The New Books (By Genre) You're Reading Now

Oh and I've gotten several samples of books from the above lists, as well. My "to read" list is getting out of control, both here and on Amazon lol

Tiffany wrote: "Ramona wrote: "I really find Goodreads helpful for keeping track of what I read, and for providing suggestions for what to read. But, I find that I am a reader of what others are not typically read..."

Common sense idea, Tiffany. Re: "Maybe if more readers make a point of reviewing them, it will help?" Unfortunately, it's not gonna fly. If people aren't interested in reading it, they won't.

Yaaresse: LOL. Point taken. Re: Belleville.

Re: "This thread is dangerous. I just downloaded samples of three of the suggested books, and all three look like they are headed for my to-read list. As if I didn't have enough on that already.."

Damn right it's dangerous. I already have more on my TBR list than I might be able to read, just like you. LOL.

My point was that if more readers review the books, then it would be more advertising, so more people would know about them. It's a good way of finding out about new authors. I wasn't saying that people would read about things they weren't interested in.

If they don't read it, why would they review it so that it can be better exposed?

The point I'm making is that most people this day and age don't particularly care to be PREACHED at in their kiddie lit or older era YA so they won't read it and if they won't read it, why would they review it?

Tiffany wrote: "My point was that if more readers review the books, then it would be more advertising, so more people would know about them. It's a good way of finding out about new authors. I wasn't saying that p..."

Do you mean writing a real review as opposed to just marking it "read" with no rating or comment or just giving it X stars but not saying why they liked/disliked it? Yeah, that might help, although there's still the problem of how to get people who don't know about the book to see the reviews. That's where GR has to figure out how to spotlight things. The other thing is that there's not really any incentive for people to do if they aren't already into that. Now, if Goodreads wanted to throw out a bone for posting more detailed reviews -- and I don't know exactly what that would be, but something along the lines of points toward Amazon gift cards or even points toward some kind of enhanced site feature, more people might bother.

Speaking for myself only, I use GR mostly to track what I've read. I write stuff in the review box mostly for myself. (A book club I belonged to had a habit of picking books I'd already read, so after a while it was just easier to make notes to refer back to than to reread the same book again.) If there was a way to make it non-public, I prefer it. But I can't, so if someone else finds my notes helpful, that's great, but I'm not at all motivated by how many "likes" or "friends" I can get from it.

Then again the review system has gotten so completely screwed up by people who either are paid for reviews or are giving five stars to prop friends/family writers or just have a political or social ax to grind that they'd likely find some way to mess that up for people, too. (And no one wants to get me started on "reviews" that rate something one or five stars before the thing is even published based solely on them either looking forward to it or hating the author. Something that doesn't yet exist can't be reviewed.)

Yaaresse wrote: "Tiffany wrote: "My point was that if more readers review the books, then it would be more advertising, so more people would know about them. It's a good way of finding out about new authors. I wasn..."

I mean a real review, though if someone I'm following gives a good rating, it might catch my eye. I often use GR to find new books to read (like I need help with that lol). If a book looks interesting, I'll look at the reviews it has. That's not necessarily going to be enough to sway me in either direction but if there are a lot of horrible reviews by people I know have similar tastes to mine, I may postpone reading it.

I haven't been paid to review any books but I have been gifted books by authors "in exchange for an honest review" and I can honestly say that hasn't influenced my reviews at all. In the few cases where the book was truly awful, I have messaged the author (either here or on novelreviewers) and tried to suggest nicely that perhaps the book wasn't ready for review. I let them know the reasons why (grammar, spelling, storyline, etc). and let them have the option of having time or, in the case of novelreviewers, only posting there. If they respond rudely or not at all, or choose to have me review right then with no edits then I will post the negative review. I have found some really great authors who are now friends by reviewing their books.

I hate when people just give their friends 5 stars just to be nice or give a book 5 stars before it's finished. Unless you have an arc copy, and have actually read it, that's just ridiculous!

re: reviews and freebies.
Well, paid reviews aren't supposed to happen and people are supposed to disclose when they get ARCs and freebies, but a lot of things that aren't "supposed" to happen do happen.

Empty praise never helped anyone. If the work can't stand on its own merit, it will eventually tell on itself most of the time. Even if it gets an initial bump, mediocre work will quickly fall into the swamp of obscurity. Still, people who inflate ratings (or intentionally deflate them out of spite) are not doing readers any favors. When paying readers discover a work really is not that great, they're twice as put off by planted reviews. (In all fairness, I think professional writers don't want any part of someone inflating their reviews. I think most of them know that once the book is released, it's really out of their control what happens next.)

I'm still staring that this breakdown of books (the original post). Wonder what would happen if they split biography/memoirs and other non-fiction. It could get ridiculous to split stuff too much, but for those of us who read non-fiction, having four entries out of 28 feels very skimpy.

Yaaresse wrote: "re: reviews and freebies.
Well, paid reviews aren't supposed to happen and people are supposed to disclose when they get ARCs and freebies, but a lot of things that aren't "supposed" to happen do ..."

This is sadly true. While I haven't done so for books, when I was a ghost writer, I did get paid to do product reviews, both positive and negative. In fact, that's how I chose kindle over nook, all the research I did to write the reviews. I worked at Walmart and I needed the extra money. So I did product reviews and wrote many magazine articles that were then published under someone else's name.
You're right about empty praise. There have been times I've read a book and really wondered how it got the 5 and 4 stars. I guess, that makes sense now. *MOST* of the authors that I've contacted with constructive criticism have responded at least politely. I'd want to know if my book was riddled with typos or grammatical errors, especially if I had paid someone to edit it!

Oh and I agree with you, 4 entries feels a bit too few in comparison.

Yaaresse wrote: "Tiffany wrote: "My point was that if more readers review the books, then it would be more advertising, so more people would know about them. It's a good way of finding out about new authors. I wasn..."

An actual review, of course.

I think Yaaresse was asking me, Tiffany.

Ditto, Tiffany: "I hate when people just give their friends 5 stars just to be nice or give a book 5 stars before it's finished. Unless you have an arc copy, and have actually read it, that's just ridiculous!"

I like to read Historical Fiction. I haven't seen this on your Lists. How about it?
Also, if you have too many books, how about donating some to your library or Senior Center?

Janet wrote: "I like to read Historical Fiction. I haven't seen this on your Lists. How about it?
Also, if you have too many books, how about donating some to your library or Senior Center?"

Not sure who in particular this was directed to, but when I moved where we are now, due to limited storage I donated most of my books to the local Hospice House. The ones I kept are my collection of classics (which, are in storage, sadly) and some absolute favorites that I reread on a regular basis. :) I do sometimes go in and buy cheap books at either the library or Hospice House, that way when I'm done I can donate them back to one or the other.

Janet wrote: "I like to read Historical Fiction. I haven't seen this on your Lists. How about it?
Also, if you have too many books, how about donating some to your library or Senior Center?"

Not sure who in particular this was directed to, but when I moved where we are now, due to limited storage I donated most of my books to the local Hospice House. The ones I kept are my collection of classics (which, are in storage, sadly) and some absolute favorites that I reread on a regular basis. :) I do sometimes go in and buy cheap books at either the library or Hospice House, that way when I'm done I can donate them back to one or the other.

I usually just toss them in the recycle bin because by the time I finish them they're in no condition to be re donated.

Ramona wrote: "I really find Goodreads helpful for keeping track of what I read, and for providing suggestions for what to read. But, I find that I am a reader of what others are not typically reading. I rarely r..."

Totally agree! Even the length of the sentence has shrunk !!!!!

Camille wrote: "I've saved so much money since I started using the public library. Try it. You put your name on a list for a new hot book and they call you when it's available to you ."

Public libraries provide great service ......audio, ebooks, large print & many other services. I volunteer two days a week & get 1st hand look at all new books, journals, etc....

Tiffany wrote: "Ramona wrote: "I really find Goodreads helpful for keeping track of what I read, and for providing suggestions for what to read. But, I find that I am a reader of what others are not typically read..."
It is good to know that I am not the only Goodreads user that feels this way. There are so many books in print, that are "Good Reads" that are overlooked. I try to write a small review or summary of every book I read. Often my review is the only recent one. I hope to inspire others to read the older books, or those of newer authors who are returning to a more gentile type of writing. I read a lot of junior fiction/children's books now, as they usually are free of the language and settings that I dislike and therefore, what I prefer to read.

These are a few of my preferred authors, that are what I consider safe adult reads. Lillian Jackson Braun, the Cat Who... mystery series; Elizabeth Peters in the Amelia Peabody Egyptologist mystery series; Alexander McCall Smith, the Precious Ramotswe series set in Botswana; Laura Wilder; Jeannette Birdcall, the Penderwick series; Julie Klassen, historical fiction; The Secrets of Mary's Bookshop series;

I'm on a mystery reading streak these days so thanks Ramona for your suggested reading authors.

Linnea wrote: "I was at the bookstore today to buy the new Neil Gaiman book. It was sold out. I got other books instead. Now I have to wait until I have money again to buy the book :D"

Wow, sounds like something I would do

Yaaresse wrote: "For some reason, I found this breakdown much more interesting than the one a few days ago...which means adding more to-reads to my already overfull to-read list.

I have a theory that GR is heavil..."

I recently sold my independent book shop. Most of my customers were over 60. A few of them read teen/YA books. I have had difficulty finding good new sci-fi. It has mostly been hiding out in the teen/YA area. Mark Lawrence could be classed as fantasy or sci-fi. Red rising by Pierce Brown is straight sci fi but you will probably find it in the YA area. Wolf road is dystopian future, so is Day boy. The girl with all the gifts is in some way similar to the day of the triffids.

Ramona wrote: "These are a few of my preferred authors, that are what I consider safe adult reads. Lillian Jackson Braun, the Cat Who... mystery series; Elizabeth Peters in the Amelia Peabody Egyptologist mystery..."

I think you meant Laura INGALLS Wilder, Ramona.

When I finish rereading The Shelters of Stone, I'm never rereading Jean M. Auel's Earth's Children series again: too damn much infodump and too much badly written sex.

Amber wrote: "When I finish rereading The Shelters of Stone, I'm never rereading Jean M. Auel's Earth's Children series again: too damn much infodump and too much badly written sex. "

LOL! I remember liking that series, or at least the first three books of it, when it first came out. I recently tried to re-read the first book, and my overwhelming thought was, "What was I thinking? And how could I have thought it?" I didn't even try to finish it because I didn't want to mess with the memory of having liked it so well way back then.

Funny how our tastes change over the years.

H. wrote: "I'm on a mystery reading streak these days so thanks Ramona for your suggested reading authors."

Glad to help out. Is there a particular type of mystery you prefer? Historical; time-travel; political; humorous; Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes type; western; the list is endless and I have read at least one of all of them! I received a free book through Goodreads, that I really enjoyed...historical, romance, a little bit humorous, fossil hunting mystery! Will have to go into my records to find the title, but I would recommend it for light reading.

Nicola wrote: "Yaaresse wrote: "For some reason, I found this breakdown much more interesting than the one a few days ago...which means adding more to-reads to my already overfull to-read list.

I have a theory ..."
I totally agree.. It has been difficult for me to find what I consider true Sci-Fi. One of my favorite authors is Orson Scott Card, who wrote ender's Game...which was made into a movie. The book was so much better, but I have to say, they did a pretty good job of it. I often Wikipedia lists and I came up with what I consider some of the best sci-fi authors...Kim Stanley Robinson; C.J. Cherryh, Michael Crichton; Edgar Rice Burroughs; Andre Norton; Robert H. Heinlein; Robin Cook, Tanith Lee, Anne McCaffrey; Arthur C. Clark; H.G. Wells; Isaac Asimov; Ray Bradbury; Ben Bova; and Eoin Colfer. I reread their books, and that is something I don't usually do, as I don't have enough years to read all that I want to read!

Ramona, you are definitely not the only one who does this! I have been getting a lot of ARC copies to read and review as well, so obviously, I have to write something for those or the authors will stop feeding my addiction (lol). I've been enjoying a lot of the YA books for the same reasons. I can handle the "adult situations" though, I tend to skip over a lot of the sex scenes.

Yaaresse wrote: "Amber wrote: "When I finish rereading The Shelters of Stone, I'm never rereading Jean M. Auel's Earth's Children series again: too damn much infodump and too much badly written sex. "

LOL! I remem..."

Yep...and the awful movie of the first novel sure as hell didn't help!

Tiffany: I only skip the sex if it seems to me to be badly written.

To me, it never seems to really add much to the story. I don't think I skipped it in Jean M Auel's books, but I read them in high school because my mom told me I was too young to read them...so I sorta had to read them...

LOL. Mom told me I couldn't I read them because she thought that they were too difficult for my vocabulary comprehension level, Tiffany. Until I reminded her that in 4th grade, I tested at a comprehension level equivalent to a college freshman.

And that was a mere 2-1/2 years BEFORE I first read The Clan of the Cave Bear.

Lawd...when I was in 2nd grade, I moved to SC. The school librarian refused to let me check out Little House on the Prairie because I wasn't old enough, smart enough, etc. So I told her that was fine because my mom would take me to the real library that weekend and let me get it there. Then the next week I made a point of reading it in front of her. My grandfather bought me the set of classics when I was 9 or 10 and insisted I start reading them. God, I love that man (miss him so bad). I didn't understand all of them then, but I grew into them. I was the only kid in my middle school reading Shakespeare...for fun. I still read any and everything.

LOL. I tried reading The Hobbit in 2nd grade. Didn't make it past page 2. Tried again a year later...made it all the way through...thanks in part to Mrs. Wilder's books and everything else I read that year both in and out of school.

And to the fact I read out loud to Buttercup, our dog, while she was still a puppy.

I read The Hobbit in 3rd as well, probably because of Mrs Wilder's books and The Narnia books that I read because the same school librarian told me I couldn't handle those either (still among my favorite books!!). She never did learn not to tell me I wasn't smart enough to read anything. I didn't miss her after we finished that school in 8th.

Oh no. There was a movie of it? I missed that...well, I doubt I missed much, but you know what I mean.

Wow. If my parents were alive, I guess I would thank them. I don't recall them ever censoring my reading material. A librarian tried once. I was eight, and the librarian decided Jane Eyre was "age inappropriate." My mother stepped in and told her that I could check out any book I wanted and would decide for myself if something was too difficult.

It probably was a bit above my head, and I remember having to look up some words in the dictionary, but I finished it within a week. Jane was a twit and Rochester a creepy cad, but I still count Jane Eyre among my favorite books.

LOL. I hate that genre, Yaaresse. Let me see, my currently reading genres breakdown as: 4 murder mysteries (1 medieval, and three cozies), 1 traditional epic high fantasy, 1 true stories and 1 historical fiction . Here's the list: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

I don't read Lovecraftian horror because it's always given me screaming nightmares, but for some reason,I can watch this and not blink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlFHz...

Yaaresse wrote: "Oh no. There was a movie of it? I missed that...well, I doubt I missed much, but you know what I mean.

Wow. If my parents were alive, I guess I would thank them. I don't recall them ever censorin..."

This was the librarian at the local elementary/middle school. The town librarian let me check out anything I wanted and as much as I could stagger out with.

72 items is the limit at my library...for any single visit, Tiffany. Within that limits is a sub limit of 10 magazines and/or ten movies/TV series DVDs or 10 audio CDs at any one time.

I think that's about what our limit is at our library. I never bothered with anything but books as a child. Still don't. Now, I get a few books but with my work schedule, I usually end up with fines. So I normally have the limit of 10 ebooks at all times

Not sure what the limit is for eBooks is. Never looked into it as I consider them to be fake books. We don't really wanna derail this topic any more than it already is so I'm NOT saying anything else about why I think this. If you want more info, message me, please and I'll reply that way.

Oh, I know. The only reason I know the limit is because I'm at it all the time.

Amber wrote: "LOL. I hate that genre, Yaaresse. Let me see, my currently reading genres breakdown as: 4 murder mysteries (1 medieval, and three cozies), 1 traditional epic high fantasy, 1 true stories and 1 hist..."

I suspect my affection for the book is largely symbolic since I never cared much for any or her sisters' works, Austen bores me to death, and only got through a couple of Cather books because they were selected by our book club. (So, social obligation of a sort.)

OTOH, it's safe to say we would probably never be both waiting for the same book at the library. Looks like we're complete reading opposites.

Anyway...am currently reading The Crown's Game and it's fabulous! lol

Tiffany wrote: "This was the librarian at the local elementary/middle school. The town librarian let me check out anything I wanted and as much as I could stagger out with."

That librarian was a school librarian, too. (We didn't have a local branch of the country library in our immediate area, so in the summer the school library became a temporary public library staffed by the school librarians.) Like you, I didn't get the flack from the librarians at the public library. Wonder why they were so different?

Then there were college libraries! Oh man! My best friend's dad worked at a university library and wrangled me a special privileges card. That was like winning the book lottery!

I'm not sure why the public librarians were so different. Maybe the school librarians felt like they had more power to lord over us? It was through the public library that I got the books that my mom didn't think I was mature enough to read lol...I always had so many that she didn't bother to check them all.

I am still sad that historical did not make the cut here

Yaaresse wrote: "Amber wrote: "LOL. I hate that genre, Yaaresse. Let me see, my currently reading genres breakdown as: 4 murder mysteries (1 medieval, and three cozies), 1 traditional epic high fantasy, 1 true stor..."

Oh, I understand the appeal, or lack thereof, in reading books because you have to... .

Re: the difference between school libraries and public libraries: It's all in the name. A public library, by definition, is open to everyone (i.e. the public), whereas a school library is open only to the students and staff of the school and librarians have to "protect" kids from inappropriate reading material.

Tiffany wrote: "Ramona, you are definitely not the only one who does this! I have been getting a lot of ARC copies to read and review as well, so obviously, I have to write something for those or the authors will ..."

I have way too many books going right now, because I have the time to read, but now I have added audio books on my laptop, as well as e-books. I am finding a lot of interesting authors this way. My reading list keeps growing, even though I am constantly reading. I wish I could turn this into a job!!!

I live in the US and would like to add that not all libraries are really "free." Because I live in the country (out of city limits) I have to pay for a library card. About $100 a year. Because my address is in Jackson county, but I actually live in Calhoun County, I have to pay for a library card. Since I am not happy with this, I get many of my books from trading on paperback swap and bookcrossing, or getting them at garage sales and Goodwill type stores.

Kathy wrote: "I live in the US and would like to add that not all libraries are really "free." Because I live in the country (out of city limits) I have to pay for a library card. About $100 a year. Because my a..."

Wow, Kathy, that's steep. I'm used to seeing $35-50 annual fees for out of community library cards, but nothing approaching $100. I can see where you'd definitely want to make the most of trade sites and Bookcrossing.

Yaaresse wrote: "Kathy wrote: "I live in the US and would like to add that not all libraries are really "free." Because I live in the country (out of city limits) I have to pay for a library card. About $100 a year..."

Only once have I seen a library in the area where we used to live...upstate NY, charge for the card...$25.00 We didn't use that library because of that, but we never quibble over late fees etc, because we use the library so much, and they need the money. There is not a lot of funding for public libraries. I wonder why they charge so much? That would keep a lot of families out of the library. Other services make up for the lost revenue of paid for cards. They charge rental fees for new DVDs and very popular books, they sell gift baskets year round, they have an on-going book sale, and a huge one twice a year, they have their late fees on all items. They accept donation of books, audio books, DVDs, CDs. Some accept music.

Kathy wrote: "I live in the US and would like to add that not all libraries are really "free." Because I live in the country (out of city limits) I have to pay for a library card. About $100 a year. Because my a..."

Our non-resident fee is $65 a year.

Ramona, you already answered your own question. They charge so much because there's not a lot of funding for public libraries. The other items toy mentioned help, but most libraries get the MAJORITY of their funding from non-resident card fee. ("rental fees for new DVDs and very popular books, they sell gift baskets year round, they have an on-going book sale, and a huge one twice a year, they have their late fees on all items. ")

Ramona wrote: "I wonder why they charge so much?."

Most public libraries are funded through a combination of residential property and other local taxes. There are also state and federal subsidies and private donations, but the majority of the budget is from local sources. Charging non-residents to for borrowing privileges is supposed to pay for the cost of providing services to a user who has not contributed to the funding via property taxes. Obviously, it's not a perfect system since there are a lot of town residents who don't own property (and so don't pay property taxes). Non-residents are usually not charged for using the library itself, only for borrowing privileges. (In other words, you could go there and read a book or do research, just not borrow anything.) Maybe the amount is determined from the average property owner's tax bill (at least the share the library gets) or from a cost analysis of how much it costs in manpower and material costs to service a non-resident account.

Maybe Kathy lives in an area where the property taxes are high or where the town has had to really cut the budget, thus the high non-resident fee. Towns that got hit hard during the recession had to resort to higher fees and some creative tactics just to stay open.