Reader Friday: Your Go-to Blogs For Finding Books?

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imageLast Friday when we talked about discoverability, some people mentioned that they hear about books from online blogs. Please share the names of some of your favorite blog sites (other than TKZ, of course!) ?

19 thoughts on “Reader Friday: Your Go-to Blogs For Finding Books?”

  1. Well rats, you took away my primary answer (TKZ). I started reading Vince Flynn books upon reading about his work at Nicole Petrino Salter’s blog (http://www.hopeofglory.typepad.com). I just started visiting Writer Unboxed but it’s too early to have gotten any book recs.

    I probably pick up recommendations on FB. I know when I really like a book I post there also. And since FB is so good at spying on what you do on your computer, it automatically feeds in advertisements for things like writer’s classes, books, etc. This computer spying is good for writers, though we mostly think of it in a negative light. Say you visit Amazon and look at an author’s book, you think about buying it but for the time being opt against. The ad will keep showing up on FB to remind you of your interest. I don’t know how many people do purchase based on that, but it’s another sales option.

    • Facebook seems to know instantly the moment we look at anything online–good if that results in a book reminder, not so good for other things. Thanks for stopping in today, BK!

  2. I always check Lesa’s Book Critiques (https://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/) which mostly features mysteries. I also check out the recommendations I get from friends and followers on Goodreads.

    Hopefully folks will also check out my blog because I have guest authors each week and feature multiple genres with a big emphasis on authors from Colorado.

  3. I found this great website called “BookBub” (https://www.bookbub.com/home/) The site lists new as well as older e-books. I believe the authors have to pay a fee to have their gooks listed on the site. I’ve never listed a book, a bit pricey for my income bracket. However, as a reader you can pick which categories you are interested in and you get an e-mail with a list of books each day. I’ve managed to find a few gems here. And, the prices are reasonable ranging from $0.00 to $2.99.

    • Hey Tom,
      Yes, authors (and all the major publishers) pay for it but it can be worth it. My publisher did a one-day promo on BB for “She’s Not There” and my book shot to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list. It’s pricey…out of the range of most self-pubbed writers for sure. But they have a sliding scale on prices, depending on genre (mystery and romance most expensive) and how much you’re selling your book for.

      For instance, under CRIME FICTION, a one-time ad on BB costs $505 if your book is free, up to a high price of $2525 for a book priced $2 or more. That gets you, according to them, access to 3.6 million subscribers.

      Go here to see their pricing:
      https://www.bookbub.com/partners/pricing

  4. Flog a Pro articles by Ray Rhamey has sold me many a book. I read the articles on Writer Unboxed.
    I also subscribe to K M Weiland, Steven Pressfield, Jennie Nash, Publishing Crawl, Kristine Katherine Rusch, Betsy Lerner, Shawn Coyne, Jane Friedman, Lisa Cron, James Scott Bell, Nail Your Novel, Kristen Lamb, Terrible Minds, A New Fiction Writers Forum. I think that’s it. (For now.)
    I’m interested in reading Patricia Stoltey’s blog.

  5. One of my over all favorite sites is Hope Clark, Funds for Writers. I learned so much from her site these past few years. However, I generally don’t look for book titles from blog sites although I have on occasion.

  6. Chuck Wendig’s blog, terribleminds, has a regular series of posts by authors with new books out, all named “5 Things I Learned Writing [Title]”. I probably buy 1 in 5 of these. They’re all science fiction/fantasy/horror, which is what I mostly read.

    John Scalzi’s blog, Whatever, has a similar series called “The Big Idea”, in which authors with new books out write a guest post about how they came to write that book. Again, mostly science fiction/fantasy/horror, with occasional mystery/thriller titles. I probably buy 1 in 4 of these.

    I’m also on LiveJournal and follow a number of authors there who talk about their books. I don’t buy as many of these, as many of the authors write books that are just not my thing – probably 1 in 20 books, maybe fewer. I follow almost all of these same authors, plus many more, on Twitter as well, so it’s hard to say which of those two platforms is more influential for me.

  7. I have a review blog for debut authors. I have found lots of wonderful titles on Net Galley, and I am a reviewer for them as well. They have both indie and more experienced authors there. I like WU too. Of course Goodreads.

  8. I use BookBub, Early Bird, and Fussy Librarian– all daily email lists where you can choose the genres you are interested in. They are for ebooks, but many of the books have paper versions. I also read “RTBookReview” magazine which is also a website. There’s also BookDaily, but it’s only Kindle books, and I use a Nook so I don’t use it.

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