It’s quite a popular notion among authors that they should keep blogs for publicity. But does it work?

Do you read any blogs by authors on a regular basis? Have you ever discovered a new author because of their blog? Do you feel a stronger connection with their work because you read their blog? Or does it hinder the experience?

I (Amy) read and enjoy a lot of author’s blogs. At first I was worried that it would hinder my experience of reading the book. For example, if I knew they had struggled in writing it…would I be able to read that struggle into it? Would I keep hearing their voice instead of the characters? I think that in fact, it has actually enriched my reading experience and I think it really builds community between author and reader. I love the additional insight it provides. I’m completely addicted to reading author blogs now and even read some by authors I have never read.

Meg Cabot is one of my absolute favorite bloggers. She has such a natural way with blogging and humor. Check it out! (confession: I’ve never read a Meg Cabot book)

Megan Crane is another favorite. What I love about her blog is she is a voracious reader just like us! And she’s funny and smart. I’ve read every one of her books.

I also used to love Tess Gerritsen’s blog until she had to shut it down.

Who are your favorite authors who blog and why? Share them! If you are author who blogs, please share your experiences with it as well.

So we all love to read books, but have any of you ever considered writing one yourself?  If you have, what would your topic or storyline be?  What genre would you write in?  Would you use your own name or pen name?  Anyone out there really have a story to tell but just havn’t put it in writing yet?  I would love to hear about it!  I don’t think I have ever thought very seriously about writing a whole book (though my sister did offer to write one with me and that is a tempting offer) but I have thought about writing articles or essays.  I’ve been told its best to write about what you know so I have a few topics I could consider writing about.  I could write about being a wife, a mother, a Christian woman, living overseas, and perhaps I could even delve into psychology a bit as that is what I studied in university.   So what about you?   If you were to write a book, what would you write about?  What story has yet to be told?

The first time I saw a book trailer, I thought it was the silliest thing.  Books are the written word not movies after all!  To me it makes much more sense to advertise a book with blurbs, synopsis, and excerpts.  Interviews with the authors are also helpful and informative.

I’m still not crazy about them.  But I’d love to know your thoughts.  What do you think of book trailers?  What are some of the best book trailers you’ve seen?  Have you ever bought a book because it had an awesome trailer?

I’m working on determining the winner of the box of books (a lot of entries!) But until then I thought it would be fun to discuss what kind of TBR person you are.

I am a book hoarder. I like the feeling of knowing I always have a book to read. And there are so so so many books that I want to read. Therefore, my TBR pile is huge. But it doesn’t stop me from collecting more books. I rarely keep books for reread though. I have a relatively small collection of books that I won’t part with.

How about you? How big is your TBR pile? Do you keep books after you’ve read them? Have you ever bought a book you already have because you forgot it was in your TBR pile or that you’ve already read it?

I can’t wait to hear everyone’s confessions!

As for me, I love going to a movie that I only half-way want to see or that I’m only seeing for a friend’s sake, and then LOVING the movie.  Isn’t that just the best?  Lord of the Rings was one of those for me.  Fantasy isn’t really my thing, but it was such a big movie that I thought I should just go ahead and see it.  Now even though it is not a short movie by any means, I still found myself at the end of it saying, “That can’t be the end!  They HAVE to tell us what happens next!”  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I got into the movie and then couldn’t wait for the next one to come out.

Books can be the same.  Sometimes we pick up a book just because we have nothing else to read or because it is a book we think we “should” read.  And every once in a while that book ends up being one of our favorites.  I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers.  I read them because a friend said I should.  And I could not put them down until the last word was read. 

So tell us - what book has pleasantly surprised you?   We’d love to hear from you.

We all like something different….fantasy, romance, chick lit, suspense…what’s your favorite genre?  And who are your favorite authors or what are your favorite titles in that genre?

Remember if you participate in the discussion, you’ll have a chance to win My Soul to Keep by Melanie Wells.  Send our friends over and you’ll get extra entries!