A few questions...

[sleigh]

Since I'll be starting to promote IMMORTAL MUSE very soon for its March release, I wonder...

How and where do you generally find out about new books? What usually intrigues you enough to buy the book?

Comments

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I prefer to find out about new books by going to a book store and browsing through what is on the shelves. That doesn't work so well anymore due to the lack of decent book stores.

At this point I tend to find out about new fiction directly from the authors I like and from recommendations from other people whose taste I trust. I find some new-to-me authors by downloading and reading free e-books and by buying inexpensive used books at the large local used book sale that happens every summer. I don't find these methods completely satisfactory, but I do manage to acquire books faster than I have time to read them, so they'll do for now.

What intrigues me enough to buy a book is hard to describe. If I'm familiar with the author, that's often enough to get me to buy his or her new book as long as it is in the same genre as the ones I've enjoyed, and maybe even if it is a different genre. For authors I'm not familiar with, the most important thing is for the cover/online blurb to make the book sound interesting to me. An interesting title and/or cover might attract my attention to the book in the first place but the blurb is what will cause me to buy it or check it out of the library. I want some kind of description about what the book is about, not just quotes that rave about how good the author is or comparisons to other popular authors.

[martianmooncrab.livejournal.com]

I follow authors I like, they talk about books that they read, about ARCs from publishers, I subscribe to several publishing house emails.. I read reviews of upcoming books, I know some booksellers who get the catalogs .. I belong to a book group and other members make recommendations, and I know a few folks who own indie bookstores who also find interesting things.

Mostly, I hang out with book folk, and we all check with each other if we have found "something good to read" in (fill in the genre) or a book that crosses genre that is a delight to read.

Books are my drug, and I am very involved in book seeking behaviors.

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

I often find out about new books from blogs by authers or reviews by fans, through Goodread's "the authors you follow just published new things" feature, the weekly new book feature on Scalzi's blog Whatever, and sometimes, though rarely, in emails from publishers (the signal to noise ratios on those are so high I often don't read them, and frequently unsubscribe after a few months).

I also find out about books through award nominee and winner lists and nomination discussions.

Right now I'm about ten times more likely to buy a book if it features characters of color and/or non-western cultures, or is by a writer of color. If it's sf or fantasy I'm looking to see that something is new or innovative compared to what I've read before, and I'll often read reviews or peek-inside previews, if available. In bookstores, I will read the first paragraph or so. If it doesn't grab me I put it down.

For authors new to me I'm strongly influenced by amazon.com ratings. I'd say I'm unlikely to buy something with less than a 3.5 there.