Even Sylvia Plath loves a good book.
EVERYONE loves a great read. I always crave a great romance read. But how do you find them? Especially if you’re like me, and you read a lot AND you want the best possible stories. Good books are hard to find. [CAVEAT: Everyone gets to define what constitutes a GOOD book for themselves. Even Myren, my chauffeur.]
What to do? There are millions and millions of fiction books out there. Last count on Amazon was over 1 million romances books alone. Here are the SQ Tips to help solve this problem. [I just swatted Myren, my chauffeur, on the arm for laughing at me and he almost drove us into a mailbox on the side of the road. Writing can be a very dangerous business.] [Myren just accused me of being melodramatic. Should I hit him again? (Answer below)].
5 Tips to Find Your Next GREAT Romance Read:
Personal Recommendation: Narrow down your sub-genre. Pick one based on your mood right now. Got it? [I’m picking Romantic Suspense. I’m in the mood for danger for some reason…] Now ask your friends, your book-reading pals, book club peeps, local librarian or mother-in-law [do NOT ask your chauffeur] for a recommendation for the BEST Romantic Suspense novel they ever read. This happens to be the NUMBER 1 way readers buy books.
Reviews: Reviews can be anything from professional, like the New York Times Book Reviews (fat
chance they’d review a romance novel) or Publisher’s Weekly or Romantic Times Book Reviews, to amateur reviews such as an Amazon reader review posted on the book page. The in-between reviews would be those on book blog sites and such. If you have a book reviewing source you trust based on past experience, check out these sources. My romance book review source is the book review blog Fiction Vixen Books & Beauty.
Facebook Groups: If you’re like me, you spend a good amount of time on Facebook. Besides checking out what the heck your friends were doing without you last weekend, you can find books. I don’t mean that you need to try sifting through the millions of Facebook ads. I’m talking about Facebook Groups. Facebook has interest GROUPS for EVERYTHING. If you want a quick way to find books in a niche you enjoy, like Romantic Suspense, especially if you want new releases or sale books, and you want to learn a little something about the books, this is the place to go. I regularly visit the Romance & Thrillers Group and the Romance Novel Junkies Group for info on what the latest and greatest romances are.
Favorite Authors: I have a list. So far it’s a mental list, but I don’t have to worry about
forgetting their names. The authors on my list have made a big impression on me. When I’m in the mood for Romantic Suspense, some of my favorite go-to authors are Lisa Mondello, Jacquie Biggar, Mimi Barbour, Rebecca York , Taylor Lee and too many more to list. I’ll check out their author websites to see if they have anything new.
Amazon: As a last resort, you can use Amazon’s search engine to find the top rated books in any category known to mankind. I say this is a last resort because you may not want to buy your book on Amazon. You may want to get it from your library or buy it from a book store or download it from an author’s website, for instance. [Myren is asking me why he can’t download books from my website and I kicked him and told him to mind his business. He has a creepy habit of reading over my shoulder while he’s driving. Maybe I should sit in the back seat…]
You get the picture. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Too bad there’s no sure-fire way to find that WOW! book every time, but as die-hard readers, we persevere and keep trying. [Myren pointed out that I’ve been redundant. I pointed out that I wanted to emphasize my point.]
If you have a good and quick way to find a fabulous read, please share it here.