Booking Through Thursday
- 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?
- Was it love at first sight? Or did the love affair evolve over a long acquaintance?
Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!
I've said this before and I'll say it again- I'm cheap. Actually, I was broke when I found some of my favorite authors. My love of the classics started because I was young and light in the pocket. I loved to buy books but new releases were just too expensive. When I went to the bookstore, I'd buy Wordsworth Classics at $3 a pop. How can you go wrong?! I quickly became a fan of 19th century female writers like Austen, Eliot and the Brontes. I still count them as my favorites.
I did have one great surprise in the 1990's. My aunt was a member of the Book of the Month Club and passed a number of them to me. A huge tome caught my eye. The cover had a picture of a red tartan and a clock. I read the blurb and decided to read it first. Wow, I was hooked! I never read anything like it before. I instantly became a fan. The book was Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
I love, love, love Carol Shields as well!
ReplyDeleteI love the Wordsworth classics too! And for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with cheap! And I love that you inherited some of your books. I hope to do the same some day - pass them on to my nieces.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the two authors you mentioned but I will check them out. Thanks for the recommendations.
cjh
That was as honest as it can get. Books are expensive. So I wait for discounts. Many bookstores offer it after the hullabaloo dies down. Ordering books from costs more than if you buy it in other places in India.
ReplyDeleteHowever, one does get great books from the pavement bookbazzar every sunday.
I really enjoyed the Outlander series but have only read the first three so far. It has been awhile so this year I am starting all over and reading the entire series
ReplyDeleteGabaldon is a wonderful author. Happy BTT!
ReplyDeleteI love it when you find a reading "treasure" in the most funny places!
ReplyDeleteHappy BTT!
http://blog.mysocalledsite.com
I added you to my blogroll :P
My god daughter was turned onto reading in a similar way. A local shop was selling five classics for five pounds - she couldn't resist the bargain and became a reader almost over night.
ReplyDeleteYears ago Barnes and Noble had classics for a dollar! At that time it was all I could afford and with recycle bookstores I ended up with a pretty good start to what became my library. You have to start somewhere! Happy BTT!
ReplyDeleteI love Diana Gabaldon. It's called Cross stitch in the UK and the cover is of the stones that Claire passed through. I wonder why they change titles and covers for the different markets.
ReplyDeleteI started using the library again because I was broke and I didn't have any more room to house books (unless I got rid of a kid!) and it's a perfect fix. I get to read to my heart's desire and fewer books coming in. Now about getting rid of a kid....
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young we used to sell cheap classics in my parents' shop - we all used to read them off the shelf (don't tell anyone! I did learn to read very carefully).
ReplyDeleteEbony, when you get rid of kids they have a tendency to come back, so don't bank on that room ever being spare.
You never know when you'll come across a hidden treasure. I like Carol Shields, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge fan of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I remember being frighten of how thick the books are LOL..but once I started, the thickness of the book was less thing to worry about. I devour it. I felt like I was a kid, sitting down on the floor and listening to Diana Gabaldon tell one of the most greatest story in history :)
ReplyDeleteHmmmm...never heard of her but...maybe I'll try Carol Shields, if she anything like Diana Gabaldon?
Happy BTTs - and have a good day/weekend ahead!
Alix- I've wondered that myself.
ReplyDeleteebony & geranium- lol! I have lots to look forward to.
Julia- No, I wouldn't say they are anything alike. They both have distinctive voices though and are great writers.
Great stories. I loved The Stone Diaries too, thanks to your recommendation;-)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the Outlander series yet...there are several bloggers who mentioned this too.
ReplyDeleteHappy BTT!
We usually spend most of the summer in an old summer house on an island in Lake Huron. For a hundred years, people have brought books up there and left them on the shelves. It was on those shelves that I discovered Rebecca West (The Fountain Overflows), Jessamyn West (The Friendly Persuasion) and Margery Sharp (The Nutmeg Tree). All three have become favorites.
ReplyDeleteP.S. You know I love Carol Shields, too!
I just found Carol Shields as well. She may make my list of favorites. I really liked Unless too.
ReplyDeleteThe local library was the source of most of my favorite authors.
ReplyDeleteRob- Sounds like a real treasure trove.
ReplyDeleteI like classics too and am trying to catch up on some. It's funny sometimes it's easy to get put off as they are old fashioned looking or long, but there is usually a very good reason why they have that classic status and it's great finding out why!
ReplyDeleteYes! This is one reason why I'm such an avid online book trader -- it's cheap enough that if I hate the book, it's no big deal.
ReplyDeleteI've found SO MANY new authors this way, I can't tell you.
There's a lot to be said for cheap.