New-to-me Authors

For this week's contest on Number One Novels, I ask people to comment on the question: Out of all the books you read in a year, how many are written by new-to-you authors (either by number or percentage)? It seemed only fair to answer the question myself.

I started keeping track of all of the books I read each year in 2007, but I didn't start keeping track of new-to-me authors that I read until last year. If I had to guess, I would have thought I read about 5–12 new authors a year (out of approximately 50 books). I was shocked to learn that I read 22 new-to-me authors in 2008—45% of all the books I read!

This year, I think running Number One Novels has definitely influenced my numbers. Constantly having new authors on my mind has influenced me when I go to the bookstores. Yes, I still make a beeline to my favorite authors, but I also take more time perusing the shelves for the new-to-me and the just plain new authors. So far this year, I've read 12 new authors (out of 20), and a few of those have been NON authors.

Don't forget to stop by NON this week for a chance to win an autographed copy of Christy Reece's debut novel Rescue Me!