Booking Through Thursday: May I Introduce?

What a great question from our friends at Booking Through Thursday to help me get back into the swing of things!

1. How did you come across your favorite author(s)? Recommended by a friend? Stumbled across at a bookstore? A book given to you as a gift?
2. Was it love at first sight? Or did the love affair evolve over a long acquaintance?

To answer the first question, all of the above. I’m always glad to talk books with people, and that includes reading book reviews (usually PW, but I found Pam Houston through the NYT Book Review) and book blogs. Not to mention the book sites I used to hang around (and have been trying to visit more often lately; I miss those guys!) — after awhile, you know whose recommendations to trust.

Some of my favorite discoveries that spring immediately to mind:
Well, I mentioned Pam Houston and the New York Times Book Review.

Jeanne Ray was a hand-sell at a bookshop on Sanibel Island, Florida.

Kim Harrison… not sure. I think from my friends at one of those book sites. (I’m not naming it to help preserve its sanctity, but those of you who know it should take a bow)

Jennifer Estep was a discovery I made because I won a copy of her book and offered to review it for Front Street Reviews.

Linda Fairstein is a really good example of the books I’ve discovered just because their plots intrigued me, so I decided to take a risk on them.

Overall, I’d have to say that’s how I find most of my favorite authors. I find a book with an intriguing plot (NOT hook, but plot) and read it. If I love it, I go find other books by the same author. If not, I move on. I’ve got literally hundreds of books waiting for me in my office. I’m not going to hold up a discovery so I can read the backlist of an author I’m lukewarm about.

Which pretty much answers the second part of this question. It’s either love at first sight or I’m moving on. There’s just too much out there, waiting for me to discover it.

Now, if I find a book by an author I was previously lukewarm about but the plot’s intriguing? Well, I’ll give them another shot, sure. Intrigue is intrigue and I like to have my curiosity satisfied; what can I say?