Where Do Books Come From?

After reading one of Jenclair’s wonderful book reviews, I decided to ask her where she finds her books. She has such an eclectic collection of books that she’s read and among those are so many books that I’ve never heard of before. Many of her reads come from the “what’s new” shelf at the library and from other bloggers out there. It sparked some great conversation on her blog. So I decided that I’d answer that question for myself as well.

I have no idea where some of my books came from. There are certain authors that I’ve read for awhile, and they’ve become auto buys. Orson Scott Card and Neil Gaiman are my two biggest auto buys. No matter what they publish, I’m buying it. Charles de Lint has become one of those auto buys as well for me.

Then there’s the “chocolate authors”, a phrase that Elaine coined not too long ago on her blog, and I like it. Chocolate authors are those authors who aren’t necessarily the best authors in the world, but they’re a fun guilty pleasure. Dean Koontz is Elaine’s chocolate author. I’d have to say that Stephen King is mine. His books aren’t literary genius, but I know I’ll have fun with them. So whenever a new King book goes on the shelf, I’ll usually buy it.

Most of my new finds come from the internet. The blogging world has become a HUGE resource of To Be Read books. Every time I read a review that I like, the book goes on the always growing Amazon list. Then there are favorite authors of mine that recommend books that they like. Orson Scott Card writes a weekly review column and there are usually a couple of books that I like on there. That’s where I learned of the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull (second book comes out on Tuesday!). I loved the first book, and am looking forward to the new one. Neil Gaiman mentions books as well every now and then on his blog.

I’m also a bookshelf browser at the bookstore. I’ve been known to buy books based on their covers alone. If a cover really catches my eye, I’ll buy the book just to stare at the cover, and most of the time I end up enjoying the book as well.

Amazon’s recommended reads and Listmania’s have been a great resource as well.

I seldom go to the library. I love libraries, they’re wonderful places, but I have a strong need to own my books. I like seeing them being collected on the shelves, and books almost become a friend to me that I can revisit later on.

So where do you find your reads? As Jenclair recommended, write a post about it and link back in the comments. Or just leave a comment on here. I’d love to know!