Where do you learn about new books?

[Bill]

I'm only recently familiar with the urban fantasy genre, and I'm wondering how people hear about cool new books, etc? Just word of mouth? Is there a good blogger? Top ten list?

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer)]

A lot of them I find here by seeing what my friends are reading. Also Amazon recommends a lot to be based on other books I have purchased from them before.
Blogs are great too. I follow a few and then I have one as well. You just have to find ones that review the types of books you are interested in.

Here you can search for books that are released each month. You can even search by genre.

[Cee]

Well, actually, I find out about new books through Goodreads. When you lurk around the discussions for a while you will get a ton of ideas.

[Barbara ★]

I subscribe to a magazine called RT Book Reviews which reviews new releases from all genres including UF.

http://www.rtbookreviews.com/

[Shawna]

I mainly follow authors I like and when I'm on amazon.com, there will be a list of books that people who also bought the book I liked read, so I check out the descriptions on those books.

[Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms)]

On Goodreads discussions of books I like, people will talk about other things they are reading. And on Facebook as I have friends on there who like the same books that I do. I also go to Amazon and type in keywords that bring up books and read the reviews.

[Cee]

Barbara wrote: "I subscribe to a magazine called RT Book Reviews which reviews new releases from all genres including UF.

http://www.rtbookreviews.com/"

That's a really nice suggestion Barbara, their site looks great. I'm thinking about subscribing to their magazine.

[Lisa M]

Barbara wrote: "I subscribe to a magazine called RT Book Reviews which reviews new releases from all genres including UF.

http://www.rtbookreviews.com/"

I subscribe to RT Book Reviews, too. It's where I find the majority of my books. I often find series that way--if I see a book that I'm interested in, I check on fictfact.com to see if it's part of a series and then start from the beginning. But I also find books right here on Goodreads, in recommendations threads and discussions.

[Dee]

not necessarily new releases, but I find a lot of new books to me by using literature-map and whatshouldIreadnext...you can type in an author who you enjoyed and they give you similar authors (Lit Map) or whatshouldIreadnext - type in the title of a book and it will give you similar books

[Snacks]

I get recommendations from H.P. Mallorys book club on facebook.

[Beth]

When I buy new books, I look up the author on www.fantasticfiction.com to see if the book is part of a series or not, and at the bottom of the page, there is a list of authors with similar books; I can click on new authors and books for hours!!

[Nanna -DD-]

I mostly discover things here on GR. :P

[Aimee]

Friends, absolutely. Word of mouth is huge. I love scrolling through all the 'being reads' and 'just finished' books that people I'm connected to on Goodreads post about though. That gives me a TON of great info.

[Katie]

Get get most of my book ideas from here. But also i love browsing the book shop

[Samantha]

from the wonderful people of goodreads

[Danielle]

A great place to check up on authors and to find what's coming out for them in the coming year/s is to look them up on http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk./ It's a very simple website but it gives you every book your author has written, plus the order of their series and it tells you other books similar or that your author has 'recommended'. It's helped me find new authors in the past. Also on the homepage you can click on a genre and it will direct you to the new books out for paper or hard back. Obviously I love it :) Hope it helps!

[Christina]

I discover new books on various websites. I randomly surf the web and find new books to read. This method isn't effective, for I often discover that a book that I want to read has been released already.

Danielle, that website is a winner! Very convenient.

[Kimi]

I definitely learn from people on goodreads. Not many people around me read so this is the place where I get to share all my passion for reading. And I just somehow stumbled into this website. I can't even remember how now. I think it was just last month. =)

[Regie]

Goodreads is definitely a place to start for me, not only do I learn about new books, but I can also decide whiter I want to give them a try or not based on what people on the site have go say
Since I am also native french speaker, I also hunt a few French websites.

[La La]

I get new release up dates from Books On Board as well as checking out book review blogs that review the kind of books I enjoy. Many times they will let the readers know about books that are coming up in the future. Goodreads is also a great source for learning about upcoming books and new authors. When someone mentions a book that looks interesting automatically click on the link to see the book description.

[L-D]

I learn a lot from Goodreads recommendations but another way I learn about new authors is if the series I'm reading has a side-novella in an anthology. When I buy the anthologies - I'll research the other authors that have contributed to that book since I know it is an author writing in the same genre. A good example is the Unbound Anthology

I bought this because I was reading the Hollows by Kim Harrison. I read ley line drifter but then researched the other authors: Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson, and Jocelynn Drake. This anthology lead me to Signs of the Zodiac series by Pettersson and Night Huntress by Frost. Two GREAT series. I've read Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series (the short in Unbound was not related to that but it was a good short). The only author I have yet to research/read is Jocelynn Drake. Anyone read her work?

Ironically, Ley Line Drifter, the reason I bought the anthology is my least favorite novella in the book!

[Danielle]

I browse Amazon's YA section. Thats got lists by readers, by the editors, all sorts. Also, the library is also a place to go! They have all of their books listed electronically in most cases and everything is in sections :)

[J.A.]

Most books I buy have come highly recommended. It used to just be ones raved about by friends or family, but since joining Goodreads I've learnt of some great authors I'd never even heard of before. I had no idea of these sites mentioned above for looking for stuff to read--would be a great resource for if you've ploughed through everything your favourites have written and have a while to wait for the next release/s. :o)

[Steven]

I used to have trouble finding the next book to read. Until my daughter and I joined a book club that meets twice a month. Now I have trouble keeping up with all the books I want to read. Goodreads is helping with that. Book clubs are great for discussing what we have read and what we want to read next. They are also a lot of fun.

[Lady Heather]

I find a lot of new books based on my GR friends recommendations.....but my favorite site is
http://www.smexybooks.com ...it's amazing!!!!

[jD]

I have not found anything better than discussion threads on Goodreads. Science Fiction and Fantasy reviewer can get so academic that the book ends up sounding unappealing while people on Goodreads speak about the reading experience from the heart. It's much easier to find romance blogs that recommend new books and series. I haven't found that to be true with other genres without getting that Dungeons and Dragons feeling.

[Danyelle]

i go to bn.com and brouse of go to my groups and look what others have read or see what my friends have read and what they think:D

[Kayleigh]

I find lots of books to read via this website, amazon recommendations and by following many blogs and youtube book accounts.

[Missyb]

I've picked up ideas through this site, Amazon.com, and off books I am reading (if you like this book try ....), Barnes & Noble (when you look up a book it shows you books that you also might like).

[L-D]

Missyb wrote: "I've picked up ideas through this site, Amazon.com, and off books I am reading (if you like this book try ....), Barnes & Noble (when you look up a book it shows you books that you also might like)."

Yes - I love that feature. In Goodreads also - in the right margin there's a section that says "Reader's also enjoyed". I've found books there as well.

[Samantha]

a lot of the times I will look in the listopia's along with my friends books

[Anika]

I used to search the Borders website which is similar to goodreads. They give a brief description about what the book is about and you can search by bestseller. But I check my friend's book and look at Amazon.

[Samantha]

well ya can't search borders anymore, such a pity

[Cocopretty]

Sammie =^.^= wrote: "well ya can't search borders anymore, such a pity"

yeah my bordes isgoing out of business right now i feel like crying:(

[Anika]

Cocopretty wrote: "Sammie =^.^= wrote: "well ya can't search borders anymore, such a pity"

yeah my bordes isgoing out of business right now i feel like crying:("

Well there's still Barnes & Nobles. And I hope that this will mean that ebooks will be available on Amazon.com for all regions. I buy books when they are not available thur my kindle for my region.

[Samantha]

the entire borders co is going out biz. :(

[Rachel-RN]

I think finding a book to read by just browsing is going to be more difficult with Borders out of business (it's been a sad week for me) AND Barnes and Noble sending out notices to stores to decrease their book space. Less space for books means more toys and crap. Most publishers prepared for the worst- Borders going out of business, but they will be unprepared for all the books B&N sends back. Mid-list authors will probably be hit the hardest with much smaller print runs in the future (well, all authors will be).
I'm lucky; I have a great Independent bookseller here and they be will getting most of my business now. If not in stock, they order it and I get 20% off.

[Samantha]

wow really my b&n has a huge spot for the other crap, but the main part if the store is still tons of book.... I just love walking in there.

[Misty]

Can anyone recommend a good UF series similar to Stacia Kane's Chess Putnam series? I like gritty UF with strong characters. Maybe it's just me, but right now, I'm having a hard time getting into any of the books I pick up. Could be I'm too picky. :)

[L-D]

LOVE Downside Ghosts (Chess Putnam) series. It's one of my favorite series I've read this year. Another gritty series I've read recently is the Cal & Nik Leandros series by Rob Thurman. Warning - there is no romance in this book. I actually would switch to Sydney Croft's ACRO series and read a couple of chapters of steaminess for a quick fix and switch back! Cal Leandros is the main character and the first couple of books I thought he was whiny and lazy but he grows as a character throughout the series. By the 6th book I was really into the series.

Another shorter series that I just read is Nancy Holzner's Deadtown series. There are only 2 books in the series so far with the third book coming out in September. Not as gritty as Downside Ghosts (frankly I haven't read anything as good as that this year).

I haven't read this series yet but it is in my queue and I found it on another feed: Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt series. This is a detective oriented book and is supposed to be gritty.

[Misty]

Lan-Dinh wrote: "LOVE Downside Ghosts (Chess Putnam) series. It's one of my favorite series I've read this year. Another gritty series I've read recently is the Cal & Nik Leandros series by Rob Thurman. Warning ..."

Thank you, Lan-Dinh! I'm putting all of these on my list and will check them out. I've heard the Deadtown series is good too.

[Christal]

Tor has really stepped up their coverage of UF/PNR genere fiction recently. They have several Fiction Affliction blogs that detail the new releases for each month. They are divided into UF, PNR, SciFi, Fantasy, and Genre-Benders (YA novels are sprinkled throughout the lists). It's a good way to keep up on current series as well as find out about new ones or stand alones.

[Summer]

I visit the bookstore every week and I follow a couple hundred book blogs that keep me posted on all the new releases. Plus, simply browsing the Kindle Book Store online introduces me to all kinds of stellar titles.

[Michelle]

Have you tried a blog hop? Some blogs will link together with each blog giving away a prize (usually a book or an Amazon gift card). You can easily travel from blog to blog (they tend to be all of the same category, for example all YA book reviewers or all UF writers), and enter each contest. Or, you can hop from blog to blog just to see what everyone's reading.

I am a Reader not a Writer is a huge instigator of these events.

[Michelle]

Author websites, fictfact.com, facebook author pages, blogs, etc

[Cassie]

I used to do it the hard way. I'd go to Amazon and look through the best seller list. That's how I discovered Gena Showalter.But now I just keep an eye out here at Good reads and sometimes when one of my favorite writers recommends another author on Facebook or Twitter.Or even looking at their liked list.

[Serena]

Seriously, right here. I am brand new to GoodReads and am already amazed at what a rich community it is. More books than I could hope to read, too many good ones to choose from!

[Michelle]

Serena wrote: "Seriously, right here. I am brand new to GoodReads and am already amazed at what a rich community it is. More books than I could hope to read, too many good ones to choose from!"

Welcome to GR, Serena :) It's a great place to be, but it's *way* too addictive, lol.

[Michelle]

I do a ton of new release research for mt big via author pages, anthologies and facebook. I also troll the book store or library for interesting covers and bug people I see reading wherever I am, ask then what they are reading and what they like. In short I am a pita.

[Serena]

Thanks, Michelle! I can see that! :-)