Reader Opinions

Authors Whose Books I Wished I Liked

see more Lolcats and funny pictures I was reading Rosario’s blog the other day and she was blogging about how much she enjoyed Linnea Sinclair’s Down Home Zombie Blues. As I was reading Rosario’s review, I was thisclose to buying the book but the fact is that Linnea Sinclair’s books just don’t work for me.(…)

Why I Read…by Chloe

No first sale today.   Instead we have two essays.   Later by an author on why she writes but right now, a very very special Why I Read. **** I learned to read when I was 4, just as my 4-year-old best friend Danny became sick (he was dying of leukemia) and I was starting to(…)

Readers Opinions Wanted: Unfamiliar Terms

In today’s First Page, Laura Kinsale brought up a question in the comments regarding unfamiliar terms in a story. I have a question, as a writer, about one of the comments. This isn’t a loaded question, or any sort of commentary on this excerpt itself, it’s input for me. DS said I had to look(…)

Tuesday Mid Day Links RoundUp: The Medieval Chronicle

A short piece in Publisher’s Weekly notes that   July booksales fell 0.5% and down 2.5% for the year.   The good thing for bookstores is that the new Dan Brown book is out.   Increased foot traffic in stores will hopefully lead to an increase in book sales over all.    M.J. Rose jump started a twitter(…)

Poll: Do you like the beginning or the end of the book the best?

[poll id="197"] I asked this question of Sarah last week at Borders. My initial response was “the end, of course” because I love that feeling at the end of a good book.   When I pondered this more, though, I came the realization that I am much more excited to start books than I am to(…)

Ponderings on the Golden Era: Perspectives of a Seasoned Nerd and a Nerdy Novice

see more Lolcats and funny pictures Janet: Reading through the comments on the Dear Author Golden Era poll, they seem to reflect the split in the voting between the 1990s and the 2000s. Those who chose the 1990s seem more like Historical Romance readers, while a number of those favoring the current decade have pointed(…)

Poll: What reasons do old favorite books not work for you anymore?

[poll id="196"] This coming year will see a lot of re issues of older books.   It’s financially convenient for publishers as they’ve already paid the advance on that book.   Sometimes, though, our old favorites simply don’t hold up over time.   Keishon, Avidbookreader, blogged about her recent re-reading of Sandra Brown’s Tiger Prince.   Dated,   Keishon wrote,(…)

Poll: Are older heroines under-represented in the romance genre?

At the Popular Romance Studies: International Conference, organised by  the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance  (IASPR), there was a brief discussion to explore this question: Are  older under-represented in the romance genre? If so,  why? Good questions. The average age of heroine in U.S. romance novels is between 24-26 (and possibly younger in historical romance). And(…)

Readers and Reviewers Online Don’ts

Earlier this week, we posted an author online don’t list and to be balanced, Maili suggested we do a reader/reviewer online don’t list. Brilliant idea, I said. *** Taste is subjective. When someone criticizes or slates one of your favorite books, they  aren’t criticizing you or your taste, they are making their opinion heard. Don’t ever(…)

Essay: Why I Read by Keishon

Last winter, I posted that I would love to hear from readers, writers, bloggers about why they read, write and blog. Keishon, avid book reader, is one of our favorite bloggers here at Dear Author. Three of us here are participating in her monthly TBR challenge. Keishon is the reader who introduced me to Julia(…)

Essay:  Why I Read by Bev Stephans

Essay: Why I Read by Bev Stephans

Last winter, I posted that I would love to hear from readers, writers, bloggers about why they read, write and blog. Bev Stephans was one of the first to come forth and share her story with our community about why she reads. *** I don’t have a blog and I don’t write books, but I(…)

Romance and the Boundaries of the Self

Today’s guest opinion is brought to you by Jessica from Racy Romance Reviews. Jessica started blogging in 2008 and has provided some great reviews as well as thoughtful commentary. She first came to my attention by Janine linking to one of Jessica’s posts. (Word of Mouth, isn’t it grand?). Jessica started reading romances in 2007(…)

Reader Apologia Reflux, Or the Virtues of Discriminating Reading

more animals A continuation of our Romance Apologia posts*. . . Part One, in which the author argues for the rights of women to read whatever the hell we want One of the things that gets my back up is patent dismissals of whole genres of writing:   literary fiction is pretentious and boring; Romance is(…)

10 Things Epublishers Should Do for Readers

In no particular order, the following is a list that I would like to see all epublishers/etailers implement. Eternal Bookshelf. An eternal bookshelf means that every purchase you have bought can be downloaded at any time. Most of the larger etailers have this feature but not all. Mass Downloads. Along with the eternal bookshelf should(…)

Top Ten Things Publishers Could Do to Help Readers Buy Books

Top Ten Things Publishers Could Do to Help Readers Buy Books

more cat pictures 1. Label the books in a series either on the spine or on the front or both (preferably the spine if that is the only place). I.e., Kresley Cole’s Hunger Like No Other is Book 2 in the Immortals After Dark Series so it should have #2 on the spine or on(…)