Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
How do you find books to read?
If it's not based on recs, what does that leave--Keyword searches alone? (The snarky answer is "cover art," but I'm presuming that's not what you use.) Bestselling status? (Crowdsourced recommendations.)
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There are several authors whose works I buy the moment they are released; probably 12-15 books per year. And I browse genres I like at the various book sellers' sites, and gauge my interest based on the synopsis. But I don't read the reviews. I also browse at B&M stores, although I don't remember the last time I bought a pbook (scratch that; I do - it was last year in an airport when I picked up a paperback copy of Dennis Lehane's "Moonlight Mile" after losing my Nook Color while on a trip). I haven't bought more than 5 or 6 pbooks since I bought my first ereader. I guess in theory I am somewhat influenced by the books the B&Ms choose to stick up front, as I see those first when browsing. But my purchases are based on the synopsis or the author, and not any review.
I also
heavily re-read. That is the most compelling feature of the ereader to me; I can carry all my favorite books by all my favorite authors with me at all times, and jump back into one on a whim. I realize I am probably missing endless numbers of absolute gems by doing this, but I don't really care; I read for enjoyment, and I enjoy my favorites. But this probably explains why there are some popular authors that I avoid like the plague, even though they are very prolific in the genres I enjoy; I have sampled their work and think they write like 8th graders. Who would want to re-read that terrible prose over and over?
I guess you could sum up my reading habits by saying that you could hand me an ereader containing the books of my favorite 4 or 5 authors, and tell me I could read nothing else for the next several years, and I would happily read them over and over.