The Sword and Laser discussion

I find it sad that I often go straight to Amazon's bestseller lists and choose my next read from there.

Instead, I'd like to hit up Google and search for those little books, maybe some indie books, the ones that probably deserve to be on the top of those bestseller lists but aren't there yet.

The thing is, I have no idea how to find those book. Any ideas?

I've been running off the recommendations of friends since high school and have never really found myself lacking for something to read.

Before that I had a librarian for a mom who always found interesting stuff for me.

Since joining this group in July it's been a great resource, and my already too long to-read list has grown even longer.

I don't think there has ever been a time I've used the best seller's list. Maybe I'm just weird.

Joined a few groups here on Goodreads, some of them bookclubs like this one.

On the top of the page where it says Home, My Books, Groups, Recommendations, Explore, click the down arrow and click giveaways. There's a lot of small/indy press books there. I enter to win a whole bunch but have only won like two books, BUT there's a lot of interesting, inexpensive (and sometimes free) books to check out. The same goes over at Library Thing you can sign up for Early Reviewers/Member Giveaways and get some new ideas there.

You'll start to recognize some of the publishers as you win more and more books to review, and that makes it easier to pick more (or less) from those new press/publisher names you recognize.

I have an arcane system involving a hand picked stable of reviewers, the very cream of small press publishers, an intimate knowledge of the publication schedules of the best sff imprints, enough 'favourite authors' that there's almost always something new out from one of them, and a contemptuous disregard for amazon's recommendations.

Only occasionally do I have to resort to reading sheep's entrails by moonlight.

In all seriousness, I have enough books that I really want to read next in the queue that choosing what not to read next is the real challenge.

Before I joined S + L I would look on the reviews on amazon and look at the ones with the most reviews. I also did a really good job of picking them up in the store I picked up The Name Of The Wind and Game Of Thrones before they got popular and before I had heard of them.
Now I have a massive list of books I want to read from reading conversations on here and reading the picks which are a series, like Robin Hobb Farseer series which there are 12, also getting more interested in Sci Fi and there are loads I havnt read, which seem like must reads.

oh i must admit i am getting into checking new york times best sellers lists ever couple of weeks !

Before I ever became a part of Goodreads I used to either read whatever a friend recommended or go to any book store, (mean Places like B&N that has all newer stuff or like Half Price which is all used)decided what genre I wanted to read next and just grab something. I read the back, decide if it sounds at least half way interesting. If so I'd get it an go. If not, I'd put it back and play Russian Roulette again. I found a lot of good books that way.

i usually go for books from authors im aware of but since having my second child earlier this year and with money being tighter, ive been buying second hand books.

This has led me to buying books i probably would never have bought, and they are so cheap!

I very rarely buy "new" books unless they're part of a series I'm hooked into or have a strong recommendation from someone who's taste I trust. Years ago I was a member of the science fiction book club, most of my new purchases came from there.

I've picked up thousands of titles at used book stores, flea markets and yard sales. And my Kindle is jammed full of free books thanks to the Baen Free Library and other sources. Also books published prior to 1923 are free thanks to Project Gutenberg.

The last time I actively looked for new books to read, I started by trying to fill a gap in my reading experience. I was very heavily into laser books, but wanted to get more familiar with sword options. But I'd had a habit of lemming sword books where the author took several pages to describe every tree in a forest as part of their several novel book series.

So I went to a forum I visited frequently, where I knew I would have at least some similarity of taste in at least one respect, and asked for suggestions for some good "one novel and it's done" fantasy works.

That same forum also had a thread where people mentioned what books they were reading. Along the same lines as the monthly "What else are you reading?" topic here, but covering the entire year, and including brief descriptions of what they thought about the books when they were done.

Recommendations from io9, here, sfsignal, and anything Alan or Jude at Borderlands Books recommends....

I tend to do like Alisha and randomly pull out books and read their blurbs until I run across something that sounds interesting. I almost never pay attention to best seller lists

since joining Goodreada I also pay a lot of attention to the books that are nominated for monthly reads in the various groups.

John Scalzi's Big Ideas features have introduced me to several cool works.. http://whatever.scalzi.com/category/b...

I get ideas for things to read from any number of sources, and since joining Goodreads over the summer have gotten some nice suggestions from groups like S&L. Used to subscribe to Locus (may do so again), and heard of any number of worthwhile books from their reviewers.

In addition, I've gotten suggestions from book reviewed or referred to in the book section of Entertainment Weekly, and also from my daily book calendar, which is where I first learned about The Shadow of the Wind.

Lena wrote: "I find it sad that I often go straight to Amazon's bestseller lists and choose my next read from there...."

It could be worse, you could be going to the New York Times list :)

Personally I find the best recommendations from what people mention as alternatives to the monthly reads. Quite often a book will be mentioned and then many other people jump in and second it. Old Man's War being a prime example.

I get ideas from Goodreads. Book clubs are good sources. Some of the lists are great.

I also frequently just pick up a random book in the library. Sometimes this doesn't work out too well but you can also find gems.

My best friend also tends to steer me in the right direction when he reads a new book.

Mainly, I make visits to my favorite bookstore (Magers and Quinn in Minneapolis) and just start going through the stacks until I find something that interests me.

For genre stuff, I like to keep an eye on various genre websites (Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, Wert Zone and Neth Space are among my faves) for news of upcoming releases and reviews.

For philosophy/cognitive science/neuroscience books, I get recommendations from R. Scott Bakker's Three Pound Brain blog.

I have a subscription to the New York Times Book Review and get suggestions from there, too. The NYT Book Review is how I discovered Alif the Unseen.

Also, I look at my friends on Goodreads and see what they have read/reviewed.

Wow I guess I didn't realize how many different places you can find recommendations.

It's nice to hear that, for the most part, the bestseller lists don't rule people's choices.

I'm going to look up all those places mentioned :)

I don't trust most websites/"Top X" lists/online reviews/rankings (such Amazon reviews). I also typically steer clear of the award winners as a "recommendation source." I've found many times that mediocre books win awards (don't get me wrong, some really great ones do, too, but a lot of mediocre ones also get prizes).

I get most of my book recommendations from coworkers, friends, this book club, and from reading reviews from GR friends. I work with a guy who has some of the most eclectic book tastes. I leap whenever he recommends a new book.

Dharmakirti wrote: "Mainly, I make visits to my favorite bookstore (Magers and Quinn in Minneapolis) and just start going through the stacks until I find something that interests me.

For genre stuff, I like to keep ..."

Have you been to Uncle Hugo's over on Lake & Chicago? My favorite bookstore bar none; if you go there, I expect you'll either thank me or curse me.

I use goodreads, almost exclusively to find books I want to read. Sometimes I browse the local bookstore but only after having a list of books that either goodreads has recommended to me because of other books I have read, or goodreads has reminded me that authors I have read in the past have books coming out in the future, etc.

Goodreads has expanded my knowledge of the great books out there to exponential bounds. This website is indispensable to me.

Lately I've been using good reads and sword and laser. I have to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE goodreads for recommending things.

Sword and Lazer books
Vaginal Fantasy books
other goodreads groups
io9.com book reviews
tor.com blog
browsing Barnes and Noble shelves (when I can)
browsing Library shelves (when I can)
Amazon.com free top sellers lists

I'm a sucker for interesting titles/pretty cover art and will often pick books solely on that (bad, I know, but like wine I've found some real gems this way!)

I also still have a HUGE pile of "to read" books from when the Borders near me closed and I bought (literally) every single book I have ever looked at/picked up and went "hmm that looks interesting" so I'm slowly working through that, slower now that I have a kindle and am splitting my time between ebooks and dead tree...

I usually find mine by recommendation or internet search. Although, I have found a few by the covers. I would pop into the local bookstore, check out the cover art, read the back cover and if it sounded good I would pick it up haha.

James wrote: "I usually find mine by recommendation or internet search. Although, I have found a few by the covers. I would pop into the local bookstore, check out the cover art, read the back cover and if it..."

A good cover always intrigues me. I'm the same way, if I'm in a book store and see a great cover, I pick it up at least to read the back.

What kind of terms do you enter if you search online?

I am finding a lot of new books to try thanks to Goodreads and the different groups I belong to. My TBR pile is forever growing. I also like to go to the bookstore and pick a book that just grabs my interest.

I've found brainpickings.org to have a wide range of recommendations, from classics to modern bestsellers. There's always some interesting excerpt and description available and sometimes a brief discussion.
I've found many books here that I would not have considered otherwise

Joseph wrote: "Have you been to Uncle Hugo's over on Lake & Chicago? My favorite bookstore bar none; if you go there, I expect you'll either thank me or curse me

I've never been. A few of my co-workers are genre fans and they rave about Uncle Hugo's and I keep meaning check it out.

When I go to the library, I try to get one book by an author I've never heard of before. That way if the book is horrible, all I have to do is return it.

How do I pick out these books? I pick up random books that catch my eye and see what it's about. So in a way I am kind of judging a book by it's cover.

B&N has a free Nook book every Friday--the choices vary in genre each week. They always ask the author to recommend a book that inspired them and sometimes I've found some interesting books from their recommendations that I've added to my to-read list.

iTunes has recently had a "Great Books for 3.99 or less" link and I've found quite a few great books there also.

I find that Amazon's monthly newsletters for what's new, their updates on author's I've read, and just their random promotions do a good job of keeping me up wit new fiction. For Sci-fi and Fantasy I usually depend on the recommendations of Sword and Laser and io9's great book reviews.

I comb Wikipedia for lists of award winners in science fiction. It's been hit and miss, but I've come across some pretty great authors that way.

Non-fiction, I just look for a variety of reviews on books in my areas of interest: dead empires and failed states, post civil war/industrial revolution America, anything about rust belt cities, Chicago or the midwest and periods like the golden age, the renaissance and the enlightenment.

I find that amazon's recomendation list has been really helpful, i would never have read Taming Fire SpellmongerThe Blacksmith's Son. all of which i wouldn't have found in a bookstore, which is were I prefer to shop and see titles, cover art and the like

Depends on the genre. For YA, I'll go by my friends and whatever the big thing at school is. Sometimes this works well (Percy Jackson) and sometimes, not so much (Twilight). Most of my friends have good taste, though, so I have no issue with this.

For most other genres, I have a massive backlog of classics and big novels I've got to read (I haven't read much Asimov, Bradbury, Le Guin, etc...). I also use Goodreads for recommendations and this and other book clubs.

Also, sometimes I just strike up conversation with librarians and bookstore owners and the people who work at Chapters. They're cool people. And teachers, them too.

I get most of my books from the library (I couldn't afford to buy as many books as I read). I hit the new arrivals shelf and start reading dust jackets, I grab random books off of the regular shelves and do the same thing.

And now that I am a member here I look at recommendations.

Serendipity. I stumble across interesting books at bookstores and libraries and in blogs.
Beyond that; award lists, book group lists (and discussions of possible future books for the list), and Project Gutenberg.
I also read short story compilations to find new (to me) authors in genres I already enjoy.

when I was young like Daniel I would browse the book shelves at the library look for author I had enjoyed in the past. if I could not find anything new sometimes I would pickup a old favorite. Or sometimes I would just wander the library looking at mysteries or general fiction. I kind of miss that I used to go the library every 2 or 3 weeks I have only been 2 times since I discovered e-books 2 years ago.

I follow a bunch of book critics and book clubs and peruse there for suggestions. I also get some storybundles for rare finds. : )

Either suggestions here on Goodreads(be them from friends or from the "people also enjoyed" lists) or randomly browsing at a library or book store.

I rarely put much thought into what I'm reading next.

These are pretty much my sources:

Amazon new releases
B&N.com new releases
Tor.com updates
I09 best of month lists
Goodreads recommendations, lists, discussions
scifi365.net

Well, if it's authors I already read, then I just get their latest book, or at least read the blurb and consider. Otherwise, I read a fair amount of anthologies, and if I come across an author I've never heard of who can impress me in a short story, I take that as a sign to check out their novels.

Recommendations and reviews here on Goodreads.
Books in series that I have started and need to finish.
The NPR Top 100 SF/Fantasy book list.
My physical bookshelf of unread books (several 100).

I usually do not buy books when they first come out. There are only 3 or 4 authors for whom I will do that.

Pretty much like everyone else, on the third day after the new moon I call up the spirits of the restless dead.

When the convocation is complete, I cast the thrice-blessed bones of an unladen sparrow into the air while reciting prayers to ancient Nyarlathotep (mayhereigninchaosandglory). I'm pretty sure Rob is beholden to the same Elder Thing, so you can ask him for the rites if you need them.

I then cross-reference the prime intersections of the bones' ordinal positions with the greater ley lines of the Pacific Northwest against Amazon's backlog. Like most avid readers would tell you, the bones must be freely given, so keep that in mind before you etch the holy Runes of Finding, especially if you're looking for something indie!



Oh, and sometimes I get recommendations from people with similar tastes or sift through the books they've rated highly here on Goodreads. You know, if the restless dead aren't cooperating.

Sky wrote: "I'm pretty sure Rob is beholden to the same Elder Thing, so you can ask him for the rites if you need them."

I'm Beholden to NO ONE! I totally quit sacrificial rituals. The blood was getting too hard to clean up..

I subscribe to several "free and cheap ebook" emails that let you pick your preferred genre or genres for a daily list of free and cheap ebooks. There's often crossover between the emails. I'm very choosy of the titles I'll buy, even if it's for free. But I've found plenty of good stuff, even indie/self-pubbed stuff that has been really good from those kinds of sources.

Booksends, BookBub, The Fussy Librarian, eReaderIQ Daily, Early Bird Books...

Pretty sure I found most of those from another post on the S&L forums...