When I look at the list of books I've read this month 6 of the 13 are word of mouth recommendations. Books I might not have picked up or noticed without someone somewhere commenting on how good they were. And all 6 of these books I rated "good" or better--not bad.
Now I realize not everything lives up to word of mouth recommendations. I can think of a few that I've almost thrown at a wall or two, but I've learned along the way there are people who have similar tastes to mine and other's who are polar opposites, the trick is to remember this when I'm buying books, and not to buy a book in the heat of a warm and fuzzy review, especially ones by those who have different reading tastes
I finished Kathleen O'Reilly's Beyond Breathless this morning, though I didn't like it as much as the Ja(y)ne's I did like it enough to look for the next in the series, Beyond Daring which is due out in March. How many people picked up Beyond Breathless because of Jayn'es review? I know I wasn't the only person who picked it up.
I'm searching out Beverly Jenkin's backlist thanks to Rosario's thoughts about Sexy/Dangerous.
As of right now I can probably come up with a decent sized list of books I'll be looking for simply from word of mouth of other bloggers. I can also think of several I'll completely avoid also because of word of mouth--some because other bloggers hated them, some because a polar opposite liked them. I'm sure I could come up with a few that fall under the "Can it really be that bad" category, but I've posted about those before.
My TBR pile is filled with books I've discovered through word of mouth. How many of the books on your TBR pile are curtesy of word of mouth?
Have a good one and happy reading.
14 comments:
I'm always looking for some one to recommend a book, particularly when I am in a slump. It's a little daunting to pick up a book without a recommendation for some reason. I always feel like I am going into unknown and unexplored territory.
I enjoyed the Blaze quite a bit, and I got totally suckered in with the little excerpt from the next in the series!
Word of mouth is ... well, I'm quite certain that without your review of Demon Angel, without the Ja(y)nes and Bam, many people would have never picked it up. So I'll never discount the power of a recommendation, online and off.
I'd say about half the books in my TTBR pile are from rec's from other readers. I just wish there were a lot more readers who were active on line to pick up rec's and things!
I'd say 70% of my TBR comes from recs. I'm just too much of a scaredy cat to pick up a book from a new-to-me author w/o some word of mouth.
I agree with Jane, and most everyone else. I'm one of those that will read a review from someone that has similar tastes and go out the same day to find the book. The hard part is finding someone with similar tastes.
I picked up "Blame it on Paris" because of Joshilyn Jackson. She was right, it was FABulous.
Found you off of Laura's site. Love yours. I'll be back. :)
I have such a shoddy memory that I normally can't remember who recommended what. Needless to say, I'm not really sure who I mesh with. I did start writing up my TBB list with the bloggers name so I could maybe pin it down this year.
I think in the last few years most if not all of my purchases are by word of mouth or reviews at AAR. I used to sit down on the floor in the book store and go through the back blurbs of books for about an hour at a time. Since getting on the internet I don't do this and really I quite miss it.
My problem lately is wondering if I really gave a book a chance so I have definitely stumbled across books that were recommended that did nothing for me. I just need to keep better track!
CindyS
Jane, I agree a good recommendation is a great way to get out of a reading slump.
I always feel like I am going into unknown and unexplored territory. I also agree, but unexplored territory can be fun too.
Meljean, that excerpt completely suckered me too--LOL. I can only hope that the Demon Angel reviews helped spread the word, it deserves the attention it's getting.
Kristie, I think about half of my TBR are word of mouth finds and I totally agree more readers should be on line.
Giselle, my sister picks up next to nothing that hasn't been recommended, so I'm not surprised 70% of your TBR falls into this category. It's a good way to be if you're on a book budget.
Dee, I'm so glad you found Blame It on Paris. It was such a wonderful book. I love recommending something I've really enjoyed.
Cindy, I don't think you have to remember who recommended it, because you know someone you trust recommended it. I get most of my synopses from RT, not that I trust the reviews but they do a pretty good job describing the story.
This is a hard one to quantify. I've started reading certain authors because of recommendations for one of their books. So I don't know how many of my actual books I have because of word of mouth and how many I have because they're by authors who previously wrote a book that was recommended.
Am I getting too technical? lol
Oh. And a good deal of those, I think, came from you. :o)
this is really the way to discover new authors and new books I think. For me, my TBR pile is probably 50% recommendations and 50% impulsiveness (can't help but buy books); however, when it comes to reading, recommendations always get bumped up.
I think the best tho, is to find someone with similar taste for recommendations.
Jen, I think that recs are a great way to find new authors. You wouldn't track down a backlist without that initial recommendation, so not too technical :)
Nath, similar taste is definitely the way to go, every once in a while it doesn't work, but mostly you can come up with good finds.
word of mouth can make or break a movie . why cant it work for books . are there really no such thing as a bad book? does that mean no bad book exist it just us the reader that bad ? that the author is good but we dont know any better ? mmm sure , but i think if there enough bad said about a book it must be a turkey. with movies it usally true. then again someone 's standard are either pretty lax or not there hehee. word of mouth help me to figure out who the best authors and books are . i depend on it lot of time and it does work i think, and i learn from others this way about romance too.
I totally agree and have piles of books because of recs'
Some work some don't but I never regret reading them. Even if I turn out to hate a book someone else loved it is fun to have someone to talk to about it *g*.
Of course I don't expect to love every book and don't get pissy if someone doesn't love a book I did... so that counts for something.
I will admit to guilt at times if someone HATED a book they bought because I loved it. But what do you do...
mamx, I agree it makes sense it would work with books too.
Sybil, I will admit to guilt at times if someone HATED a book they bought because I loved it. ME TOO--LOL.
I think it's word of mouth at its best, too. :) Of course, I would, wouldn't I? Thank you!
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