Monday, July 21, 2008

Tuesday Thingers


Today's topic from the Boston Bibliophile: Recommendations. Do you use LT's recommendations feature? Have you found any good books by using it? Do you use the anti-recommendations, or the "special sauce" recommendations? How do you find out about books you want to read?
I have to admit that I really haven't taken much of a look at the LT recommendations feature. I have over 200 books on my TBR shelves and NTR (Need to Read) lists of about 500 more, and those are constantly being updated. Sometimes I don't want to check out recommendations everywhere just to keep myself out of more temptation! So...where do I get the recommendations for the books I choose to read? My favorite genre is mysteries, though I scarcely limit myself to that one category. I am a member of a Yahoo book group called 4 Mystery Addicts. There is a wonderful group of people there, and I quickly learned which readers share reading DNA with me. I keep close track of the monthly reads and Then/Now/Next posts, and get dozens of recommendations from those alone. I also am a list owner of a small book group at Yahoo that also is a source of recommendations. One of the members is a fellow mystery lover, but the other members read quite a wide range of books that I keep my eye on.

I also subscribe to the Poisoned Pen's monthly BookNews newsletter. I read each issue from cover to cover, circling the ones that interest me...and there are always lots of circles! They cover new books outside the mystery genre as well.

Two publications that tend(ed) to have reviews that "spoke" to me are/were Publisher's Weekly and the Washington Post Book World. I was quite sad when the Post decided to stop print subscriptions to the Book World because it was an excellent resource for me.

Sometimes I just cruise through Amazon, or Google certain topics that I'm interested in to add to those ever-lengthening NTR lists. I'm never short of recommendations!



8 comments:

  1. Thanks for mentioning The Poisoned Pen - I've never heard of it before. I read a lot of mysteries, so I'll have to check it out.

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  2. It's dangerous living in the same metro area as the Poisoned Pen: I practically have to have a handcart to carry my purchases to the car whenever I go! Another plus of this bookstore is that all the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable about the books they sell.

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  3. I think sometimes I should limit my online activity to strictly email so that I can avoid the bookish temptations that I get into on LT and the blogs I read. With over 200 book on my TBR list it's not like I'm lacking for reading material - these are all books in my living room waiting for me, and yet, here I am, every day (several times a day), looking for more. I think I'm in need of an intervention.

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  4. I'll have to check out the Washington Post Book World. I didn't know there were book groups on Yahoo. Is it part of the 360 thing?

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  5. Traci, I'm an addict, and I have no desire to be cured! Oftentimes quite a few of the books that snag my interest are difficult to find, so I just consider it a way to hone my research skills. So far, I don't have much of a problem limiting my time online--especially since I can sit at my computer and look out at the pool. Around 2 PM everyday, it calls to me, telling me to bring out a book and a cold drink. My husband comes out with his book and drink, too. Can you tell I don't have children?

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  6. Alisha, Yahoo's book groups are not a part of 360. You can go to
    http://groups.yahoo.com and search for books, genres, etc. to bring up a list of groups to look at. If you need more help, just let me know!

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  7. Hmmmm...I haven't heard of the Poisoned Pen. Let me hop on over and take a look. This is why I love book bloggers. I am always discovering something new. :)

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  8. I know J. Kaye! We should be ashamed of ourselves for enabling each other in our addictions...shouldn't we?

    Nah.........

    The Poisoned Pen is usually listed as one of the absolute best mystery bookstores in the US. For me, it's a gold mine.

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