How do you find new authors to read?

[vili]

I often look at lists of literary prize winners and nominees: Booker, Orange, Pulitzer, Nobel and many others are good starting points to discover something worth exploring. There seems to be a prize for just about any genre and style out there.

Reading lists for university courses are also good sources.

[thinkpad]

I try to find what others have recommended here at MR. Other than that I use Amazon and Google.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

I try to make at least some sort of written comment at Goodreads, not just clicking stars. As a co-moderator of one of the more active forums there (Audiobooks), I can say everyone is so respectful that my biggest "duty" has consisted of locking the old quarterly "What Are You Listening To?" thread when the next one starts!

I'm one of those star clicking people, but you did just give me an idea. Instead of writing a review, I'm going to put down books I think others might like if they liked that particular book.

[SeaBookGuy]

That's just as helpful ("Reminded me a lot of such-and-such, which I really enjoyed").

[GraceKrispy]

I have always scoured the Self-Promotions forum here, and found some great reads that way, especially if others have commented about the book as well.

[Russell Brooks]

I usually test an author with a recommendation from another reader that reads the same genre. That's how I discovered JA Konrath because I was in the Barry Eisler forums when he used to have one on his website.

I hear of others through the grapevine or if they contact me directly, as Joseph Finder did. I tried out one of his novels and have been hooked ever since.

[JoelArnold]

I don't have any one way. I browse bookstores, the library, listen to friend and family recs, browse forums (like this one, Kindle Boards and Goodreads) - any and every which way possible!

[queentess]

Originally Posted by kcmay

I check out the books featured for the book clubs I belong to on Goodreads.com. I'm reading The Blade Itself now, as one of the November ebook SF/F club reads.

This is actually the primary reason I signed up for goodreads. Around the summer of 2008 I was completely out of books to read and had no idea on what to start next. Signed up for goodreads and the scifi-fantasy bookclub there, and now my TBR list is 300+ strong.

[Russell Brooks]

Originally Posted by queentess

This is actually the primary reason I signed up for goodreads. Around the summer of 2008 I was completely out of books to read and had no idea on what to start next. Signed up for goodreads and the scifi-fantasy bookclub there, and now my TBR list is 300+ strong.

I've checked out Library Thing and Shelfari too. They have some good reviews of books that I trust too.

[Just4kix]

I worked in a charity bookshop for 12 years and was part of the team that cleaned and priced the books. This meant that every book in the shop had to pass through my hands, so my reading increased hugely (a perk of the job was being able to take books home to read before deciding to buy them). There were loads of books that I found interesting enough to read, but would not perhaps have forked out money to buy. Unfortunately ebooks do not allow for this particular perk.

[Manley Peterson]

I've been finding tons of new authors and great books just by visiting various Kindle and nook forums. I think self-publishing has really revolutionized how authors find readers and readers find books.

[lilac_jive]

I forgot to mention I've heard of a lot of great books on NPR. Usually I listen to their author interviews and have a hard time resisting the urge to run out and buy the book!

[ebusinesstutor]

I just checked out Goodreads based on suggestions here and it looks like a great system.

Usually I check out new authors by grabbing them off the shelf in the library, but with libraries cutting back on new purchases, I am likely missing some good readers.

I also download free ebooks as a way to test out an author. I am hoping this will help me find some new independent authors worth supporting.

[caleb72]

There's a couple of ways for me:

I browse bookstores in my area. Readings, Readers Feast, Borders and Minotaur are all good for me if I'm looking for something new as Angus & Robertson and Dymocks are usually not that great. I note down books/authors that look interesting after looking at covers and reading blurbs and then I'll look the author/title up on Amazon and read a few reviews.

Recommendations from family/friends are also a big one for me. My sister and mother are big readers and there is plenty of overlap in terms of tastes.

Only recently I joined this forum and it's the first time it's occurred to me that I could join a community of readers on the net and share information. OK, so I'm a bit slow there. But I've been reading recommendations and fitting them into the discovery process, and unlike reading a couple of reviews at Amazon I'm more likely to engage other users in discussion.

Sometimes people gift books to me from authors I've never read. This is my least favourite way of finding new authors because and I always wish the person giving me the gift would have just given me a book voucher instead unless that person knows me very well (mother/sister for example), but it's theoretically possible that I'll stumble upon something great.

Regards
Caleb

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by queentess

This is actually the primary reason I signed up for goodreads. Around the summer of 2008 I was completely out of books to read and had no idea on what to start next. Signed up for goodreads and the scifi-fantasy bookclub there, and now my TBR list is 300+ strong.

Goodreads is great, my TBR list is bursting at the seams because of it.