Horror Aficionados discussion
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What Influences a Decision to Read or Try a New Book/Author?
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Well I have a preferred 'creature' and tend to pick books that feature said creature, but I also look at what other people are reading and occasionally I'll try it out. Other people's reading led me to J.D. Robb, Ilona Andrews, Karen Marie Moning, Terry Goodkind and Jennifer Estep.When I was in grade 7-9 (I don't recall exactly when) I discovered Patricia Cornwell. At some point I discovered Robin Cook, and later Stephen King. Cornwell and Cook led me to Kathy Reichs, Tess Gerritessan and Jefferson Bass. Somehow these medical type books led me to Robert Ludlum.
On goodreads, there was an ad for The Skin Collector which led me to Jeffrey Deaver. My library hosts authors for talks occasionally which led me to Karin Slaughter (and away from Joanne Fluke).
Group read-a-longs tend to be a good source of new books to try (or the nominations that didn't win).
Browing the bookstore and looking for interesting covers lead me to Necroscope.
And there's always the "it's being made into a movie so I should try reading the book first". So Girl on the Train, Miss Peregrine's House of Peculiar Creatures, Lord of the Rings (and ugh!) Twilight got read due to that.
As for classics...those can be very hit or miss. I hated the first half of Frankenstein, but I love Dracula and The Count of Monte Cristo. I've discovered that stuff translated from ancient greek (Oedipus, The Odyssey etc) are basically gibberish to me, but stuff written in the 1800's (no matter the language) are pretty good.
Robert Ludlum! Why do I always forget about him when setting out on a jag to find new horror stuff. I've read little of his works but I've heard lots of great things.er- not Ludlum but the name is similar - Lumley? Usually writes about vampires and Elder Gods, the Necromancer stories?
I tend to be attracted to books about ghosts or demons...real unsettling, creepy stuff, but not necessarily gory. I often check the Recommendations tab on Goodreads and love a catchy, unique or interesting title. I don't pay too much attention to covers because they have been misleading in the past. Also, general threads in group discussions have lead me to some really great books. I'm not much of a browser at bookstores. I usually have a specific book in mind to buy when I go.
Peter wrote: "Robert Ludlum! Why do I always forget about him when setting out on a jag to find new horror stuff. I've read little of his works but I've heard lots of great things.er- not Ludlum but the name i..."
Yes, Brian Lumley writes (wrote?) horror vampire stories and other strange stuff. I really should borrow some of his books that I haven't read yet...
For me, I'm most influenced by the reviews of my friends. The people I follow tend to have the same tastes as I do, (for the most part), and if they like something, I know that I have a good chance of liking it as well.
How is Brian Lumley's stuff not available for borrowing on Kindle? Is he really that popular that his books are worth $6.99+ for e-books? The e-book system is kinda screwy it seems...
Peter wrote: "How is Brian Lumley's stuff not available for borrowing on Kindle? Is he really that popular that his books are worth $6.99+ for e-books? The e-book system is kinda screwy it seems..."It is screwy and I think it's the publishers that are behind that type of thing. :(
Peter wrote: "How is Brian Lumley's stuff not available for borrowing on Kindle? Is he really that popular that his books are worth $6.99+ for e-books? The e-book system is kinda screwy it seems..."Like Char said. It's sad, but most publishers are willing to widow (essentially kill) e-book sales in order to try to maintain print sales. They want to protect their print empire as much as possible.
As for your question, recommendations from people on here or authors that I like often point me in the direction of new authors. I'm also a fan of going to a book store and grabbing something random that I may or may not actually end up reading. <.<
Char wrote: "For me, I'm most influenced by the reviews of my friends. The people I follow tend to have the same tastes as I do, (for the most part), and if they like something, I know that I have a good chance..."What Char said. I have become very dependent on my reading friends. I have no clue how I ever chose books before the internet! I guess I would browse my local UBS and/or drug store and grab any and all horror. There are so many choices now that one can't really do that. I also grab a shameful amount of freebies and sometimes find some unique and terrible stuff ;)
Totally agree with other readers' recommendations as a great way to find new things, I've already got a number of things I intend to look into just from the few hours I've spent perusing these boards.
I like to peruse the award nominees every year (Stoker for horror, Shirley Jackson for horror/fantasy, Edgar for mystery, Thriller by the International Thriller Writers, This is Horror, and Royal Society for nonfiction). I don't read all the nominees, and I don't always agree with the nomination, but there are always gems in there.
I tend to go for books by plot rather than author, although there are authors I will always go for. So it's often not really deciding on a new author to try so much as a new book. The exceptions are the big names. "I've never read anything by (Richard Matheson/Richard Laymon/Wil Eisner/whoever) I should fix that"Occasionally I'll take a recommendation, but I'm pretty picky about who I should take seriously.
I will check out a book based on someone else's recommendation - if that person has the same tastes as me. Then I read the blurbs, and will also check out any reviews. I am always on the lookout for new authors!
I read new authors all the time, I chose the book based on the description of the story and a sample of the writing. GR is my main source of information about books; I check out their genre-based recommendations, the listopia lists and browse the group read threads. Reader reviews of a book I am interested in are really the deciding factor; usually other readers can give me a good idea of whether or not I would like it.
I just look for stories that sound interesting (instead of following specific authors).
I look at what my GR friends are reading and if the stories appeal to me then I will check them out. I also explore on GR the Listopia lists to see what other books I might be interested in. Some of the time I go to amazon and explore around on there to see what is new and if the story looks appealing I usually end up getting it if its affordable or free. But the main place to find what I want 90% of the time is here on GR. This group HA has opened up a new world for me with all the horror books that everyone reads. I have found more reading material in this group than anywhere else on GR. My tbr reading list has grown by miles since I joined HA back in October.
When the book is suggested a lot, or recommended to me because of similar books I've read.
Mod
that's me too. if it sounds good, or if a friend recommends it.
Hi PeterI am new to this site as well. I read your comments about recommendations on new horror books so I thought I'd drop you a line to let you know that I have just published my fourth collection of horror stories called: Ultimate Shades Of Horror that can be downloaded from Amazon. If you do then let me know what you think of the stories
I like James Herbert and Richard Matheson plus SF like Silverberg, Wyndham and Fantasy such as Terry Goodkind and George RR Martin
Thanks
Mod
Also, HA's monthly group reads. I always participate in at least one of the top two, and the majority of the time, I end up reading a book I wouldn't have necessarily noticed before. (I've found some GREAT reads that way, plus we have the advantage of discussing them with a group of people).
However, unlike film which I can pretty much pop one in without looking and enjoy, I have a very hard time picking out new books and/or authors. Generally I have read the Big Ones over the years - the likes of King, Barker and Straub. A few others like Laurel K. Hamilton I have been introduced to recently. But it occurred to me recently that that's about all I know - well, that and classics like Frankenstein and Dracula - when it comes to my supposedly favorite genre.
So I guess this post has 2 requests - one that I get to know my fellow horror aficionados by learning their though process when picking new stories to read, and if anyone has any suggestions for things I must read, please throw them my way. I am also perusing the "suggestions" discussions and will be interested in those as well.