How Do You Get Your Book Recommendations?

This question occurred to me while I was jogging this a.m. I tried think of how I decide what I'm going to read next (for fun) from my TBR pile.

Movies like True Grit, The Lincoln Lawyer, and The Postman Always Rings Twice have spurred me to go check out their books. Usually I'm not disappointed.

Library displays catch my eye. Blogs can be helpful. There are so many good ones now.

My wife sometimes steers me to gems I'd otherwise overlook, or what turkeys to avoid. Maybe surprisingly (I write reviews), book reviews don't influence me very much. Ditto for the author dustjacket blurbs. Bestsellers don't impress me probably because I seldom, if ever, read them.

Brand loyalty has its impact. If I like an author in the past, I'll go on to read other titles. Series pose a special problem in that they're hard to keep fresh and crisp. Bill Pronzini's Nameless Detective is one series I've been reading for almost a decade. The same deal goes for Sue Grafton's Alphabet series.

As a history major and buff, I like to gravitate to the books written about or during the past. Nonfiction books don't generally appeal to me. I don't like reading of other people's real pain and angst. It's better when it's made up.

Ed Lynskey
@edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles and Quiet Anchorage