. Plus, I'm a sucker for a pretty cover....

Honestly, Goodreads is the best. Browsing bookstores can be confusing, and it's usually risky picking up a book without reading/hearing any reviews about it first.
I used to love exploring in the library, but unfortunately the selection rarely gets updated in ours.

Ala wrote: "Same for me, John. Except the friends and co-workers part, since none of them aren't readers*.

*hug* me too, Ala. Which is why I'm getting my dork read on with GR people :)





*and they don't exist(so alone)"

Mary JL wrote: "One other test I use that I have not seen mentioned here: longevity and/or productivity coupled with good recommendations.

Let us say as a complete nebie to SF I were to pick up the name of C. J..."

As someone who's won a number of awards over the years, this may sound strange, but awards aren't the best criteria. The award process can take so long and require previously unpublished work that many bread-and-butter authors, those to whom writing is the way they earn their livings, may ignore the award in favor of the paycheck.
I think longevity in the business of writing is the ultimate way to tell if a writer has talent. Until recently with self publishing, a failed first book virtually eliminated a writer from future consideration by most publishers. Writers with a publishing track record over the course of years have staying power and ability. There are two obvious exceptions. Those with a serious masochistic streak and those with massive egos and rose colored glasses.
If a writer isn't successful on some level, why would they otherwise continue working alone, for long hours, month after month, year after year. That's my personal take on writing after 45 years earning a living by pounding a keyboard. Best to all.

Larry wrote: "I think longevity in the business of writing is the ultimate way to tell if a writer has talent. Until recently with self publishing, a failed first book virtually eliminated a writer from future consideration by most publishers."

Not a great criterion. Lots of great first books fail. The ones who succeed are most likely those who write for (slightly above) the median.

GoodReads groups has been my biggest source of recommendations since I joined late last year. Book reviews are so-so on helpfulness, especially if a book is has just come out; I saw one recently with only two reviews, both 5-stars--and one was from the author. The library stopped being useful for new ideas a while ago because their in-house selection is so limited, but I use their inter-library system to find ones I don't want to buy. I don't see many GR ads, and while I sometimes check out ads sent with my monthly newsletter, they haven't yet been sci-fi/fantasy and are less likely to appeal. Recommendations from other authors on blogs or whatever are also occasionally interesting. I do make a point every now and then of going through a few awards lists and trying what sounds appealing (Nebula, Locus). I'll try it with Pulitzer every now and then, but some of those were huge misses for me. I'm passing on e-books for now. Never read a self-published because I don't want to spend the money on an unknown quantity--first and second chapters (depending on length) would be helpful there.

Carol wrote: "GoodReads groups has been my biggest source of recommendations since I joined late last year. Book reviews are so-so on helpfulness, especially if a book is has just come out; I saw one recently wi..."

Just a point, Carol, you reject eBooks but sample chapters are exclusively electronic (online or download) in one form or another.

Smashwords is a good source as the default setting for previews is the first 50% of the book and I believe most authors leave it at that - as I do.

I'm sure you'll find plenty of interest. Many of the authors there publish in eBook formats only but those who have print versions will have a link as to where they are available.

Have a look, Pat.