The Magic of Word of Mouth

Along with authors Sophie Jordan (Surrender to Me) and Christie Craig (Weddings Can Be Murder), I took part in a book signing yesterday where I watched a wonderful phenomena in action. I like to call it “Book Glow,” that moment when you meet another booklover and gush about a book you’ve recently enjoyed, then blurt those magic words that warm the heart of every author, “You have to read this. It’s great.”

Right there at the table, those who had read one or more of our books were recommending them to strangers, taking the burden of “selling” off our hands (and freeing us to be friendly, cut up, and have a good time, duties at which we collectively excel. Especially the cutting up part.)

Recently, I’ve felt let down by a few of my old standby authors or manipulated by the hype over some huge bestseller. When I try a new author because of a recommendation, I have to admit, I’m predisposed to like the book. I won’t always, since I’m a picky ready, but I’m always glad to check out another writing style and try to see what might have excited the other person about the book.

So in the spirit of sharing, tell me, what was the last read you recommended or the last personally-recommended read you seriously enjoyed? Bonus points for those lesser-known gems that weren’t best sellers but ought to have been, those books we might not hear about anywhere else on the web.